Try exercising in 2-dimensions (circular movements), rather than always exercising in 1-dimension (linear movements)

Wow!  That's a lot of words for a title.  What do I mean by this?

Please reference the following link to see an informative video made by Movement Specialist Jackie Mason, posted to Google.  Former classmates together, Jackie was actually in my particular Training Program with me in New York City back in 1991 through 1994, when we both graduated together.  Click below to see how Jackie's extensive knowledge of Movement Education comes through in the following video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3005418105570551332

Movement Matters with Jackie - Part 8 - Relieve Back Pain with Rotation
58 minutes 5 seconds in length.


I did not intend for you guys to watch the complete video, it being over 58 minutes long.  Although if you decide to do so, you may find it very helpful.  I just wanted you all to see the first 3 minutes of Jackie's video, where she makes a good point to say how we, as people, when it comes to working out, treat our joints as "hinges".  Rather, to put it in my own words, we usually only move our limbs and the rest of our body parts in "1-dimensional" kinds of movements.   That is, we move "straight up and down", or, "straight back and forth". These are how most conventional workouts are designed.  To give one example, take the popular weightlifting exercise, the "Military Press".  You "press" or lift a weight directly above your head (in a straight line), and then you gradually lower the weight (in a straight line) back to "neutral" (the starting point) to then be able to repeat the same trajectory many more times.  This is moving in one dimension.  This is OK to work out like this some of the time, that is, to move "linearly".  However, as Jackie infers, we should probably also work out our limbs and other body parts in "2-dimensional" kinds of movements, rather, in rotational kinds of movements as well.

Thinking in these terms, check out the following video uploaded by Jack Cascio onto youtube.com back on December 14, 2011.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qcXPg_2aYo

Intense "Pull-Up Workout" Get Faster!, 1 minute 54 seconds in length.


Jack Cascio is a revered fitness trainer, nationally renown for his knowledge and skill in improving athlete's sprinting speed and jumping ability.  I like how within this video, Jack demonstrates some great upper body, pull-up exercises, which, believe it or not, can ultimately influence your running speed.  [Remember, "Everything is connected to everything."  Thus, if your upper body is primed, it ultimately influences the finesse of your lower body (your legs).]

Note the second exercise that Jack demonstrates in this video, the "Around the Clock" pull-ups.  These are good in that they are not the conventional linear, or 1-dimensional pull up.  Rather, they are a 2-dimensional, or circular, kind of movement.

Circular movements are great for developing athleticism.  Speaking of which …


The “Push-Up”

We are all familiar with the classic exercise, the push-up.  This is a wonderful exercise.  However, keeping in mind what we have been discussing, it would perhaps also be beneficial for you if you modified the movement from time to time.  After all, muscles like to be exercised with variety, at all different angles and perspective.  This is why it is sometimes helpful to change up your routine from time to time.

As you know, the starting position of the standard push-up requires you to position yourself on your hands and the toes of your feet, with your head, torso, and legs above the ground, with your arms pushed-out or extended.  Thus, your arms are relatively “unbent”.  From here, you begin to allow yourself to come toward the ground.  Rather, you “go down” toward the ground.  That is, you allow your elbows to bend in order that you be able to, for instance, touch either your nose, chin, or chest to the ground.  Then, you immediately push out or extend your arms in order to push your body away from the ground in order to return to the starting position once again.

Note that this is a “straight up and down”, or linear, motion.

Here’s a fun modification to the push-up, which incorporates circular movements.:

I enjoy doing these.

From the starting position, the next time that you go down toward the ground, be different.  Try to throw in a little “twist” or circle to the movement.  That is, for instance, as you move downward toward the ground, have the intention of going downward as well as, at the same time, toward the right.  That is, allow your face to simultaneously drop downward toward the ground as well as toward your right hand.  When your face is about halfway toward the ground, then begin to allow your face to begin to move toward the left so that, after your face touches the ground, it continues to move toward the left so that when it is halfway up, it is over toward your left hand.  Continue the upward movement as you begin to simultaneously move your head toward the right.  Continue in this trajectory so that when you finally arrive up to the initial starting position, your head is once again in the center.  You have now just completed a full circle!  Bravo!

You may have just discovered how this modification to the standard push-up, this circular movement, seems fun, interesting, as well as maybe even empowering.

This circular movement may feel difficult at first.  However, as you get stronger and more skilled, it becomes easier.  You may even find that as you become more proficient with this movement, you’ll be able to increase the size of the circle, rather, the diameter of the circle.

Can you think of other movements or exercises that you can do to incorporate circular movements, instead of doing the conventional linear movement?  Go ahead.  Be creative.  J

Hasta la vista,
James

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
www.feldenkraisjamesspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"
To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

Functional Movement Education for Yoga

The core of my Functional Movement Education practice is helping people having acute or chronic pain of the back, neck, shoulder, and wrist.  However, I also work with yoga students, or yogis, who are interested in improving their flexibility, ease and comfort, within their practice of yoga.  Some of these people are currently in pain, some are already very healthy.  These latter individuals are simply looking for a better way to improve their yoga.

During a session with a yogi, I use Functional Movement Education strategies to facilitate people's comfort in getting into the various beautiful yoga postures, or "asanas", as they are called.  Adaptable to all levels of ability or experience, working hands-on with clients, I present a Functional Movement Education approach to "stretching" in order to improve their yoga practice.

We all know that Functional Movement Education is a wonderful body-centered self-discovery process.  Yoga can be also.  An obvious difference is that Functional Movement Education uses movement for self-exploration and awareness while yoga uses asanas, mudras, and intentional kinds of breathing.  Therefore, I've found it sometimes to be a beautiful union between two different forms of self-exploration.

Complementing my primary passion of Functional Movement Education, I've discovered in recent years a strong fondness for yoga.  It's interesting how my love for one ignites my passion and application for the other.  Within my own personal time, each occasion in which I design a Functional Movement Education lesson around a certain yoga pose, I find that I enjoy the yoga even more so.  I'm also discovering that the more I do yoga, that returns my interest to Functional Movement Education for more movement exploration.  What a serene blend between process-oriented and goal-oriented kinds of work!

Functional Movement Education can dynamically help improve your flexibility and comfort within an asana.  Some of the asanas I have worked with clients for improving have been, in their English name:  Lotus, Cat, Camel, Hero, Plough, Spinal Twist, Head to Knee, Smiling Cow, Cobra, and the Bridge.



