Under conditions of hypermodernity, sedentary life predominates over nomadic life, and our asses suffer as a consequence.
During hypermodernity, both production and consumption are predominantly cognitive or intellectual in nature rather than physical or manual, and they are increasingly mediated by the use of “computer terminals” (broadly construed, which includes your smart phone). Increasingly much of our social and business interactions happen on the internet or happen because of the internet, and this diminishes the use of our bodies to the absolute minimum required to use the terminal.
One of the consequences of this, arguably terminal, condition of being locked onto the computer terminal is gluteal amnesia, or atrophy and inhibited function of the glute muscles due to their chronic underutilization. The glutes, especially the gluteus maximus — the largest muscle on the human body — are key components of the human body’s posterior chain (which refers to a grouping of muscles that runs along the entire back of the body from the neck down to the calves), which is responsible for many of the body’s fundamental movements like walking and running but also for just standing upright with stability, balance and proper posture. It is also the chain of muscles responsible for most of the force and power that is generated by our bodies, which is particularly at play during explosive movements like sprinting, jumping, and lifting. When the glutes are weak due to gluteal amnesia, the posterior chain itself suffers due to its dependence on the glutes, which gives rise to many, both minor and major, complications that impact and inhibit one’s overall health, mobility, and life quality.
Gluteal amnesia is a “real metaphor” (the concept of “real metaphor” is quite apt for hypermodern conditions, in which the distinction between the literal and figural finally breaks down) for the fact that the increased displacement of material life in favor of virtual realities makes us disconnected from the real basis or ground of our existence. While the glutes are not the only reason for why we are able to stand upright in peaceful repose and accomplish explosive, dynamic movements with immense power, their centrality to the body’s overall structural integrity and their role in the posterior chain makes them a dominant condition in many of our ordinary, everyday and extraordinary, Olympian bodily actions— both in stillness and in movement.
Neglect and atrophy of the glutes reflects a neglect and atrophy of the real conditions of life and our relations with each other — an ignorance of the basis of our existence. Acknowledging this neglect is the first step towards restoring the condition to better health, and even consciously directing its growth and development on a self-exceeding path of creative advance — an awakening of the basis of our existence. Wake your ass up!
Holopoiesis 