Posts Tagged ‘Feldenkrais’
August 24, 2010 – Lengthening the hamstrings
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on August 24th, 2010
The hamstrings are muscles on the back of the leg that extend down the leg to the knee. Participation of these muscles is key for comfortable sitting, standing, running and to assist in bending forward.
Try the following to gently lengthen the hamstrings:
• Stand on the floor, feel the weight into your legs. Walk around a little.
• Sit on the floor or your bed, your legs long.
• Place your hands on either side of your left leg, at the top of your pelvis. Your right hand will be on the inside of your leg, the left hand on the outside.
• Gently stroke your left leg with both hands, starting at the top of your pelvis. Feel that you are lengthening your leg down toward your feet.
• Feel your head and back bend as your reach down your leg. Exhale as you move your hands down your leg. Notice what happens behind each knee as you move down your leg.
• When you reach down as far as you can, lift your hands and come back to the upright sitting position.
• Repeat several times, breathing easily and gently. Feel that you are giving your leg a massage.
• Pause and compare the feeling in each leg and how they rest on the floor or bed.
• Gently stand up and notice the feeling in each leg and foot. Slowly walk around. Does one leg feel stronger, more supportive? Does one foot strike the ground differently than the other?
• Repeat with the right leg.
August 17, 2010 – Finding your Balance
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on August 17th, 2010
Maintaining a good sense of balance is important to staying oriented in space and for preventing tripping and falling.
In the following we explore movements of the ankles to help with balancing over the feet.
• Stand behind a chair, holding onto the back of the chair for support (don’t stand too close to the chair).
• Bring the feet together. Shift your weight a little to the left and right by tilting your whole body. Feel your body moving right and left as a unit. Sense the weight shifting to the outside edge of the left foot when shifting left. As you shift to the right feel the weight moving through the whole foot to the outside edge of the right foot.
• Move slowly and easily right and left. Relax your jaw and breathe easily.
• Rest in standing or walk around.
• Return to the chair with your feet together. Now tilt a little forward and back. Pay attention to the movement in the ankles and feel the pressure change from the heels through the middle of the foot to the balls of the feet.
• After a few movements begin to reduce the amplitude of the movement until you stop and sense that you have good support under your feet.
• Gradually remove your hands from the chair back and stand for a couple of moments and then walk around. Notice the sensations under your feet, the movement in your ankles and how you feel when walking.
There is evidence for the effectiveness of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes in improving balance and balance confidence. Anyone can benefit from maintaining good balance.
Try a class before the summer is over; there are two more weeks of summer classes. Click here to view our schedule. Fall classes begin on Sept 14.
July 20, 2010 – Pain free gardening
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on July 20th, 2010
Maintaining any position for too long while doing an activity can cause muscular tension.
When working in the garden we tend to bend down or kneel for long periods of time, absorbed in weeding, planting or pruning.
• Protect your back by changing positions, and activities, at least every 10 minutes. For example, kneel, sit, stand, and bend over; prune, dig and plant.
• Stand up every few minutes to take a break.
• In standing, gently bend your knees a little and feel your pelvis tuck downward. Gradually allow your knees to bend a bit deeper.
• Stay in this bent position and breathe gently, feeling your ribs expand out to the sides.
• Let your shoulders drop, your arms hang down and your neck lengthen.
• After a few moments, gradually straighten your knees without locking them.
• Walk around for a few moments before resuming gardening.
July 13, 2010 – Take it easy
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on July 13th, 2010
Often, without realizing it, we hold our breath while doing something challenging. This can increase tension in different areas of our body and can make what we are doing seem harder than it is.
Try something as simple as walking:
• Walk for a few minutes, outdoors if possible, at your normal pace.
• Continue walking but now hold your breath. Does your pace change? Does your lower back start to tense? Do you feel other areas of discomfort?
• Continue walking but consciously breathe gently, paying attention to expand your ribs out to the sides. Notice if you feel any difference in how your walk and in how your body feels.
• Try the same explorations while walking up stairs.
If you remember to breathe, your summer walks will be more pleasurable and you might be able to walk more.
July 7, 2010: Looking up and down with your spine
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on July 7th, 2010
The spine is composed of two concave arches – the cervical arch of the neck and the lumbar arch of the lower back. Engaging both when looking up and down is more effective and eases any neck strain.
• Sit on the forward part of a chair, your arms resting comfortably on your thighs, feet flat on the floor directly below your knees and shoulder width apart.
• Slowly raise your head and eyes to look toward the ceiling; as you look up let your lower back arch slightly and your belly protrude forward.
• Notice the point you can look up to without strain. Return to the starting position.
• As you repeat the movement try to initiate it from the lower back, the pelvis and the sit bones. The neck does not need to be an active participant but moves because it is part of the upper spine. Continue to breathe easily while exploring these movements.
• Pause in the starting position and then do the opposite movement – lower the head and look down; feel the middle back rounding and belly contracting. Repeat several times, returning to the starting position in between movements.
• Then try two variations. While you raise your head and arch your back look downward. The movement of your head and neck will be limited because your head and eyes are moving in opposite directions. Try to relax your eyes, neck and shoulders.
• Then lower your head and round your back while raising your eyes to look upward.
• Repeat the variations a few times and then rest.