"Sensible Feet, rather than Sensitive Feet"

Each particular session with a client is unique with that particular person and on that particular day.  However, to give a tangible to what I do, I'll give a physical example of when I work with a yoga student who approaches me for improvement in sitting cross-legged, or sitting in Lotus.  Often times I am able to improve the yogi's flexibility by "working the client's feet".  More accurately, I am working through the client's feet, sensing for connections to the rest of the Self (body).  As I am working, I am asking within myself, "How does this (foot) connect to the rest of the Self?"  I may never actually articulate an answer.  However, it is this indulgement into this Inquiry Process that is the Functional Movement Education work.  I may also begin to gently turn or "play" with the client's toes and foot, as I am "into the process" of being aware of the connections throughout this individual as I am "exploring" the feet.  At some time during our "dance" together, I may find that I am even able to ultimately interlace the client's toes together, only if it is easy and comfortable to do so.  However, this is not a direct goal of the session.  As a practitioner, I am into the moment.  ...  I am into the process ... not the goal. 

Clients, afterward, are often amazed at how much more comfortably and easily they can sit cross-legged, or even in some form of Lotus.  What an improvement!  It's wonderful how this strategy can open oneself up for sitting.  One reason for this is because of the coherent connections between the toes/feet and the rest of the Self.  The toes/feet are instrumental in balance, which influences the organization of the Self.

An especially enjoyable moment in my practice occurred when a yoga teacher in the area, Deanne Shower, age 56, came to see me out of curiosity.  In the beginning of our session, she expressed that she was experiencing an intense tightness and pain in her right buttock when doing any Head-to-Knee pose.  This was unfortunately affecting her practice and teaching of yoga.  I guided her through a gentle “Head to Knee lesson".  Instead of having the intention of bringing her head to her knee (while the legs are straight), I built our session together around having her first explore bringing her head toward her knee while her leg is comfortably bent.  Then I would ask her to maintain the same relationship between her head and knee, namely that the two remain touching, while she slowly extend her leg in order to straighten it.  Instead of the traditional “hamstring stretch” that is taught to almost every American in our school system, this Functional Movement Education strategy teaches the relationship between the hamstrings, back, neck, and the rest of the Self (body) for more efficient movement.

At the end of our session, Deanne was overjoyed.  She told me that she no longer had ANY pain when performing the “hamstring stretch”.  She then amazed herself by proudly showing me that she was actually able to wrap both legs behind her head, exclaiming “I’ve never been able to do this.  This stuff really works!”

I love how my experiences with yoga people have always been positive.  They have always been quite open to Functional Movement Re-Education work. 

If you are just starting to develop an interest in learning yoga, I would advise you to first find an instructor that you feel comfortable with, and that you feel comfortable enough to be allowed to slowly go and learn at your own pace.  It’s important that you do not feel compelled to have to be able to pre-maturely force yourself into a yoga pose.  Be sure that you do not feel that you are, before you are ready for it, overly-stretching, in order to attain a, supposedly, certain level of fitness.  Find a teacher that you feel is nicely pacing you, and you do not feel is rushing you beyond your immediate abilities.

The best to all,

James

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education CenterDr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"
To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

For Practitioners: "Two Tools for My Practice ... The Table (Folded) and Telephone Books"

[Please allow me to state up front that the following blog is for Functional Movement Education Therapists, rather than for others.  I will soon be coming out with some more articles for the general public.]

Greetings Colleagues!

I observe that many different forms of healing therapies employ the use of tools within their work. For example, some "bodyworkers" sometimes use a tool in order to be able to do, for instance, deeper soft tissue work, while still being able to salvage their thumbs, hands, or arms from overuse. Since our profession, Functional Movement Education, an extremely powerful form of movement and somatic reeducation, also falls under the same protective umbrella with these other helpful modalities, vis-a-vis, the Healing Arts, it may be interesting to explore exactly some of the different "tools" that we frequently, or, occasionally, use within our own profession.

As Movement Educators, we are all familiar with the use of props, for the purpose of support, for a client when she is lying on our table. For example, supposing a client is lying supine (on her back), as practitioners, we may, or may not, choose to apply some sort of foam support behind her knees, as well as, possibly, under her ankles, if we see that it may be educationally useful.

Likewise, we may also apply padding, for instance, behind the lower back, the nape, the wrists, a shoulder, etc., if we see a large gap behind these areas. Thus, we may possibly consider the use of foam or pads as tools within our profession.

Evidently, the term, "tool", is not being conveyed in the traditional sense of the word, that is, "a device used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work". This use of the word, "tool", would convey a categorizing of a, for instance, "doing something", or, a "doing something onto". This would espouse the principle employed by a therapy, of a "working on". Whereas, we are familiar that this does not, at all, confer Functional Movement Education, which, instead, conveys the principle of a "working with". Utilizing this perspective, I am employing the term, "tool", to illustrate a device, which, as Practitioners, we encapsulate its use, in order to assist us within our exploratory process.

When working with our clients, we are familiar with the use of chairs, or, even the use of a vertical wall, which is wonderful for using for standing lessons. We often times employ the use of rollers. Frequently, we place a pad(s) behind the head. Sometimes we enjoy using a plastic or wood board to simulate the valuable "artificial floor" lesson. Analogously, the use of a board, applied to the hand, for an educational "artificial floor" lesson to the hand, can be helpful. This can be easily done with the client lying prone (on their stomach, or, front side), their arm hanging off the table, over the edge.

I propose two other tools which I relish within my work, (1) the Functional Movement Education table, itself, provided that it is a portable folding table (2) the use of telephone books.

I enjoy using the Functional Movement Education table, folded in half, and then securely latched up, as if for packing away. For instance, after positioning the folded, locked-up table, vertically (i.e., at an exact right angle with respect to the floor), I will then have the client straddle over it, so that her feet are just barely touching the floor. This set up provides a wonderful simulation for standing up in the vertical, while, at the same time, there is only a very minimal amount of force actually traveling through the client's feet. The client is "weightless" while in standing! The table is supporting the client in standing, through her groin area, as opposed to supporting her through her feet. This provides the sensory motor experience of standing, without, otherwise, efforting through her feet, thus, an excellent opportunity for exploration, without the client possibly holding onto her, otherwise, habitual patterns.

The practitioner can also ask the client to bend her legs, so that her inner thighs are straddling, lightly pressing into, the table, in order to emulate sitting, more accurately, sitting on a bicycle or motorcycle, or horseback riding.

Using the folded table to emulate standing or sitting gives the practitioner an abundant access to almost all of the different areas of the client's body. Thus, it creates a large opening for simultaneously working THROUGH many different classical landmarks, which might otherwise be sometimes untouchable, i.e., a unique access to both sit bones, as well as full access to all sides of the ribs, etc.

Sometimes, for additional support, rather than having the table free standing, which might sometimes require the client to be a little concerned for her balance while straddling over it, I may, instead, place the folded table in between two sturdy supports. For example, I will push together my desk and my filing cabinet, so that the folded table, which is positioned vertically in between them, is then securely locked into place. I position the table so that at least two feet, or so, is sticking out from in between my desk and filing cabinet, in order to allow enough room for the client to comfortably position herself over it.

