What does "vintage" mean? Typically we think of "vintage" as being something that is antique. A couple definitions found in the dictionary are: harvest time and the year a great wine was made.
One thing to note is that you don't just decide that something is going to be vintage. It must withstand the test of time. It has to be an enjoyable car or an impressive piece of jewelry for many years in order to achieve the rightful claim of "vintage".
Many of you know about my own spinal condition and how it has several tilts and twists. At the end of long days of seeing patients, I try to "decompress" my spine as much as possible so I don't have issues in my tissues (soreness) the next day. Practicing what I preach (in addition to getting my spine checked every couple weeks by a chiropractor friend), I would often do a certain "stretch" or pose where I am down on all fours, inducing both extension of my mid-back and retraction of my shoulders.
And then it occurred to me...
I thought "what if I could make some sort of supportive device to help me do this? What if I could have gravity help me out a little bit and I could REALLy relax".
Well I had these supports made, and I liked it! I then thought that my patients could benefit...especially the ones who I've recommended this certain "pose" for home self-care - yet they didn't stick to it simply because it hurt their shoulders or wrists to be on all fours in order to get the desired effect.
Then I thought about the other main home supportive care positions/poses/stretches I've recommended over the years. I realized these were "vintage" in that they're effective and I've been recommending them for a long time. I also realized that I could take the supportive foam pieces that I was using for myself, modify the SHAPE, FIRMNESS and POSITIONING on the body and apply these supports to the other home care exercises.
Not only were we able to make it more comfortable, but it actually seems to make these positions more effective!
We're still working on the site for it but it is called "The Posture Decompression System" and it is designed to help with back pain and help to reverse some of the deformities that occur in the spine after having been misaligned for so long.
Next week, we'll talk about something else that makes certain things "vintage", that being the cool story that goes along with it. There are unique, memorable and maybe even slightly humorous names that go along with each of the 4 positions in The Posture Decompression System. More on that next week!!