Have you ever wondered . . . 

 why some people 

stay naturally flexible and strong
into their 80s and 90s—
without stretching or strength training?
There's a clear and simple reason for this.
At age 78, I'm lucky beyond measure
to be living this! 

Hello! I'm Kathleen Porter 

My wish for you is that you enjoy
the pain-free comfort,
flexible ease, and solid strength
that's waiting to be
re-discovered within you!

At age 47, I was a yoga teacher and massage therapist with an uncomfortable secret:  I struggled with some of the same chronic pain issues people turned to me to help them resolve. The irony of this was too obvious to ignore, and my hypocrisy only added to the pain I was already experiencing. 

Everything changed when I learned about Jean Couch, who taught something she called "Balance"—based on the work of her mentor, Noelle Perez of Paris. On my first trip to meet Jean in California, she guided me to rediscover a profound peace that had remained mysteriously inaccessible to me for many years. Thus began a succession of trips to California to study with Jean whenever I was able.

What I learned changed everything I thought I knew about how our bodies work.

For years, I had followed along with our fitness culture's core belief: stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak ones. This unquestioned approach is now firmly entrenched as a national pastime, even as countless people injure themselves while applying these goals to why and how they exercise. 'Exercise' provides a boatload of benefits, but HOW we exercise (or move our bodies) determines the benefits that matter in the long run.

Jean introduced me to the concept of a “balanced” center within each of us that doesn't rely solely on 'developed' muscles to do the heavy lifting (it's a pun . . .) but on a true musculoskeletal partnership between underlying structural alignment and elastic muscles that uphold our natural human design.

After my children were grown, I traveled to faraway places where I witnessed people effortlessly carrying stunningly heavy loads on their heads. A new realization struck like a shockwave: these people were able to carry such immense weight because it was borne by and distributed through aligned bones, while elastic muscles moved their bones without unnecessary effort or strain. 

Human uprightness follows the same laws of physics that govern the construction of buildings (and everything else in our world). When our bones align along the ‘plumb line’ or vertical axis—the way posts and studs in a house or skyscraper do—gravity's forces (and a heavy load on one's head) are distributed directly through them. This is the precise alignment healthy babies and toddlers discover all on their own when they figure out how to sit up, stand, and walk.

Here's the revolutionary takeaway of all this: structural alignment determines whether muscles (which are attached to our bones via tendons) are tight, weak, or comfortably elastic. 

We live in a muscle-centric society obsessed with building strength to "hold ourselves up" against a modern-day epidemic of structural collapse. But what if this approach is backwards? What if our skeleton's primary job is to provide structural support by providing an underlying framework that allows muscles to be elastic and pain-free, and to move our bones with ease?

This difference is profound. Instead of feeling strong OR relaxed, you experience both simultaneously. Instead of flexible OR stable, you experience integrated ease. Instead of cycling between intense effort that's followed by exhaustion and recovery, you enjoy enduring, effortless vitality—all the time.

Millions of people in the world continue to move through their lives enjoying natural strength and relaxed ease. They're far less likely to be found in modern, technologically advanced places in the world, and, tragically, their numbers are shrinking rapidly as technology expands its reach into remote corners of the world. 

Natural alignment is our innate human state.

Once lost (usually early in life), it can only be regained from the inside out when you consciously choose to focus your attention on your physical self. When I first learned this, I hoped to quickly master the few simple rules and soon be able to return to autopilot, without having to "pay attention to myself" like this. It didn’t take long for me to discover that autopilot is not an option! 😂 

But here's the silver lining: Natural alignment is a moment-by-moment state of embodied presence—an ongoing awareness of BEING a body rather than just having a body you pay attention to when it hurts.

To begin, you start by learning simple rules of alignment to apply as often as you can remember: while sitting, standing, bending, walking, lifting, carrying, lying down, and such. You'll forget often at first, and then you'll remember, forget and remember, again and again, until gradually you won't think about it as much—until you forget again. Such is the way of mindfulness!

Mindfulness and alignment, it turns out, are perfect partners, as each practice enhances and builds upon the other.

The transformation is a big one!

Over thirty years later, after writing several books on this subject, teaching thousands of people via classes and workshops, and creating online courses, I’ve never tired of witnessing people shed years of discomfort and overexertion when they reclaim the fluid, comfortable movement that is every human's birthright.

Today at 78, I move with more ease and flexibility than I did in my 20s, 30s, or 40s—not because I exercise or stretch a lot, but because I learned how to move and work with my body's design instead of against it.

This is what I want to share with you: not just relief from stiffness or pain that is available to you when you learn how to be supported by your bones, but the complete transformation in how you experience living in a far more relaxed and comfortable body that defines not just how you feel today, but how you will age tomorrow. You won't want to delay learning to apply this to yourself, as 'unwinding' years of misalignment and tension can be more intensive and challenging as the years pass.

Once you learn the easy-to-follow rules, your journey moves from struggle to ease, from muscle compensation to bone-deep strength, from holding yourself together with muscle tension to experiencing the easeful, natural strength that resides within you. Once you experience the aligned support of your bones, you discover that it's now finally safe to relax fully—without collapsing.

Your body remembers this wisdom. It's waiting for you to come home to yourself.

JOIN the FREE Workshop!

3  Secrets to Finding Freedom from 

Chronic Stiffness and Pain 

                                                    This FREE pre-recorded event                                                       replays  every 15 minutes.

     Sign up when you're ready to jump in, and the link will be immediately emailed to you. It's FREE!

Put yourself in charge of how you feel!

 Learn what healthy babies and toddlers discover

            on their own before our innate design is forgotten.

                                Books and Sitting Wedges to Support                             Your Alignment Journey

Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living

The Practice of Mindful Alignment

"Never before in the world of fitness has there been a more readable, ground-breaking, or seminal book than Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living. Through this revolutionary book, Kathleen Porter is about to rock your world!"

Jean Couch, Founder and Director of the Balance Center;  Co-author of The Runner's Yoga Book

Healthy Posture for Babies and Children

 Tools for Helping Children to Sit, Stand and Walk Naturally

"Human beings of every age can benefit from this book. Our eyes marvel at Porter’s outstanding photos, as our bodies adjust, relax, and align with these easy-to-use tools. Healthy Posture for Babies and Children is a treasure—beautiful, practical, and inspiring." 

Sonia Story, Creator of Brains and Sensory  Foundations                                                                              

Sorry to say . . . 

Due to cost-cutting measures, Inner Traditions, the publisher of Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living ,  now prints this book in black and white. Regrettably, this has greatly diminished the impact of the many beautiful and instructive color photographs and illustrations. 
                                         

      I recommend:

• The Kindle version viewed on a color screen (iPad or computer) if possible; or

• A used copy of the original color print edition via online bookstore; or

• The B&W printed edition, which is still far better than not reading this book at all!  ; )

 The Little Cushion that Does Big Things

Small enough to take along in your bag, The Wedge can be used in almost every sitting situation—in a chair, on the floor, in your car,
at a ball game, at the movies, on a plane—and, of course, while
working at a computer.

Filled with recycled rubber sand (regular Wedges) or buckwheat hulls
(our more light-weight Travel Wedges), these nifty cushions help keep your pelvis parked at its optimal natural angle for comfortable sitting.

A Wedge also makes a perfect gift for anyone who sits.  🤣