Depending upon my level of comfort with the client, I may join her and also straddle the upright folded table, usually from behind, to position myself closer to her.  This provides an ideal place for the practitioner to run his fingers and hands up and down the client's spine and sacrum for doing, for instance, extension, flexion, or lateral bending lessons. The table becomes a "two-person saddle". Practitioner and client are, both, "riding the horse together".

On some occasions, if the client's feet do not comfortably reach the floor, I will place another "tool" that I use, that being telephone books, under her feet.


The use of telephone books also applies to when the table is in its original position, where it is unfolded, that is, where it is set up in its horizontal position, expressly, its entire length being about 16 inches or so along the floor.  In this instance, I will use simple, easily accessible, telephone books, when necessary, when doing a Kneeling Over the Table Lesson, and the client's knees will not, otherwise, comfortably reach the floor. Furthering the assurance of comfort, I will always place a kneeling pad between her knees and the telephone books.

Before using a telephone book, I will first wrap strong, packing tape around its entire perimeter, lengthwise, as well as, its entire width, in order to better maintain its solid rectangular shape. Otherwise, the depth (thickness) of the telephone book can sometimes buckle, slightly, under weight.  If, sometimes, the material of the outer cover of the book is too glossy or slippery, I will wrap it completely in paper, taped to seal. This allows better solid footing for the client, as well as being more aesthetically appealing.

Getting back to discussing the utilization of telephone books pertaining to working with the client while the table is in its original position, unfolded, that is, the table is positioned horizontal along the floor, the entire length of the table being about 16 inches or so from the floor.  ...  We all know how important it is to lift a client's arm, leg, head, or any part of their body, with the conveyance of little effort on our part in order to give the sensory-motor experience to the client of what it is like to move easily or effortlessly.  To give a practical application of how I use a telephone book to help me with this, let's suppose that the client is lying supine on my table.  I will arrange for her to be lying so that there is about 1 1/2 feet between her head and the edge of the table.  Within this 1 1/2 feet of space, I will sit on the table in order to bring my pelvis close as is comfortably possible (comfortable to both parties, the practitioner and client) to the client's head, in order to be able to gracefully and easily lift the client's head.  It is necessary for me to straddle my legs over the table in this position.  For shorter practitioners who have difficulty in straddling their legs over the table while it is in this horizontal position, simply place telephone books on either side of the table so that as your feet straddle over the side of the table, they don't need to go so far down as to be able to ultimately reach the floor.  Instead, having a thick telephone book nicely resting on the floor, your feet only need to go so far as to be able to rest them on the telephone book, which is supported by the floor underneath it.  Thus, a practitioner can feel very comfortable in this position of straddling a horizontal table.

As with any information ... Take what is useful to you. ... Discard the Rest. ...  Invent what you still need.

Enjoy!

The best to all!
James

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"
To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

Improve Your Spinning through Body Awareness: for Breakers and Wannabes

How many of us are in awe and wonderment in watching “breakers”?  Don’t you love seeing the athletic finesse of “freezes”, “popping”, “toprock” or “downrock” moves?  Although I am not a breaker, being in the field of orthopedics and movement re-education, the principles pervaded within my following article may be helpful for breakers, wannabes, as well as for the novice parent, pretending that he or she is a “top”, wishing to “play spin” with their child.  Since the term “break dancing” is looked down upon by the hip hop culture, whether you are or not, let’s pretend that y’all are "breakers", “b-boys” or “b-girls”.

Here’s something that can improve your “spinning” facet within the “B-boying” universe.  Please find below a routine you can use to gain more body awareness to assist you in your improvement process to be able to swivel or spin more efficiently and “authoritatively”.  This routine consists of several different movements, or “movement sequences”.  After a certain movement sequence, you may find that you are inspired to further explore the movement on your own and to see where it naturally leads you, one movement seeming to naturally take you in to another movement that you feel drawn to do.  Thus, you may have a small desire to go a little tangent to the lesson and explore and play with some of your own related movements that the lesson has sparked in you.  That is fine.  Allow yourself to be creative.  Allow yourself to spiral off into your own movement and awareness discoveries.  You can always come back to the structure of the routine whenever you wish.  That structure being …

Start out by sitting on your pelvis (your buttocks) on the floor.  You’re sitting on the ground with your knees bent, feet slightly lifted in the air, and you try to generate momentum for spinning around like a top.  Be creative.  Explore and play with how many different ways you can spin around on the floor.  If you’ve been continually spinning around in one direction, now begin to spin around in the other direction.  Also be creative in how you can spin around in this direction.  Notice in which direction it is easier for you to spin.  To the right or to the left?  If you’re not sure about this, just let it go.  We’ll get back to this question in a moment.

Spinning, if you will, is, relatively, a rotation around a vertical axis.  Now let’s have some fun exploring and playing around with some variations.  Doing the same action of spinning with different variations, rather, with different bodily movement patterns, will ultimately bring more body awareness.

Which side do you spin more easily toward?  If you’re not sure what I mean, ask yourself, which side would you say that you spin more smoothly, more efficiently?  To the right or to the left?  Or, ask yourself, which side does it feel more comfortable to spin toward?  If you had to spontaneously choose which side you would be more comfortable to spin toward, which side would it be?  On which side can you spin farther? 

Personally for me, I am aware that I spin more efficiently going to the left (as opposed to the right).  Thus, spinning toward my left is “my good side”.  Determine if this is true for yourself, or if you prefer to spin to the right.

In Functional Movement Education Therapy, we first work with the” good side”.  That is, we work on improving, even more so, the “good side”.  Then, afterward, if we are still interested in doing so, we work the “bad side”.  Incidentally, it should be noted that by only working the “good side”, the “bad side” will also see improvement.  In fact, sometimes, “the bad side” will improve more so if you continue working with improving the “good side”, as opposed to attempting to directly work the “bad side”. 

The below routine is formatted around those individuals, like me, who turn better going toward the left.  Therefore, for those of you who turn more efficiently going to the right, please substitute the words “right” for “left”, as well as substitute “left” for “right”.

Do the following movements, below in bold, slowly and well within your comfort range.  This isn’t meant to be a workout or exercise regimen, in the traditional sense, anyway.  Instead, this is about Learning.  It’s about sensory-motor learning, giving your Self (your body) the opportunity or experience to build new bodily movement patterns.

Again, don't feel regimented by the following routine or lesson.  Feel free to do the following movement sequences not in their listed order, rather, to do them out of order.  Even feel free to mix and match various movement sequences.  Be creative.  Let your curiosity guide you, provided that it is always comfortable for you, that you always remain within your comfort range.:
 
Spin to your left as you initiate the movement with your left leg.  That is, think of kicking your left leg outward toward the left as it leads the rest of your Self (body) to also spin to the left.

