Refers to the basic skills required to function as a human being.
The human being is the most complex known thing. There is no man made machine that even approaches the human being for complexity and there probably never will. In order to operate such a complex mechanism as a human being requires 2 decades of development and because of this complexity the chances of dysfunction are high. There are certain functionalities which can be considered basic requirements for good operation as a human regardless of culture, career, gender or disposition. These are described as core functionalities.
Core functionality is very much physiology focused and involves the following, all of which overlap:
These involve skills that are developed from birth onwards, through processes which, in western society, do not currently involve any formal intervention. Core functionality could be loosely described as 'natural talent'.
Important concepts in the discussion of core functionality are as follows:
Physiological Acuity: The degree of accuracy/sharpness in the configuration of tissue, ligament, bone and sensori-motor input in the delivery of a particular skill/function. For instance postural acuity involves poise, physical accomplishment and strength and vocal acuity involves clear, resonant, expressive voice.
Muscular Connectivity: The degree of connectivity in the development of muscle groups and ligaments in relation to each other. To carry out any function or achieve any skill involves the simultaneous working together of multiple muscle groups. Success requires connectivity.
Micro-muscles: Muscles relate to each other in a complex manner. Although they are grouped together for particular functions which have been given specific names by physiologists, individual muscle strands within each group do different work dependent on their position in relation to other muscle strands. The concept of micro muscles is helpful in understanding that small muscular changes are crucial to functional development of refined motor skills.
Posture is a behaviour. It is not something you are born with nor is it a part of your personality that you cannot change.
The most important single aspect to posture is position and shape of the spinal column and an extended spine enhances functionality.
Extension of the spine involves stretching it outwards along its curvature by stretching the buttocks outwards and stretching the chest forward and upwards. This involves the following:
The next important thing is openness of the chest (thoracic extension). This is determined by the inter-costal muscles, those that hold the ribs together. If these muscles are tensioned, then the chest moves up and outwards. This does the following:
It is easier to hold the chest open when the spine is extended.
Once spinal extension and open chest are established then other aspects of posture follow easily, such as position of head, shoulders, arms and legs.
Points to note:
Posture is dynamic. There is no fixed ideal posture and posture is changing the whole time during activity. Trying to maintain a fixed posture is likely to cause as much damage as having poor posture. All activity involves a balance of tension and relaxation. A football player is more likely to shoot goal if his body is completely relaxed the moment before he kicks, enabling the optimum amount of tension to be focused at the crucial moment. Holding your spine extended and chest open all the time is like trying to score a goal every second of the day and will leave you exposed to ridicule not to mention cramp and any number of muscular complaints.
Also
Posture varies with use and from individual to individual. What is good in one occupation may not be so good in another.
Observe the following:
Gymnasts, dancers:
Usually exhibit excellent spinal curvature, necessary for creating the movement and absorbing the impacts.
Weightlifters:
Generally it pays to be short, but if you look at posture you will see buttocks well extended outwards, indicating the curved spine which is required in order to absorb the impact of heavy weights. The same characteristics are required to get through life without being laid up at age 50 with back problems due to shifting the piano, or sitting in a chair in an office for 30 years.
This refers to the flexibility of muscles in the face and the ability to create different expressions.
Facial motility is directly connected to thoracic extension. The muscles of the chest and face support each other in general activity. Generally a person with good connectivity in the chest will also have good facial motility.
Facial motility is directly connected to the ability to express emotions and to vocalise well. Muscles of the face (and chest) help to shape the sound and give it timbre, pitch and resonance.
Facial motility need not be associated with over-expressiveness such as demonstrated by the likes of Hollywood actors such as Jim Carrey. It can be quite subtle. Motility is demonstrated by people who can lift one eyebrow and not the other, who look natural when they smile, who have symmetric features and are quite photogenic.
The qualities that make up a person’s voice reflect physiological acuity in the areas of thoracic extension and facial motility.
