The Vance Stance [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Vance Bonner Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1993

Relieve pain. Enhance flexibility. Halt the eroding effects of aging. Dr. Vance Bonner has spent two decades teaching body mechanics, kinesiology, and exercise therapy.

The Vance Stance is every reader's private seminar with Dr. Bonner. Beginning with simple self-diagnosis, here is a step-by-step, joint-by-joint series of sessions and stretching exercises that ease the body back to its original design so that a person can stand and move in balanced alignment, working with gravity instead of against it. Soon back pain disappears, foot problems such as hammer toes are eliminated, stress is reduced. And ultimately, one discovers the next best thing to the fountain of youth: how to keep the body trouble-free after the age of 30. Selection of the Literary Guild and Health Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

WHY YOU SHOULD STAND UP STRAIGHT

Teaching Balanced Alignment, a way of positioning yourself in space that enables you to move with more grace and power, Vance Bonner shows you how to work with gravity instead of against it to reshape your body and reverse the restricting postural habits of a lifetime.

The Vance Stance and its program of Thirty-Four Movements will eliminate, step-by-step, the causes of chronic joint and muscle pain while greatly increasing your body-Ys flexibility. With knees unlocked, ankles unfrozen, and spine fully lengthened, you will experience a dramatic new sense of limberness, energy, and overall well-being.

The Program

,h Strengthens Weak Muscles and Releases Those That Are Tight

,h Takes as Little as 15 Minutes a Day, Three Times a Week

,h Requires No Special Equipment, Space or Accessories

,h Identifies and Corrects Specific Problems for Athletes, Seniors, Weekend Warriors, and More

About the Author

Vance Bonner received a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from Columbia Pacific University. She has been teaching the body alignment workshop she developed for the past 31 years. She has conducted seminars in The Bonner System of Structural Reprogramming internationally and has certified teachers in her method of body alignment therapy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 12, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156305311X
• ISBN-13: 978-1563053115
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful and realistic, September 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vance Stance (Paperback)

I've had this book for several years. I did the program faithfully several years ago when I had a lot of spare time on my hands, but then stopped once my husband and I were living in the same city again (but that's another story...).

Anyway, several years and two small children later, here I am with back pain, neck pain, knee pain. I remembered this book and dug it out of the bookshelf. After reviewing the concepts and the 34 exercises, I did just 3 of the 34 exercises. I know it sounds unbelievable, but just after doing those three, my body felt different. It felt more like NOTHING than ever before. And believe me, if you've got back and neck pain, feeling NOTHING is where it's at!

I woke up the next morning and still felt NOTHING. Went through that day quite conscious of the difference in my posture and movements. Decided that I need to practice this method regularly, even if it's just 15 minutes a day, or on those really crazy, busy days, just 5 minutes to do 3 exercises.

And that's where this book fits reality. Although 34 exercises sounds like A LOT (and it is!), Bonner says that you don't have to do all of them at once. She suggests that you try them all to find out where you need work, but you can put your own set of exercises together to put the focus on where YOU need help. She identifies which exercises are helpful for certain problems or certain activities that you are involved in.

It was easy for me to pinpoint a few exercises that I need to do faithfully and another handful that are helpful to sprinkle in occasionally. If I had even more time, I'd do more exercises. But doing something is better than nothing...try it and I think you'll agree.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very user-friendly format of outstanding concepts/exercises, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vance Stance (Paperback)

I have spent nearly 20 years researching and studying various forms of self-care type body-mind awareness techniques and modalites. I had been searching for one that made sense, produced obvious results, and would allow the student to eventually be independent (or at least not fully dependent) of or on the teacher and still get results. Much to my delight, I found all that and more with The Bonner System of Structural Reprograming! The book is written in a very friendly and encouraging tone, with clear photographs and instructions. An added bonus are the many true-life accounts of some of her actual students. I highly recommend it for preventative self-care as well as injury or surgery recovery, or if you are just plain tired of your chronic pain. A great investment in yourself! A good book to have on hand even if you don't think you need it now. (I recognized this as such extraordinary work that I sought out Dr. Bonner and became trained by her to do this work myself!)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy to follow manual., October 11, 1999

By 

Michelle (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vance Stance (Paperback)

Since I have started reading this book, I have been amazed by the changes in my body. I have only started the program and my chronic hip pain is already subsiding. The book doesn't waste time with long explanations and stories. Rather, it illustrates how an imbalanced posture can lead to stressed joints and back pain. I thought I understood what "good posture" was until I compared my own posture to her illustrations of bad posture. I am amazed that one slight adjustment can make such a difference. This book is by no means a replacement for medical care, but I highly recommend it as a manual for those who wish to discover more about the relationship between posture and chronic pain, and what they can do to correct it. Bonner provides a series of exercises that are easy to do and that don't require any special equipment. I think it is a "must read" for anyone who suffers from chronic back pain.