• Finally, repeat the original movement – simultaneously raise your head and eyes to look up toward the ceiling while arching your back. Do you feel the middle and upper part of your back beginning to arch more easily? Can you see a little higher without strain?
• Sit for a moment before getting up. When you stand up what do you notice about your stature and where your visual horizon is?
.
June 22, 2010: Compute in comfort
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on June 22nd, 2010
Does this picture resonate with you? Do your shoulders and neck hurt if you work at the computer for more than a few minutes?
We can get so focused on the screen and on what we are doing that we don’t realize that our head starts to assume a “turtle neck” position, evoking the image of a shortened turtle’s neck protruding from its shell. This position, especially if prolonged, can contribute to neck and shoulder tension.
The following can help you sit with more support and thus help to organize your head and neck more comfortably:
• Sit in the front of your chair with your feet firmly on the floor. Ideally your knees are slightly lower than your hip joints.
• Close your eyes. Gently roll forward and back on your pelvis until you can feel you are sitting right on top of your sitting bones.
• As you move forward and back how does the shape of your spine change? How do your head and neck respond?
• As you come firmly onto your sitting bones, the weight going into the sitting bones will help your spine lengthen upward and your head to find its optimum place on top of the spine, allowing the neck to attain its natural length. This is because as weight goes down into the pelvis and sitting bones, an equal and opposite weight moves up allowing the spine to lengthen and head to assume a more natural position.
• When you are sitting comfortably, notice where your face is oriented and whether your chin tilts downward slightly. This also helps the neck to lengthen.
• Turn your head a little to each side and notice the freedom of movement in the head and neck.
Do you want to learn more about safer, more comfortable computing? Join us at our next workshop, Safer Computing, this Sunday June 27, 10 am – 1pm.
We will explore the conditions for health and easy movement in the shoulders, neck, arms and hands while working at the computer. For details and to register click here.
June 8, 2010: Getting small to become tall
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on June 8th, 2010
In #Feldenkrais classes we often do movements that activate the flexor muscles, those muscles that bend a joint forward. The effect is to create shortening in the joint or area being flexed. However, afterward the opposite areas lengthen and we often experience the sensation of being taller.
Explore this paradoxical relationship by trying the following:
• Stand on the floor with your feet hip width apart, arms hanging comfortably by your sides.
• Notice the feeling in your chest, the length of your arms as they touch the sides of your thighs, the pattern of your breathing.
• Very slowly allow yourself to sink downwards.
• Notice where you go when you don’t prevent yourself from collapsing; allow each part of yourself to surrender to the downward pull.
• At some point your eyes will start to look down toward the floor and bring your head down with them.
• Notice how your shoulders round forward, how your chest caves inward, how the knees start to bend.
• Slowly continue the passive sinking downward. Feel how your breath responds to this slow, passive surrender to the ground.
• At some point your body will begin to stop shortening and will spontaneously start to upright itself. Passively allow it to lengthen slowly area by area.
• When you stop moving upright notice if you are standing at a different height, if this new upright position is a new one for you. Resist the temptation to return to your familiar place.
• Stand for a few moments and notice how you feel generally and notice the weight in your feet, the space in your chest, how you are breathing.
• If you wish you can repeat the sequence.
• Repeat anytime you want a quick way to explore how to get tall by getting small.
June 1, 2010: Relaxing the eyes to relax the whole body
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on June 1st, 2010
If there is tension in and around our eyes, many movements and actions, particularly those involving turning, lifting or lowering the head, become harder.
To relax the eyes:
• Lie on your back and close your eyes.
• Rub your palms together (to warm them) and place them over your eyes.
• Cover your eye sockets with the heels of your hands and rest your fingers on your forehead. Your elbows will point to the ceiling.
• Relax your hands and elbows. Feel your shoulder blades resting close to surface you are lying on.
• Keep your eyes closed and covered. Feel the warmth of your hands on your eyes. Take a few moments to lie quietly and breathe normally.
• Notice what colour or colours you see.
• Can you see a black background? The blacker the background, the more relaxed your eyes are.
• Spend a few moments lying quietly with your eyes closed. Before you open your eyes, roll your head very slowly and gently a little bit right and then left.
• Gently open your eyes. Feel the sensation in your face, around your eyes, in your neck and notice how you are breathing.
• Take a few moments to slowly get up and return to your activities.
To explore more about relaxing the eyes join us at our next #Feldenkrais workshop, Sunday June 13, 10 am – 1pm. For details and to register click here.
Last Spring Workshop is on Sunday June 27, Safer computing
May 25, 2010 – Smoother Driving
Posted by Vita in Mindful Movement Tips on May 25th, 2010
In April we discussed how to optimize your seated position as a driver or passenger in the car. Please see archived post for April 13 to review that tip.
After you find your ideal position, consider how you can use your body for more comfortable and smooth driving.
• Specifically pay attention to how you make a turn, either onto a street or around a curve.
• As you turn think about making the turn with your whole body.
• Feel how one shoulder moves forward slightly, how the weight shifts into one pelvic sitting bone and how one leg moves a bit forward.
• Relax your jaw and breathe easily.
• Particularly on long drives, your back will feel more comfortable and your turns will be smoother.
I recently played with these ideas again while driving on the Sea to Sky highway. They work! Enjoy your driving this summer.
#Feldenkrais classes are all about exploring differences such as these and noticing their effects on everyday activities. Drop in and join us anytime.