Initiate the movement of spinning to your left with your right leg.  That is, your right leg lightly kicks to the “inside”, rather, it kicks to the left to initiate the movement of spinning to the left.

Initiate the movement of spinning to your left with your left arm.  That is, think of “backhanding” with your left arm as it leads the spin.  For some of you, this may be the first time that you have ever thrown a left-handed backhand while sitting on your buttocks.  Thus, do this slowly.

Initiate the movement of spinning to your left with your right arm.
Spin to the left as you swing both of your arms to the left.

Spin to the left as you swing both of your arms to the right.

Spin to the left as you turn your head to the right.

Spin toward the left as you allow your eyes to look to the right.

Lie on your back.  Bend your knees to bring them somewhere comfortably near your chest.  While lightly hugging your knees, roll back and forth.  Thus, you’re rolling side to side, that is, to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right …

Roll your head to the right, while you roll everything else, that is, your knees and arms, to the left.

Roll your head to the left, while you roll everything else to the right.

Again, while lightly hugging your knees, roll your entire self back and forth, or side to side.

Again, bring yourself up to sitting.

Hug yourself, around your chest, and spin to the left.

Crisscross your legs.  Rather, have one leg over the other, and spin to the left.

Crisscross your legs the other way, and spin to the left.  Rest a bit.

Spin again as you would naturally.  Does the spin feel smoother, easier, more comfortable, than at the beginning of the lesson?  …  Are you possibly traveling even farther?”

Interesting.  Isn’t it?  At this point you may wish to take a break.

I observe that the spins I make by spinning around on carpeted floors are much smaller than the larger spins I am able to achieve by spinning around on stainless steel or linoleum surfaces, such as on tables or kitchen floors, they being more “spinning friendly”.  Wearing regular "street clothes" pants is more conducive to spinning on the floor than wearing sweat pants.

If you’re still interested in doing more, then, again, sit with your pelvis (buttocks) resting on the floor.  Begin to spin.  However, this time intentionally interfere with the spin, even bringing it to a standstill at any given point in its flow.

Related to this, go ahead and allow yourself to perform the spinning badly.  That is, invent as many ways as you can to mess up the movement!  As one of my brilliant, highly-skilled trainers, Ruthy Alon, eloquently beams, “Be creative.  Do it badly.”  Now rest a bit.

Spin again as you would naturally.  Does the spin feel even smoother,  … perhaps even farther than before?”

Beautiful!  The camera loves you, baby!  You own it!  “Hey dog!  MC Hammer’s on the phone, inquiring about dance lessons from you!  …”  “Yo’ top of da food chain!”


Epilogue:

Can you possibly see how you can transfer this lesson that you’ve been doing mostly in sitting, as well as a little bit in lying, into the vertical position?  That is, if you wish, translate the movement sequences for this lesson into the standing position as you begin to spin around on your toes. 

Incidentally, playing and exploring in the sitting position only, as you have been previously doing for most of this lesson, will also automatically translate into giving you more body awareness for moving in the standing position for doing this spinning kind of lesson, as well as for other kinds of movements.  Newly cultivated bodily awareness stays with you to spread out into other facets of your life.

Can you translate the movement sequences given within this routine toward the "headspin", "windmill", "backspin" or other breaker moves?  I know you can.

Happy Explorations!

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education CenterDr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"
To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

Alleviating Pain or Discomfort while Driving: A Movement Exploration Lesson

Do you have pain or discomfort while driving?  You’re not alone.  Perhaps a simple readjustment of the seat with respect to its distance from the brake and gas pedals may be beneficial.  Just by “doing something different”, “exploring options”, or “varying the pattern” sometimes helps.  The following is a movement exploration activity which invites this process.

Explore the following, initially anyway, while your car is still parked.  Since it's not good for your car to repeatedly press the gas pedal while the engine is turned off, therefore, we'll only work with the action of pressing the brake pedal.  Don't worry.  The sensory-motor learning you experience by exploring and playing with the action of pressing the brake pedal will also transfer or carry over into the action of pressing the gas pedal.  J

Assume your driving position …  You know …  where your hands are on the wheel, your back comfortably against the seat, your left foot on the floor  …

Place your right foot on the brake pedal, and go ahead and press it a few times.  Notice how you press your foot onto the brake pedal.  That is, would you say that you press it more with the inside of your foot or the outside of your foot?  Vary the way you press your foot into the brake pedal.  That is, explore and find different ways to press the foot.  For example, press with more of the inside of your foot a few times.  Press with more of the outside of your foot a few times.  Go back and forth between the two variations.  That is, alternate, first pressing the brake pad with the inside of the foot, then pressing with the outer edge of the foot, then with the inside of the foot.  Continue alternating back and forth between the inner and outer edges of the foot.

Press the brake pad with more of the toes.  Press with less of the toes.  That is, press the brake pedal feeling that the focal point of the foot is more toward the center of the foot or closer to the heel.

This is a movement exploration lesson.  There’s no right way or wrong way to press the foot into the brake pedal.  You’re just exploring different options for pressing the foot.  Right now, this is just a fun learning laboratory opportunity that you’re allowing your Self (your body) to have.  Your body is exploring and learning new ways of moving.  Rather, YOU are exploring and learning new ways of moving.  For all of the following movement descriptions below, it is implied to do each movement a few times.  Always rest when you need to.  Of course, the following is not intended to be an intense cardio workout or strength conditioning exercise.  However, you may still feel the need to rest frequently after each step.  Don’t push yourself to complete all of the several steps without taking a break.  “Less is More” when it comes to sensory–motor learning.

You’ve been exploring and playing with different ways for moving your foot or ankle joint.  Now move up to the next joint, in this case, the knee.  Move the knee in or out as you press the brake pedal with your right foot. 

After exploring and playing with the movement of the knee for a little while, go up to the next joint, the hip.  Move your right hip forward as your right foot presses the pedal.  Move your right hip backward as you press the pedal.  Lift your right hip off the seat as your right foot presses the brake pedal.  That is, the left side of your pelvis presses into the seat as your right foot presses the brake.  Press the right side of your pelvis into the seat as you press the brake.  Now alternate side to side.  That is, go back and forth between pressing the left side of your pelvis into the seat and then the right side of your pelvis into the seat and then the left side into the seat …

Lean a little forward as you press the brake pedal.  Lean a little backward (pressing your back into the seat) as you press the pedal.  Lean to the left as you press.  Lean to the right as you press.

Can you think of other ways to explore and move while you are pressing the pedal?  Create new ways or new patterns with your body as you press the pedal.

Now, let all of that go.  Just rest in sitting for a little while.

