People Watching and Prime Ministers
Maureen Abson, Managing Consultant with ThinkTree and owner of Fusion Massage, loves watching people
As a massage therapist, do you people watch? I do all the time, not in a creepy or geeky way – but in a “wow your neck must be tight”, “why can that person only lift their arm part way up”, “hmm, that person’s gait is off” or even “they just look so stressed they could really do with an hour on the table”.
I started doing this on trains and then in coffee shops but often it’s on tv. Usually with politicians.
Party politics set aside, let’s look at the last few PM’s – there’s quite a few to choose from..
Liz Truss – if you look at old photos of Liz Truss her shoulders were fairly balanced and her head sat straight on her shoulders. Most of us when we are feeling stressed pull our shoulders up, not Liz – maybe this is part of ministerial body language training – she doesn’t hunch, instead photographs of her as PM show shoulders pulled quite far down and head forward so her shoulders look very rounded and her neck elongated. I’m making no judgements on her politics here – but an hour with Liz on the massage table and I’d hope to see her head sitting further back on shoulders that actually come up a little as the tension in her back and chest is released and she relaxed into a more natural pose, the current pose is surely going to give her neck pain as she ages.
Boris – well it’s hard to know if Boris holds much tension or it just slides off like political opponents do, or did. But here is a man who hunches, shoulders forward, head forward – over-extended muscles in the upper back and shortened one’s front of shoulders and chest, as a practitioner I’d be wanting to get those shoulders back and down so that he looks like he is standing up straight, his suits might fit better then too!
Rishi – at the time of writing he is the current PM but this being 2022, who knows by the time this goes to press next week. Rishi leads with his head. When he talks, he leans into people, but not with his whole body, just with his head. When he strides out purposefully, his head goes before his body like it’s leading the way, but when he is relaxed in his walking, he slouches slightly – so again I’d be wanting to do that upper shoulders, back of neck work so he looks a little less earnest and a little more just in charge.
Keir – not a PM but for the sake of some political balance – I suspect Keir Starmer has lower back problems, he leans very slightly backwards as he stands and, in some photographs, even as he walks. Perhaps this is a gait acquired in court from his lawyer and barrister days, not turning your back on a judge, making sure your wig doesn’t fall off. I need to study more barristers to know if it’s a general rule, but just have a look next time he is on tv and see what you think.
Now the one I really want to a see before and after of is Matt Hancock – particularly the ‘before the jungle’ and ‘after the jungle’ pictures – and the during while he is eating Witchetty grubs and kangaroo penis… I’m not saying that I’m a ‘Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ has their own back stage massage therapist but if they did, I might just be tempted to apply.
