Tensegrity Model - and how it relates to all facets of life


Image result for tensegrity

I have been seeing a massage therapist this year pretty regularly this part year (by far the best RMT I have ever been to but that is besides the point). After my last therapy, she was talking about the Tensegrity Model with respect to the way that it works and moves.
So, I checked it out - and basically it is this...
Tensegrity Model "is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially" [1]

Apparently the easiest way to understand it is to get a model and hold it in your hand - which I can say is true ... you can then can watch the properties of the model for yourself. But the basis of it is that the model holds it shape as long as all the strings are intact. cut or over-stretch  a string (just one) and the shape collapses - but with each one holding at the perfect tension and angle - this model hold its miraculous yes manipulable shape.

"Tensegrity’s unique features
Playing with these models reveals several unique features: Put strain into a tensegrity structure and the deformation will get distributed all over the structure. Continuous compression structures like buildings do not show this property, but bodies do. Load one corner of a building with a huge amount of snow, and that corner might collapse, leaving the rest of building intact. Load a tensegrity, and it will distribute the strain around the whole structure. Ergo: Where will a strained compression structure break? where the strain is greatest. Where will a tensegrity structure break under strain? at its weakest point." [2]
Tensegrity

The concept can work in so many applications - it is by it's own right - a science toy - but is used in such applications as Rolfing, or  massage therapy (mainly therapies that deal with Fascia especially) to help explain how this principle relates to the body (more specifically bones and fascia).

Then I got to thinking about how it really is a model for all things in life...

The mind/body relationship, friendships, marriages, business', etc.

Each string and bar have specific roles. As you move the bars - the strings adapt to help keep the integrity intact.  You can move things around a bit and it will bounce back and it will still hold it's integrity and shape - however, move them to much or pull to hard and over-stretch, you may have a misshapen model that needs to be fixed.  Furthermore, the minute you cut one of the strings from the bar - you can loose everything structurally that was holding it all together.

For instance, in a business - you have an owner(s), employees, tasks, and responsibilities. if each stick is a task or responsibility and each string is a person that works there - you can see how this model can be helpful. For example -  If you remove a person completely - the structural integrity is gone and needs to be rebuilt and a replacement needs to feel that void quickly. If you have too many people pulling at the same string, you change the shape of the model, which can cause to much strain if pulled to hard. If you don't have enough people pulling their weight in another area that it can get weak and the strain is felt on the other strings. ... if you pull to hard, or to far into one direction - than eventually something will snap and collapse the whole system.
You can say these things for the way we interact with our friends, spouse's, significant others as well....

However -  it can also be a great representation of how our body and mind interact with each other and the outside world. There always needs to be balance -- making sure that we don't have to much strain put on any one particular area without there being consequences.- and at some point breaking something that can lead to the collapse that is inevitable. We need balance, or we can collapse our whole system.
Which is just one more reminder of how it is healthy to make sure we take care of all parts and not overdo it in any particular area of life - our body, our mind, our relationships, our business'.

Big Picture - it can be broken down as this.... Not straining, pushing, or pulling to hard in certain areas allows more space and with more space and freedom for movement there is more structural integrity throughout the whole  - to move how things were meant to move - fluid and graceful and therefore the integrity of the entity as a whole is much more sound!

 I may expand on this at a later date - as my mind keeps wrapping around it in different ways - but this post just came out rather quickly!

ac

#changetheworldwithme

Resources:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity  - information from Wikipedia
[2] https://www.anatomytrains.com/fascia/tensegrity/  - quotation from Anatomy Trains Website







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