Now press the brake pedal, as you would naturally, without necessarily having any disposition of what you think is the “right way” to press the brake pedal.  Does this now feel differently than it did in the beginning of this lesson when you pressed the pedal for the first time?  Perhaps it even feels “easier” for you to press the brake pedal.  The action of moving your foot downward onto the pedal possibly now feels lighter or smoother.


Functional Movement Education Exploration:

You are exploring while you are learning new ways of moving.  You may find that during this play routine, above, you have possibly forgotten about your discomfort or pain.  You may notice that after playing with all of these different ways of moving, in addition to moving more smoothly or efficiently, you are no longer in discomfort.

Happy motoring!

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center

Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"


To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

The Profound Movement Concept of the Spiral

Greetings again, friends!

I wrote the following while allowing myself to freely think outside of my health care occupational work of movement reeducation and therapy.  I allow myself to do this sometimes.  :-)

I am in awe with how much our reality is engaged with the entity, the "Spiral".  Right within my own backyard as a Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, I notice the existence of various spiral Body Awareness lessons within our community, that explore and play with, or are oriented around the tendency for Spiral.  I thought I might commentate on some additional observations of mine regarding this unique trajectory, the Spiral.

The action of the spiral is a very economical way for generating power, as displayed in Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais’s "Sitting to Standing" lesson, which employs the unique trajectory of a twist or spiral, as well as in the fabulous lesson by the Master Trainer, Ruthy Alon, in her "Standing Up from Sitting - Inner Dynamics of Gravity, Spiral and Timing" (25 minutes in length), on her magnificent "Free Your Back" audiotape lesson series.

In hands-on Functional Movement Education bodywork, the simple action of, for instance, say, lifting a client's arm or shoulder, or, pushing a client’s hip, as well as many other actions, sometime naturally lead into a spiral.

Ruthy Alon, one of the best “organized for movement” practitioners on our planet, beautifully demonstrates, during many of her public workshops, how the action of the spiral is evident within the leg, most likely the whole Self (whole body), during the leg's trajectory during walking. Many of us are familiar with how the action of reaching with the arm is enhanced when we allow the arm to twist or spiral.  For example, say you wish to pick up an object from, for instance, a dining table or a shelf.  Thus, allow your arm to freely “pronate” as your arm begins the movement of reaching.  “Pronation”, or “to pronate” means to rotate the hand or forearm so that the surface of the palm is downward or toward the back.  Also, you will find it helpful to allow your arm to pronate when performing other activities … such as when throwing a punch, speaking of which …

Many of the authentic punches in the sport of boxing, for example, the “left jab” or a “straight right” both employ a spiral, that is a twisting of the arm in a pronated direction, while an “uppercut” punch employs a supinated spiral, or “supination”.  “To supinate” means to rotate the hand so that the palm is upward, rather, so that the palm is facing up or forwards.  Also, observe how frequently two fighters or boxers dance around the ring against one another, before they gradually, ultimately, meet in the center of the ring to exchange punches. Again, this displays a spiral.  The concept of dancing around a confrontation, as boxers sometimes do, all the while, gradually migrating towards the heated epicenter (thus, the trajectory of a spiral), is intriguing, as opposed to tackling something, unpreparedly, head-on.

The principle of the Screw, recognized within Mechanics as that fastener having “helical” threads, is an excellent demonstration of the ease and power of a spiral. The large amount of torque or “Moment Arm” generated from the action of turning a screw is often utilized for lifting, raising, and permanently fastening immense objects.

Scientists are aware of the spiral structure of a galaxy.  Also, it has been conveyed to me that neighboring galaxies encounter one another in a spiral fashion. Likewise, on the other end of the spectrum, the very beginning of life, the initial contact between a sperm and egg is a spiral dance between these two lovers before they ultimately connect with one another.

The powerful, but very gentle, form of bodywork, Ortho-Bionomy, developed by formerly Canadian, then British Osteopath and Judo Master, Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls, passionately espouses the power of the spiral, as I am sure that other forms of bodywork do as well.

An extremely thought-provoking movie, the psychological thriller, "Pi", is named for the Greek symbol representing the value denoting a circle's circumference divided by its diameter, thus, an unending, irrational number.  Released in 1998, the film touches upon the concept of a spiral, Kabbalah, and other philosophical issues, through its main character, a young mathematician genius.

Some animals exhibit spirals in the shape of their horns, teeth, or claws.

Whether man-made or in nature, we are surrounded by spirals.  Please find below probably just a fraction of some examples within our world …

*  Tree rings or annual growth rings of a tree.
*  Nautilus shell.
*  Grooves on the old style record LPs.
*  Spider web.
*  Cork screw tool.
*  Strand of DNA.
*  Water outflow from a sink or bathtub, i.e. “down the drain”.
*  Tornado.
*  Hurricane (the "eye" of the hurricane being the origin or the focal point).

Although some of the above may be associated with a “twist”, or a “helix”, I am still allowing either of these to also be categorized as a spiral.  Thank you very much, Math Police.

Interestingly, the expression, “He’s spiraling downhill.”, or, “He’s on a downhill spiral.”, apparently infers that this individual is not directly going downhill, but is traveling a gradual, twisting, widening path to be gradually encroaching upon “the end or bottom of the hill”.  Thus, this individual is progressively, piece by piece, becoming worse and worse to finally, ultimately, eventually reach the “down hill”.  [Wow!  That was a mouthful.]  Rather than admitting that this individual has already “hit rock bottom”, by referencing the “spiral” term, at least one is expressing some slight politeness or courtesy toward this individual.

Can you think of other examples of a twist or spiral within our world, rather, within our reality?

Can you think of other applications or other philosophical paradigms related to this profound movement concept of the spiral?

If you don’t want to bother, you can just relax and come in for an unwinding, spiral, bodywork session.  :-)

Take good care,
James

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"


To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

Improving Your Quality of Walking through Body Awareness: Different Walking Patterns to Explore and Play with

Greetings again, friends!

The following routine is not meant to be a “training” or “conditioning” lesson.  It is not meant to be interpreted in the vein of “working out”, which usually infers for someone to apply or put forth substantial, sometimes even maximum, effort.  Neither is the following intended to be applied in the mindset of Cardiovascular Work, although that is also productive within its own right for its own intention or goal.

Having a background as a Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, rather, what I’ve provided below is a series of movement sequences intended for fostering greater bodily awareness. Functional Movement Education is a body-centered, self-discovery process, which utilizes movement. This form of Movement Reeducation operates under the principle that, in order for your Self (your body) to learn something, conditions have to be provided that are comfortable for it. Otherwise, once your “System” detects any form of discomfort, it just shuts itself off from any further learning.

