BOUNDARIES IN THE BODY

Boundaries are great to have because they let us know what’s ok and what’s not ok. They give us a structure so that we can feel safe in situations; they delineate one from another. The types of boundaries we have in the body are:

1. Joints

2. Sphincters 

3. Golgi tendon organs

Joints give us the boundary of our end range of motion. Think about your elbow and your knee. There’s a clear stopping point enforced by the way your bones come together. This boundary gives our limbs structure so that we can continue to use our arms and legs. If we didn’t have these clear end points, we wouldn’t be able to support our torso from our legs or carry heavy things with our arms. 

Sphincters are muscles that open or close a passage in the body. These are mostly in the gastrointestinal tract, but also in our urinary tract, veins and eyes. They are boundaries because they create separation in body cavities when engaged. 

In yoga, they call sphincters bandhas or locks. You engage the bandha to lock the energy so it doesn’t leak out. It’s a way of staying vital or energized. The 4 bandhas are Mula, Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Maha. Mula bandha is a root lock or an engagement of the pelvic floor. Uddiyana bandha is an engagement of transverse abdominus or belly button towards the spine. Jalandhara bandha is a lengthening of the spine at the neck or bringing the chin down and back. When all 3 of these bandhas are engaged, it is maha bandha. These locks support different aspects of health in the body and require practice and patience through the learning process. They’re not something to explore without a trusted teacher. 

In our muscles, we have Golgi tendon organs. These organs have a reflex that keeps us safe from injury if an action is too fast. The reflex sends a signal to our spinal cord to relax the muscle instead of engage it. So if a vector was coming towards us, our instinct might be to engage our muscle to protect against the impact. Our Golgi tendon reflex forces the muscle to relax to sustain the impact, without or with minimal injury as it’s a more sustainable response. 

It’s clear to see that these organs in our muscles protect us from injury. We can also use the GTO reflex actively to help us increase our flexibility. In this month’s video, I show how to use this reflex to open up your hamstrings.