The Plum Line Tutorial
The Plum Line Tutorial
In this video, I’ll go over the plumb line with you. This is a great place to start if you’re not sure how to check your alignment before starting a movement. I use the plumb line to assess your posture in every massage session, whether we talk about posture or not. I also use the plumb line myself whenever I do any exercise – be it an hour long strength training session or a single 30 second stretch throughout the day. It’s important for you to understand the plumb line to ensure you set your body up the best you can before every stretch or strengthening activity you do.
What is the Plum Line?
The plumb line is an imaginary line going from your head to your toe. When in alignment, this line goes through your ear, shoulder joint, hip joint, knee joint, and ankle joint. Try to get as close as your body can to this alignment prior to any standing stretching or strengthening technique. This can be done against a wall if that helps you feel where your body is in space or it can be done in the middle of a room. It’s okay if you can’t get exactly in alignment!
Let’s get started!
- Feet/Ankles
- Bring your feet into ballet first position, meaning your heels are touching and your toes are pointing out at a 45 degree angle.
- Move your heels away from each other until the outside arches of your feet are parallel.
- Move your body slightly back and forth and side to side to find the spot where you feel weight going into all four corners of your feet.
- Knees:
- Your legs are straight but your knees are not hyper-extended and have a microbend in them.
- Hips
- Place your fingertips on the pointy bone you feel on the front of your hips and your thumbs around your sides.
- Gently feel your pelvis turn under, engaging the lower abs and taking the arch out of your low back.
- Ribs
- Move your fingers and thumbs up onto your lower ribs in the same position.
- Take a deep breath in and as you let it out feel your upper abs engage to ensure the ribs do not flare out.
- Shoulders
- Bring your arms down, roll your shoulders up, around, and away from your ears.
- Feel the shoulder blades move towards each other.
- Head/Ear
- Align your eye site ahead of you, parallel to the floor to ensure the neck and head are in place.
That’s all there is to it!
Think about this position whenever you start a stretch, exercise, or any standing movement, as well as during the technique. It might be you can’t stretch as deep as you usually do, or that you can’t lift as much weight as usual. Don’t worry though – you are getting far more out of the move just by being in correct alignment. Give it a try, leave a comment below, and tell me what you think!
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