Analogous to my preceding article, “How to Improve Your Jumping Ability through Body Awareness”, I again offer a short Body Awareness Movement Reeducation lesson to present to your Self (body) options for movement so that it can ultimately pick and choose the best relationship between various parts of your body for maximum efficiency.  This is movement repatterning work.

If none of the above makes any sense to you at this time, you’re fine.  :-)  Just do the routine below, always staying within your comfort level, and enjoy seeing where it takes you.

Please find below a series of movement sequences I have often used when working with anyone experiencing orthopedic or neurologic conditions, as well as with "healthy" individuals.  Again, if at any time doing one of the following steps, that is, walking in one of the described patterns, is uncomfortable, then walk more slowly or take much smaller steps.  Please always stay within your comfort range.  You may even elect to forego certain of these walking patterns described below.

The steps below should be done continuously. That is, one kind of walking pattern should blend into the next walking pattern, etc. You should not stop walking between steps, unless, of course, you’re tired.  Again, if you’re tired, then simply rest.  You certainly do not want to “force yourself to push through it”.  Then you defeat the purpose of Movement Reeducation.

If you are doing the following lesson within your own home, rather than in the spacious outdoors, choose a long hallway where you have the least amount of interruptions to have to repeatedly turn around.  Also remember to first clear a safe path for yourself for walking.

Here we go.  …

Walk forwards. [This is the initial “scan”, which we will use later in order to take a “Before and After Picture”.]  Notice how you're walking. Notice your arms, the hands, the way they are traveling through the air. Does one arm swing differently than the other? Does one arm swing further away from the body than the other? Does one leg step farther forward than the other?  Which shoulder is higher? Does your head move, e.g. turn, flex/extend, grow taller/grow shorter, side-bend?  Which foot seems to land harder on the ground?  There is no need “to correct” anything.  There are no right answers to the above.  These are just landmarks to help you queue in to your body … body awareness.  Simply observe.  Simply notice.

Notice how your right shoulder is moving. Notice how the right hip is moving. Are the hip and shoulder going in the same direction together? That is, when the hip moves forward, does the same side shoulder also move forward? In most individuals, they move in opposite directions together, i.e. a contralateral walk.  …  Now do just the opposite. That is, lock the hip to the shoulder, i.e. the homolateral walk.  This can be done more easily by placing your right palm on the outside of your right thigh and use the image that the palm is glued or somehow bonded to the thigh. Hence, when the right thigh moves forward and backward, so does the right arm at the same time, and, ultimately (usually), the right shoulder also.

While the right side of yourself continues to move non-differentiated, bond the left palm to your left thigh so now the left side is also walking non-differentiated. I call this the Wyatt Earp walk. Draw partner!

Now let that go and simply walk forward again as you would naturally, i.e. the (usual) contralateral walk. Scan again how your arms are moving now.  Walk backwards.

[All steps from here on in can be done, either, walking forwards only, backwards only, or both.  Again, only do what is comfortable for you.]

Walk while leaning backwards. [similar to the 1970’s "Keep on Truckin'" walk.  J ]

Walk while leaning forwards.

Walk while leaning forwards so that you're walking more on your toes.

Neither intentionally lean forward nor backward as you now begin to walk on the inside edges of your feet.

Walk on the outside edges of your feet.

Walk with the feet in.

Walk with the feet out. This is the Charlie Chaplan walk. Have fun with it.  Stick out your butt. Imagine you have a cane in your left hand.

Walk like jelly. That is, as you're walking, with each step you take, begin to allow yourself to collapse towards the floor. You'll maybe feel your head and upper body free-falling towards the ground. Catch yourself from falling completely at the very last instant that's still comfortable for you. After you've caught your equilibrium, again allow yourself to collapse towards the floor as you begin to take your next step, etc.

Do the "Indian walk". A Native American does not surrender his weight to the forward foot until he knows it's safe to do so. For example, let's imagine a Native American hunter is stalking a deer through the woods. As he begins to step forward onto his forward foot, he may feel a stick on the ground with that foot. So, rather than surrender his weight to that foot, this would regrettably break the stick and possibly ruin his cover, he is still in a position to retract his foot.

Bend over and place your hands on top of your feet - right hand on top of the right foot, left hand on top of the left foot. Grasp your feet so that your palms are resting on top of the feet, but your thumb and fingers are slightly underneath so that they're grasping the soles. Begin to walk in this position. Notice how your right arm and right leg come forward together, and your left arm and left leg come forward together. This is a homolateral walk while leaning forwards. Children love to do this.

Once more come upright and walk backwards.

Walk backwards on the outside edges of your feet.

Walk forwards again as you would naturally. Is your walking different now?  How so?

Does your walk maybe feel smoother, easier, or lighter?

Enjoy the feeling!

[End of Lesson]

If you're budgeted for time, two of the “most powerful walking moves in the world" are to:

Walk forwards. Walk backwards. Walk backwards on the outer edges of your feet. Walk forward again.

Voila!  You'll always notice a change.  Guaranteed!

Anecdote:I'll relay to you a case regarding "neurological walking (gait) problems” ... 

One client of mine, Joyce, late 30's, was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.  Joyce was referred to me by her physician because her left knee "always ached".  I actually did very little hands-on work with her on my Movement Education bodywork table.  After briefly exploring with her in standing, by guiding her with my hands for turning, we then went into a large open space adjacent to my office.  I asked Joyce to walk on her crutches in several different walking patterns as described above.  In just one session, there was a visible difference in Joyce's walk on her crutches.  She reported to me how the pain had vanished and that she felt she was walking more “centered and balanced”.

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"

To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

Turning while Standing, One of the Great Functional Movement Education “Three-Minute Miracles”

Greetings again, friends!

The "meat" of this article, that is, my version of this Functional Movement Education lesson, the standing turning lesson, itself, begins about a third of the way into this posting.  However, I would first like to make some introductory comments.

Often times, I am asked, "What is Functional Movement Education?"  I will reply with a verbal answer.  However, giving someone a semantic answer may not always be complete for that person, compared to, an inspiring kinesthetic experience.  Therefore, some Practitioners like myself enjoy asking the person who is inquiring to, for example, "Interlace the fingers of your hands as if you were about to say Dinner Grace.  That is, simply interlace your fingers the way you do naturally. ...  Now, please interlace your hands the non-habitual way.  That is, move all of your fingers down one notch.  How does that feel? ...  That feels
differently.  That's what our work is about.  Exploring options.  Finding options in how to be in the world ..."  That is one way of explaining or demonstrating our Functional Movement Education work.   Another way is the following short, mini - Body Awareness lesson, the popular, "Turning while Standing".  It is one of those, as some of us refer to, "Three-Minute Miracles", which leave a wonderful impression with people.  For a few years after my training, when asked, "What is Functional Movement Education?", I would, spontaneously, take about 3, maybe even as long as 15, minutes to teach this mini-lesson to many different people, some of whom I knew very well, and others, who were brand-new acquaintances.

