Ask a fish, “How’s the water?” The fish replies, “What water?”  

The question is, if land life emerged from the sea, imagine what that evolutionary step might look like when humans become fully acclimatized to their environment of gravity? 

“We don't know who discovered water, but we know it wasn't the fish.”

 

“One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in.” 

― Marshall McLuhan

 The great man once again makes a great point. You recall, The medium is the message. 

Fish indeed don’t know about their medium: water. As such. Definitely not in an intellectual, conceptual way —in the way, for example, we humans know about gravity; it’s, if you will, our environmental medium. 

The creatures of the sea, however, do seem to have adapted quite thoroughly to their aqueous home. They clearly have a proprioceptive relationship to water even though they may not be aware of it, as such. 

Unlike the fish we have the ability to differentiate the world we inhabit. Though we still don’t know what gravity is in the full scientific sense, we do have knowledge about its workings. Every architect and building trades worker knows that things have to be put together at their center “plumb and square”; in ordinary terms, straight and level. It doesn’t take long before the child knows the blocks have to be stacked up nicely in a straight line in order to stay upright in a tall stack. 

From birth, humans too, have a proprioceptive relationship to their medium, the field of gravity. In our infant years the pull of gravity may not be recognized as such, but it certainly factors into our first attempts to sit up and stand up. Then on throughout our lives as a constant factor  in all our movements and designs. 

But, in a very real sense the creatures of the sea have something to teach us. We can plainly see, whatever we may have to say about what they know, the swimming things know how to get around in their habitat. On the other hand, if you look at humans with even a simple textbook understanding of anatomical design and the laws of physics you will plainly see that we walking folk are not anywhere near our full potential to be adapted to the dictates of gravity. 

The average human being manifests only a rough approximation of uprightness in the makeup of their body that we know is possible (essential?) from anatomy and physics. Sure, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a charming sight, but a similar situation in the culture of humans is so commonplace it goes unnoticed.

What price do we pay for not noticing? In this instance, we are discussing the way gravity works on the human body. Plumb and square is the core design for every structure on earth; perhaps it’s time for us to recognize the dictates of gravity, not just as a concept, but as a percept. Something to be inculcated into the fabric of our tissues. Straight and level.

The simplest way is to start using your body correctly. The pattern will adjust itself accordingly. For personalized assistance, Rolf Structural Integration is definitive and peerless. 

 

 

 

 

 

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