The Necessity of The Left AIC of the Postural Restoration Institute

We MUST have a Left AIC. The very principles of nature, of physics, of movement require that we have a Left AIC.

This is why sometimes a little bit of unlearning is required, particularly for those who have come to believe the Left AIC is a negative thing.

A Left AIC isn’t a bad thing. It’s not the cause of pain. It’s not leading to poor movement. It’s not something you can fix, or something you can stop having.

You will always, always, until the day you stop moving and breathing, have a Left AIC.

“What? What do you mean?? - I thought fixing my Left AIC was the answer to my problems”

Unfortunately no, it’s not that simple - but hang in there with me and I’ll explain why. To help illustrate this, let’s change the wording a little bit.

You will always, always be asymmetrical. You will breathe in a little more with one side, and breathe out a little more with the other. One side you will compress more, one side you will expand more. One side you will load more, one side you will propel more. One side will be more stance phase of gait and one side will be more swing phase of gait. One side is higher pressure one side is lower pressure. One side is higher velocity one side is lower velocity.

You have two sides and they are fundamentally different. They are not the same in role, function or capabilities, and so for this reason you will always be asymmetrical, and, in essence, the Left AIC describes just this - the normal asymmetry that we all have.

Let’s take a champion athlete, the best of the best. He’s fluid, agile, strong. No pain, no injuries. Perfect movement, strong body.

He is a Left AIC. He MUST be a Left AIC. The reason our athlete can be all these things is because he has a good amount of asymmetry - the right amount to produce high quality movement. He can rotate his pelvis side to side, counter-rotate his rib cage side to side. Expand and compress on both sides and front to back. Increase tension and decrease tension. He has a good excursion of movement from front to back and side to side. Most importantly, he can breathe in and out with both sides because he can open and close both diaphragms sufficiently. Not at all to the same degree side-to-side, but the right amount - the right level of asymmetry - to move fluidly and with integrity.

So when we see a breakdown in movement capabilities and the presence of pain and injuries, the precursor is not a Left AIC, but rather an exaggerated asymmetry that does not allow a body to sufficiently flow through a good excursion of movement and breathing from side to side. Pain and injuries come from a lack of variability in movement and structure - someone who has become rigid and stuck in a certain way of moving. They do not come as a result of loading the left side less than the right (as that’s inevitable), but rather in not loading the left side sufficiently at all.

If one compresses and compresses through their right side, and never shifts over to the left to load on that side, then some muscles will always remain tense and, over time, this person will lose rotation, lose counter rotation and their movement will break down.

But this is now no longer talking about a Left AIC. We’re now talking about an exaggerated asymmetry due to breathing patterns, movement, loading, lifestyles, trauma (both physical and mental), and the interplay of these elements.

So no you will never be able to load through the left side like you can the right, and you’ll never be able to fully shift your weight over to the left side to the same degree as the right side. But that’s okay. It opens you up to all the benefits of having an open and free left side.

And here lies the key.

While they are not the same in function or capability, the left and right sides work synergistically together to create dynamic, fluid, and strong movement - movement which wouldn’t be possible if we were symmetrical. The left and right side work as a team and in doing so you get the best of both worlds.

So rather than asking “how can I fix my Left AIC?” instead think about asking “how can I increase the variability and cooperation between the left and right sides of my body to increase the quality of my movement and the integrity of my physical structure?”

In my estimation, pursuing the answer to that question will lead to far greater outcomes for you