The Buckets Method: How to Improve Movement Quality

How do the Tensegrity Model and the "Buckets" system support each other?

What is the tensegrity model?

Tensegrity (tension + integrity) describes structures where the rigid parts don't press directly on each other. Instead, they're held in place by a continuous network of tension. Change the tension on one line and the whole structure shifts.

It's a useful way to picture your body. Your bones are the rigid parts, and your muscles, fascia and connective tissue are the tension network holding them in relation to each other. That's why tension in one area so often shows up as pain somewhere else.

The Buckets method is how we put that idea into practice: stack the biggest pieces first, and the tension across the whole system evens out.

The axial skeleton: your body's foundation

Human anatomy is built around an "axial" skeleton, which is the skull, spine, ribcage and pelvis. The shoulders at the ribcage and the hips at the pelvis are the main movement centers for the limbs, arms and legs.

Proximal stability supports distal mobility

There's this ideology of "proximal stability will support distal mobility". In layman's terms, the more we can connect the ribcage and the pelvis in a balanced, stacked manner, the better all the limbs will move and function. Our interpretation of that is to cue it as imagining the ribcage and pelvis, as buckets that are full of water, being stacked on top of each other.

Here is some visual help for your imagination.

Why stacking the buckets works

This serves to stabilize the spine and even out the tension running across between the largest components of the axial skeleton, freeing the limbs from unnecessary load upon them simply by creating a stable base, from which they can create stable movement. It is also this practice/positioning that take any kinks out of the joint movement when it comes to the limbs, by creating "slack" across the chains of tension.

It is not an end-all solution, but an amazing starting point when we are chasing joint centration, optimal muscular recruitment and improved movement quality.

Signs your buckets aren't stacked

Most people have a default that tips one bucket off the other. Common ones we see:

• Ribs flared forward, with the lower back arching to compensate

• Ribcage rounded down toward the pelvis, with the upper back and shoulders rounding forward

• Pelvis tipped forward or tucked under

• Pelvis shifted or rotated to one side, so you stand heavier on one leg

Each of these "spills water" , in this case tension somewhere, usually onto the lower back, neck or shoulders.

How to stack your buckets

Try this standing, then seated, then on all fours:

1. Let your pelvis settle level, neither tipped forward nor tucked under. Picture a bucket full of water that you don't want to spill.

2. Exhale fully and let your ribs come down so your ribcage sits directly over your pelvis.

3. Keep that stack and breathe in, letting your ribcage expand to the sides and back rather than flaring forward.

4. Hold for a few slow breaths, then move your arms or legs without letting either bucket tip.

It will feel strange at first if your default is far from stacked. That's normal. Practice in short doses, often, and it becomes your new starting point.

From there, the same three-step approach applies: ALiGN Release to free up the tissues holding you out of position, ALiGN Reposition to rebuild control of your ribcage and pelvis, and ALiGN Reengage to strengthen the stack under load.

The foundation for everything else

This principle and practice serve as the foundation, upon which we stack all the other building blocks. Balancing the lines of load/meridians of activation/trains of tension. Many methodologies have covered and practiced this, hence all the various names for it but at the end of the day, it's all the same thing put into different words.

See it applied to real joints in how posture affects joint pain, how to fix shoulder pain and how to fix lower back pain. Ready to put it into practice? Work with us.

This article is for education and isn't a substitute for an individual assessment. If you're in pain, get checked by a qualified professional.