Timbre
The aural qualities of vocal sounds reflect many aspects of what is going on physiologically in the face and chest. Timbre is not only the product of the nature of the resonant passages in the nose and mouth, but also of how the muscle and ligaments that interconnects them are developed and is used. If there are gaps in the operation of palate, cheek, nose and forehead in the transmission of sound waves then all manner of wow and flutter can be introduced. Smooth pleasant vocal sounds only happen when there is muscular connectivity there and the waves can travel in a neat pattern without being broken up, dissipated, or causing small bits of tissue to flap dischordantly. These same gaps in tissue connection may be reflected in other areas of the person’s ability and characteristics. They may prevent them from talking for long periods or projecting the voice, both of which affect the kind of jobs they may carry out.
Pitch
First up pitch identifies between male and female and the slight differences in core functionalities that represents. All vocalizations are melodic in that they change pitch. In other words when we talk we change pitch. How well we hold pitch and our average level of pitch reflect the development of the vocal chords in the pharynx (voice box). Good connection with hearing processes contributes to pitch control. Vocal chords that operate unevenly and/or hearing that is not well connected can result in an inability to hold pitch.
Volume
The level of sound a person produces or can produce results from a combination of the development of the chest and the connectivity of the facial tissues (see timbre). Traditionally large people have been considered good singers. This is because such people have to develop their chest muscles in order to carry their own weight. So long as their chest is open and expanded, then this can mean that they develop a ‘big’ voice without having to work on it. A strong chest means more air can be brought to bear on the vocal chords with greater control, however if there is not connectivity going on in the tissues of the head, then this resource is wasted.
Resonance
A person can have a loud voice but which sounds forced, because their muscles are tensioned and they are pushing the air onto the vocal chords. Good resonance is achieved as a result of well developed chest and face muscles and ligaments that are able to act in their extended position as relaxed rather than tensioned tissue. A resonant voice, at any volume, sounds relaxed. This is the goal of a singer. The vocal muscles cannot operate for long periods in a tensioned state. People with resonant voices can vocalize for long periods without loss of quality.
Humans are essentially social creatures. One of the leading stimulants for the development of the brain during evolution was the need to communicate with others in the development of language.
Social learning starts at birth. This involves:
Individuation – weaning from parents and operating as an individual
Social hierarchy – understanding where you stand in society in relation to others
Relationships – getting on with people in a mutually beneficial manner
Communication – learning a language and being able to use it successfully to get what you want from life
Any weakness in any of these areas affects performance in life in all other areas.
In social ability, the voice is paramount. The root of the word ‘personality’ is ‘son’ which means sound. Who we are as people is transmitted to others using the voice.
Individuation
This usually requires making some kind of a stand against the parents in order to assert independence. Freud represented this in extreme form in the Oedipus Complex.
Social Hierarchy
This involves constant negotiation and renegotiation and people move up and down on a daily basis. Despite all the best efforts of communists or socialists, social hierarchy is a fixed part of animal nature and accounts for much of the social activity of baboons, chickens, rats, or any mammal that has ever been exposed to scientific study. Being at the bottom of the social stack usually coincides with lack of core functionality, while those at the top have higher core functionality.
Relationships
Relationships with other individuals hold the key to success.
Human society has developed around the ability for individuals to work together in teams under charismatic leaders and with group goals which are put ahead of individual ones. Those who become part of a winning team reap the benefits, but in return they have to learn the social skills required.
Reproduction and successful raising of offspring in human society involves the ability to form opposite sex relationships and co-exist with the idiosyncrasies and foibles of another individual. Even though in current Western societies co-existence (marriage) no longer lasts as long as it used to, the relationships between parents are maintained for the sake of the children. Having children in this case, then, involves not only forming and maintaining relationships with former spouses and the children that come from that, but with later spouses as well.
Communication
Communication involves knowing a language and being able to assert oneself and grab your slice of the pie. Those higher in the hierarchy are those with greater communication skills and who are determined to get what they want from life, and from other people. People lower in the hierarchy are less sure about who they are and what they want.
All aspects of core functionality are interconnected and reinforce each other. Vocal acuity, good posture, social ability, and facial expressiveness all work together to make up the person. Loss of acuity in one area reduces acuity in other areas.