Please find below one version of TURNING WHILE STANDING.



TURNING WHILE STANDING

1) I'm going to guide you through a set of five different movements.  Always move slowly.  Always move well within your comfort range.  You'll see that your natural range of movement will improve nicely, without even straining. Notice where you're standing.  Bring your left arm straight out in front of you, to shoulder height.  Your arm is relatively straight, however, not
uncomfortably locked or rigid.  KEEPING YOUR FEET PLANTED, slowly turn your body
to the left as if you wanted to look at something behind yourself.  You can allow your arm to also swing outwards to the left, as the rest of your body is turning to the left.  Feel your hips turning to the left, the shoulders turning to the left.  The head, and even the eyes, all of yourself is turning to the left.  Please stay well within your comfort range.  I know that, right now, if you had to, you could probably push yourself to be able to turn almost three-quarters of a complete circle (270 degrees).  But, that isn't necessary.  You'll see a nice improvement soon coming to you, naturally, easily, without any excessive strain.  Pick some sort of marker that you can use as a reference point to tell how far you are turning easily. ...  Now leave that alone, and come back to neutral, or, the center place.  Lower your arm.

[A) In regard to selecting a reference point, if you're inside, you may notice, for example, a painting, a light switch, or some other object, on the wall.  If you're outside, you may notice a certain tree, a telephone pole, or a particular house, for example, in the background, as the reference point.

B) Again, please note to KEEP YOUR FEET PLANTED.  :-)  People's "incorrect" spontaneous reaction is to also turn and shuffle their feet to the left.  [Of course, as Practitioners, we often encourage all kinds of spontaneous movement.  However, in this instance, it will be easier to appreciate the natural improvement made during the lesson for a positive impression to somatic learning, to be able to gauge  your own range of improvement, by requesting a certain standard throughout the lesson, namely, to keep your feet in one place, as opposed to, otherwise,  shuffling one's feet, possibly, a different amount for each repetition.]

C) As I mentioned above, it's important to let you know to "allow your arm to also swing outwards to the left".  You may, otherwise, attribute the improvement, which will most likely follow in the subsequent steps, to not "correctly" allowing your arm to swing outward the first time you did the original turning movement, as indicated in step #1 above.  Sometimes, I may describe this as "Allow your arm to slowly, gradually, swing outward, as if you
were hitting a tennis backhand in slow-motion."]

2) Your left arm remains lowered, somewhere comfortably along your side.
Turn yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.  Stay there, your body
turned to the left.  Turn only your head to the right.  That is, while your
feet remain planted, and your body remains turned to the left, you're allowing
your head to turn in the opposite direction to the right.  Do this a few times,
moving just your head, back and forth, all the while your body remains turned
to the left. ...  Bring all of your body back to neutral.  Again, bring your
left arm to shoulder height, straight out in front of you, and turn yourself to
the left, all of your body, as far as you can comfortably.  Also allow the
arm to gradually swing outward to the left.  Notice how far you are turning
now.  ["Wow!"]  Come back to neutral.  Lower your arm.

3) Your left arm remains lowered.  Turn yourself to the left as far as you
can comfortably.  Stay there.  This time, turn just your shoulders to the
right.  Only the shoulders. ...  That means your left shoulder is coming
forward, while your right shoulder is moving backwards.  Do this a few times. ...  Bring
all of your body back to neutral.  Again, bring your arm to shoulder height,
straight out in front of you, and turn yourself to the left as far as you can
comfortably.  ["Wow! Wow! Wow!"]  Come back to neutral.  Lower your arm.
[Please note that this is a very important step which I will say more on
below.]

4) Turn yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.  Stay there.
This time, turn just your hips to the right.  Only the hips to the right ...  Do
this a few times....  Bring all of your body back to neutral.  Again, bring
your left arm to shoulder height, straight out in front of you, and turn
yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.  ["Wow!"]  Come back to
neutral.  Lower your arm.

5) Turn yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.  Stay there.
This time, move your eyes to the right.  You're only allowing the eyes to go to
the right. …  Do this a few times.  Move your eyes very slowly, back and
forth.  Take your time.  This may feel very unusual to you. …  Bring all of
your body back to neutral.  Again, bring your arm to shoulder height, straight out
in front of you, and turn yourself to the left as far as you can
comfortably.  ["Wow!"]

[Step #5, above, involving the eyes, provides a nice icing on the cake.  You
are perhaps, afterward, able to appreciate a larger field of vision complementing
your turning movement.  Of course, more profound than a simple vision
improvement, note that the eyes are connected to the overall Gestalt of movement.  However, somatically inviting someone such as you, by me, to sense the movement of an intense organ, such as the eyes, to the movement of the rest of themselves, may naturally be met with trepidation on some level.  Thus, I will sometimes omit this step when I first teach this lesson to someone.  Rather, I will refrain from teaching, in the very beginning, the connection of eyes with the rest of the
Self.]

6) Turn yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.  Remained turned
there.  However, turn just your head to the right.  Pause in this position.
Notice that your head is turned to the right, but the rest of your body is
turned to the left.  Begin to turn your head and shoulders in opposite
directions, all the while the rest of your body remains turned to the left.  That is,
begin to take your head to the left, while simultaneously turning your shoulders
to the right.  Then, take your head to the right, while simultaneously turning
your shoulders to the left.  Continue going back and forth, playing with the
relationship between the head and shoulders, all the while the rest of your
body continues to remain comfortably turned to the left. ...  Bring all of your
body back to neutral.  Again, bring your arm to shoulder height, straight out
in front of you, and turn yourself to the left as far as you can comfortably.
["Wow!!!"]

[End of lesson]


The "learning", as we refer to it, during this movement lesson, for instance, the added range of motion, as well as perhaps, the new "smoothness" you experienced in the movements as the lesson progressed, ultimately carries over into the rest of our functional lives.  I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

If you would like, you can repeat the above movements on the "other side".  However, please note that in Body Awareness lessons, such as this Functional Movement Education work, sometimes Less is More.  If you feel that you've had enough, then let it go.  Otherwise, if you'd like, you may go through steps nos. 1 through 6 above, again, where you will be exploring and playing with different movement patterns while turning to the right.  Thus, you would go through steps 1 through 6 again, while substituting "left" for "right" and "right" for "left".

However, again, perhaps, you'd like to rest for awhile, in order to allow your body to absorb the learning effects from already working one side, before repeating the lesson on the other side.


