The Floating Bones Journal
The physics of our musculoskeletal system, structural health, and the profound value of body/mind work.
01
2009
If you wanted to explore Mars, what kind of bridge would you take with you? How would you build the bridges? How would you make sure the bridge will work for a variety of terrain? Since you must carry the bridge all the way to Mars, it must be small, light, and highly reliable. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich have a wonderful answer: a tensegrity truss.
BRIDGING MARS from Zoran Novacki on Vimeo.
Tensegrity masts are also used for deploying a variety of instrumentation and solar panels on orbiting satellites. The tensile network is bearing the weight of the structure; by increasing the tension, the mast deploys. It’s a remarkably material-efficient way to “reach out” with structure. Tensegrity masts can even teach us how to reach out more effectively with our arms and legs.
17
2009
What is graceful movement? How do everyday things move gracefully, and what can we learn to bring grace to our own movement? Consider three examples:
Transmission Lines
Power Transmission Lines are used to distribute electrical power from generation facilities to homes and businesses. They provide a redundant network for power distribution; everyone should get reliable power even if parts of the transmission line network are temporarily shut down.
In the US, overhead transmission lines come in sets of three, and they usually deliver three phase power. The three power cables are held at uniform tension, and the distance between the three cables is precisely maintained throughout the entire transmission network.
Wind can cause the individual cables to vibrate; those vibrations can wear the cables out much faster. Cables moving individually could also create electrical noise and lower the quality of power in the grid.
Engineers use Stockbridge dampers to control mechanical vibrations on each segment of the cable. In this picture, there are a total of eight stockbridge dampers visible. These dampers are “tuned” to optimally absorb the particular kinds of wind-induced vibrations that the cables encounter.
These dampers are a classic loosely-coupled design; it’s also a bit counterintuitive that such a small widget could effectively control the vibrations on a long length of cable, but they do the job. These dampers are ubiquitous on transmission lines, but they were invisible to me until I started researching damping systems. Next time you’re near a transmission line, look for the Stockbridge dampers. And watch how the transmission lines move so … gracefully.
22
2009
Here’s the basics of what I’ve learned over the last five years or so boiled down to eight principles. The list is crafted in such a way that both body/mind and technical types should be OK with the language.
Part 1: Structure
1. The best way to describe the relationship between the bones is a floating relationship.
2. The resiliency of our body is something we can consciously and deliberately alter over time.
3. The most important strength is the strength of the system as a whole.
4. Our superficial and deep muscles play fundamentally different roles.
Part 2: Body/Mind
5a. Stacking-based imagery is pervasive in our culture; such imagery literally holds us down.
5b. By carefully observing ourselves and nature, it is possible to realize a different metaphor: floating compression.
6. There is a brilliance to our bodies that is largely unexplored.
7. Body/mind disciplines are a systemic means of exploring the world of floating compression that somehow, strangely, we have forgotten.
8. A pattern of movement that strategically alters the tension in our bodies is a body/mind discipline.
(Example of #5a: a skeleton is used to represent our musculoskeletal structure, but where are the tensile elements?)
02
2009
Tensional integrity is a very recent concept for our civilization. In A Fuller Explanation, Amy Edmondson talks about its origins:
In the summers of 1947 and 1948, Fuller taught at Black Mountain College, and spoke constantly of “tensional integrity”. Universe seems to rely on continuous tension to embrace islanded compression elements, he mused; we must find a way to model this structural principle. Much to his delight, a student and later well-known sculptor, Kenneth Snelson, provided the answer. He presented his discovery to Fuller: a small structure consisting of three separated struts held rigidly in place with a few strings.
You can see an image of Snelson’s early sculptures here. For more images from this remarkable sculptor, look at his website.
Most of us haven’t had an opportunity to play with a tensegrity; having one in hand helps tremendously to understand them. Fortunately, you can buy one of these at your local toy store or from Amazon.com: it’s called a Skwish Toy. Get a Skwish! Body/mind workers: get several of these toys; figure out ways to use them in your classes. Better yet, get one of the medical-grade models from Tom Flemons.
03
2009
Computer programming has changed tremendously over the last two decades, but some ideas have stood the test of time. In Object Oriented Analysis and Design, first published in 1990, software architect Grady Booch noted:
“Modularity is the property of a system that has been decomposed into a set of cohesive and loosely coupled modules.”
Today, Booch’s ideas of loosely coupled design are embraced by programmers world-wide. In well-designed computer programs, each module does a small number of things well. There are specific and well-defined ways that a module talks with other modules. Modules are functionally independent; changes to one module will not affect other modules.
Contrast this with a tightly coupled machine. Parts in a tightly coupled machine are designed to run “like clockwork”. All the parts move in lock-step with each other.
A 19th century orrery: a model of our solar system with all its parts moving “like clockwork”.
There are problems designing programs with a tightly coupled design:
• The modules are large or everything is in one huge module.
• Changes to one module can change the behavior of other modules in unpredictable and undesired ways.
• As the computer program grows, it becomes increasingly difficult or impossible to have it behave correctly.
Our musculoskeletal structure is loosely coupled. Our bones don’t touch; there are no levers or fulcrums. We’re designed to move in a smooth and flowing fashion; we don’t move like a clock or any other tightly coupled machine.
If we are loosely coupled, why don’t we consistently move that way? And what does this have to do with Feldenkrais?
21
2007
Floating compression models are a funny thing. While they were invented in the late 1940s, they never ever caught the fancy of the public–or even science and engineering communities. Buckminster Fuller studied and wrote about these models extensively, but his studies of the geodesic dome were far more popular. Only in the decade have more than a few pioneers ever considered our bodies as a tensile network of floating bones. Even though Scientific American had an article about tensegrity back in 1998, the idea still hasn’t caught on.
In short, the body/mind workers here are learning one of the most geeked-out secrets of the 20th Century. And many of you know it far better than I do: you know this stuff in your bones.
There are vast dividends in working with this high-tech crowd into your classes and studios. These people are fascinated by technology. When they begin to realize the magic of controlling the tensional networks in their bodies, they can bring a fierce kind of loyalty to you and your studio. They’ll bring a special kind of enthusiasm to class, and they’ll think and discuss your teaching with their friends.
The trick is to be ready when they start to have questions.
11
2007
Welcome to the Floating Bones Journal! This blog/newsletter is about the relationship between floating compression models (also known as tensional integrity or tensegrity models) and our musculoskeletal anatomy.
We will also look at the link between floating compression and body/mind activities (e.g., Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais, T’ai Chi, Martial Arts, Alexander Technique, Massage, Structural Integration, etc.). We’ll explore new ways to think about body/mind disciplines, including a new definition of this vast field of exploration, development and play. This newsletter is designed for three different groups:
- Body/mind instructors who desire to bring this kind of thinking/language to their practice. As a rule of thumb, experienced body/mind instructors already have a strong intuitive grasp of floating compression, although they don’t currently discuss these concepts with their clients.
- Body/mind enthusiasts who wish to understand the common-sense math and physics behind these disciplines.
- Scientists and engineers who are interested floating compression models: material-efficient structures that are highly resilient, flexible, and mobile.
Most weeks, there will be multiple new entries to the Journal at www.FloatingBones.com . In the next few days, we’ll have a sign-up form for an e-mail that summarizes the new entries that week.
If you know or work with the leaders or pioneers of particular body/mind disciplines who are interested participating in this discussion, please have them get in touch with the Journal.
Please ask questions! While I have a variety of topics to talk about, I’m far more interested in discussing what you want to learn.
I’ll end by telling you the first principle of Floating Bones:
The bones float—whether we believe it or not.