Webster's New World Dictionary defines gravity as "the pull on all bodies in the earth's sphere toward the earth's center." The earth's gravitational field is the most potent physical force that the human body has to deal with. Although most people realize this tremendous force exists, they somehow believe they are immune to it! Gravity's constant effect on any soft, pliable mass is to make it a formless, chaotic and spherical unit. Since the body has a great deal of plasticity and is much broader at the top than at the base, it is greatly affected by gravity when imbalances exist.

Most bodies are in a state of imbalance. As we grow older, we often "shrink" in height and slowly lose flexibility. Our bones stay the same length and our muscles can still function, but the connective tissue is what changes the most.