The best to all,
James

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education CenterDr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"


To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here

How to Improve Your Jumping Ability through Body Awareness

My article, “How to Improve Your Jumping Ability through Body Awareness”, below, was originally posted on July 21, 2007 on www.MartialArtsPlanet.com, the premier website for martial artists, within the Health & Fitness forum.  I hope you enjoy it.  If you are a return reader to this article, please feel free to go directly to page 2 for the beginning of the  “Movement Re-education Routine”.

How to Improve Your Jumping Ability through Body Awareness
              by James Speer, Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais

Did you ever have a desire to be able to dunk a basketball, or to better deliver that jump kick in a sparring session?  Who among us would not like to enhance our jumping ability?

Please find below a jumping routine, for good, productive results. This routine is not intended to be applied in the mindset for Muscle Loading, or, for Cardiovascular Work, although these two different methods, of course, also produce improved jumping ability. Having a background as a Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, rather, what I’ve provided below is a series of movement sequences intended for fostering greater bodily awareness. My Functional Movement Education work is a body-centered, self-discovery process, which utilizes movement. This form of Movement Reeducation operates under the principle that, in order for your Self (your body) to learn something, conditions have to be provided that are comfortable for it. Otherwise, once your nervous system detects any form of discomfort, it just shuts itself off from any further learning. Of course, with Muscle Loading, one often does approach a zone of discomfort, and, thus, acquires muscle gains, which is another way to develop jumping improvement.

Before doing the different movement sequences as described below, remember to always move slowly and well within your comfort range. Some of the movements described below may not be natural movements that your body would select to do spontaneously. Therefore, go at it easily, gently, as well as, slowly. If a particular movement sequence is uncomfortable to do even one time, then, possibly, do much less of it, and/or slow it down even more. If it is still uncomfortable, then do not do it at all.

Of course, if you were in a real physical contest, such as a sparring session with high kicking, a basketball game, or, if you were jumping in your standard, orthodox way, it would be all right to do your natural jumping movements, intensely, and as hard as you can. However, for the purposes of the following learning exercise, vis-a-vis, the following “movement reeducation routine”, again, go slowly and well within your comfort range, especially the first few times that you do the routine. You probably should not do the complete routine more than once per day, to give your system time to “integrate the Learning from the lesson”. For each of the different steps, always touch down, or, land on the ground, as you would naturally, with your feet facing, relatively, directly ahead of you.

Rest whenever you need to. Always rest at least 20-40 seconds between each movement sequence, even if you do not feel especially tired. Do all movement sequences 2-9 times. Remember, you don't get points for doing a lot. If you're only comfortable doing a particular jump movement sequence one time, that is fine. Always stop before the first sign of discomfort. For developing kinesthetic, or bodily, awareness, sometimes Less is More.

Do not rush. This is not necessarily a work-out routine. It's a bodily awareness lesson, learning how we organize ourselves to move (to jump) within our environment.  Instead of just rushing through the routine by hurriedly proceeding from one step to the next step, instead, if you rest properly between each movement sequence, the entire routine should take you between 10 to, possibly as long as, 30 minutes to do.  To assure that you are allowing enough time for movement learning, or, Sensory Motor Integration, to take place, you should be jumping leisurely enough that you never get out of breath during the routine.

For those of you who feel comfortable with Visualization or Imagination Work, Body Awareness lessons can often provide a wonderful opportunity for this. I will not elaborate on this kind of work here, only to express that imagining, or, imagination work, can, often, be productive. One experiences the same bio-electric or bio-chemical activity in the brain, during imagination work, as one would experience by actually doing the physical movement.

Again, I designed the following movement (jumping) routine not intended to be presented in the format of a "Guts to the Wall" Muscle Loading Session, which, obviously, merits its own rewards. Instead, the following routine is meant to be done comfortably, to allow Neuromuscular Reeducation to take place in a comfortable "learning laboratory". The next day, in your normal workout, when you go "Guts to the Wall" when doing other jumping exercises, see if you, perhaps, feel some sort of change or improvement, as a result of the slow, comfortable, learning lesson (below), you did the previous day.


Movement Re-education Routine for Improving Jumping Through Kinesthetic Awareness

*** The following steps are written, inferring that one is jumping into the air, and, thus, landing back down on the ground. However, sometimes when I do each of the different steps of the below routine, I like to do each step so that I am jumping up onto a bench, and, I then jump off the bench, coming back to the ground, then, resting for several seconds, before I, once more, jump up onto the bench again. Thus, one has the choice of doing each of the described movements below by, either, jumping up into empty air, or, jumping up onto a bench. ***

1) With your feet comfortably apart, jump in your natural way. Don't try to jump your hardest. Just jump as you would, easily, well within an easy effort.

2) Jump with your toes facing inward (pigeon toed). However, be sure to land (to touch down) in your natural way.

3) Jump with your toes facing outward ("Charlie Chaplan" style). However, be sure to land (to touch down) in your natural way. For each of the following steps, always touch down in your natural way.

4) Starting with the weight predominantly on the outsides of your feet, jump.

5) Starting with the weight predominantly on the insides of your feet, jump. This may feel uncomfortable. Therefore, tailor this movement to your own comfort. If it is still uncomfortable, then don't do it.

6) With your feet wide apart, jump.

7) With your feet together, jump.

8) Cross your right leg in front of your left leg. Jump.

9) Cross your left leg in front of your right leg. Jump.

10) Look up at the sky (or, ceiling). Jump.

11) Look down at the ground. Jump.

12) With your head turned to the left, jump. With your head turned to the right, jump.

13) Leaning forwards, jump. Go easy with this.

14) Leaning backwards, jump. Go easy with this.

15) With your buttocks sticking out, jump.

16) With most of your weight on your toes, jump.

17) With most of your weight on your heels, jump.

18) Jump in your natural way. Does it seem easier now? Does it seem more smooth and fluid? Is there something about it that feels differently?

The preceding routine is also helpful for a proficient athlete who, possibly, eventually approaches a plateau or sticking point by repeatedly jumping over and over again, the same way, day-in and day-out. The provided kinesthetic awareness routine offers an exercise in bodily awareness to, perhaps, better refine one's movement pattern to be able to, once again, progress in his jumping ability.

By doing the different jumping variations as stated (Most likely, there are possibly hundreds more that one can have fun creating.), this can possibly invite one's attention (awareness) to different body parts, for his system to then be able to pick and choose how to better coordinate one body part with another body part.

Of course, I also believe that in conjunction with this bodily awareness routine, it is also helpful for one to also do "Guts to the Wall" strength training and conditioning, including productive plyometric exercises. However, I would recommend that if you are doing this the same day as my body awareness routine, above, to do the "Guts to the Wall" training first, before the bodily awareness lesson. Or, if you are going to do the "Guts to the Wall" work after the bodily awareness routine, to allow a break of a good couple of hours of in-between time, for your Self (your body) to first integrate the improved sensory-motor integration it learned during the body awareness lesson.

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"

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