Ability to Sit and Rise from the Floor

Dear Health Enthusiast!
Greetings to you!  With our recent celebration this week of Chinese Lunar New Year, “Year of the Snake”, I am reminded how here in beautiful, sunny Southern California (most of the time, anyway) in just a few weeks we will be able to enjoy our wonderful Southland Springtime accolades.It’s floating all over the Net. …  You may have seen or heard how a very interesting article was recently published on December 13, 2012 in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention, titled:
Ability to Sit and Rise from the Floor Is Closely Correlated with All-Cause Mortality RiskTest of musculo-skeletal fitness is 'strong predictor' of mortality in the middle-aged and older
Many similar versions of this notable article can now be seen in many different websites such as in the Science Daily, European Society of Cardiology, as well as in several other documented sources.


You may like to check out the following link:http://www.escardio.org/about/press/press-releases/pr-12/Pages/ability-to-rise-correlated-mortality.aspx?hit=dontmiss


where it is written:


"If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using just one hand - or even better without the help of a hand - they are not only in the higher quartile of musculo-skeletal fitness but their survival prognosis is probably better than that of those unable to do so."Here’s the link to read the same article on the Science Daily:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121213085202.htm



The Science Daily writes within their rendition of the story:


"A simple screening test of musculo-skeletal fitness has proved remarkably predictive of all-cause mortality in a study of more than 2000 middle-aged and older men and women. The study, performed in Brazil by Dr Claudio Gil Araújo and colleagues at the Clinimex -- Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, is reported today in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention."


If this all sounds intimidating, as an Injury Rehab Therapist, my background being a Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, I can greatly help you with this.


This “going-to-the-floor article” validates and reaffirms what every Functional Movement Therapist like myself already knows, that being the importance of movement education.  There have been many recent articles and documents of late publishing how 90% of the brain is attributed toward movement or sensory-motor learning skills.  Thus, the desire for working with improving our movement skills fortunately carries over into the education and improvement of all of our Being.


Thus, when a high priority is placed on establishing for ourselves to be able to gradually learn how to move about more easily, this ultimately equates to improving our overall health into all areas of life.


I greatly enjoy working with Seniors as well as those of you experiencing movement challenges, helping you to learn body awareness, how all of your body comes together, how it is all connected, in order to be able to ultimately give you an inner knowing for finding your optimal way to very comfortably get to the ground or floor, and to also be able to easily and elegantly return to standing.  This is Movement Re-education!
Wearing my hat as a Functional Movement Educator, I will give to you a sensory motor experience of what it feels like to move easily, effortlessly and comfortably from sitting to standing, and from standing to sitting.
Please feel free to ask me more about how I can help you with this.


Health is so important.  After all, as my business logo since the early 1990’s declares:


"Health is All that Matters!"The best to you for a wonderful Chinese Lunar New Year, "Year of the Snake"!

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

How to Survive the Discomfort of a Long Plane Flight or Car Ride: A Functional Movement Education Therapy Approach

 

As we Functional Movement Education Therapists like to say, “Movement Education is about options. …  It's about having options.  It's about exploring for yourself different choices …  having fun while doing so.”                                      


In this mindset, …

As you find yourself sitting in your car or plane seat dreading the long ride ahead of you, grab, either, your coat, a sweat shirt, towel, or some type of clothing item or material that has a substance to it in order to roll it into a soft “log”.  Place this new rolled-up towel or coat behind your back.  The positioning of this rolled-up towel behind your lower back, some refer to this as a “lumbar roll”.  This may feel very comfortable for you at first.  However, after 5, 10, 15 minutes or so (possibly longer), you’ll probably wish to vary the positioning of the rolled-up towel.

“Vary the position.   Be creative.  Explore different options.”

For example, after having the rolled-up towel placed behind the lower back for several minutes, move the towel to be, instead, behind the middle of your back.  This change may feel comfortable or at least interesting to you.  However, after some time, you will probably want to vary the positioning of the towel again.  Rather, you may wish to move the rolled-up towel to a new location.

Some new possible choices or places for re-positioning the rolled-up towel can be (as well as, think of others):

*  Along various parts of your back, up or down, left or right.  Rather, left of the spine or right of the spine, or more toward your upper back, or more toward your sacrum.

*  Underneath your left buttock or underneath your right buttock.

*  Behind your left or right shoulder blade.

*  Even placing something underneath your feet, such as a thick book(s).  Thus, repositioning or raising the level or height of your feet in relation to the floor.

Although it’s not mandatory, you may wish to be proactive … or maybe not.  J  That is, you may wish to reposition the rolled-up towel to a new location a few minutes before you expect that the current positioning of the towel will no longer feel comfortable to you.

Whatever new arbitrary position you choose, remember that if, in the very beginning, it does not feel comfortable, or at least interesting, then avoid that particular positioning or placement of the rolled-up towel.  Let pain be your guide.  Rather, let pleasure be what you are drawn or attracted toward.

Please remember that there is really no such thing as the “perfect sitting position”.  No matter how, supposedly, ideal a particular position feels, most likely, sooner or later, you’ll have to readjust it.  Some folks espouse that the supposed “best way to sit” is to be sure that your upper body or torso is aligned perpendicularly or at a right angle to your thighs, and that your thighs are at a right angle to your lower legs, and that your ankle is at a right angle to your foot.  Sure, this may feel comfortable for a little while.  But, again, after some time, you’ll probably have to find another way to re-position your body.  There is no such thing as the ideal sitting position, but, rather, think of sitting as a dynamic (rather than static) art where one continually explores and plays with various  positions and movements.  Speaking of movement, …

Sometimes making small movements while sitting is helpful.  These do not necessarily have to be obviously large or visible movements as if you were doing the hip hop “heel toe” or “popping glide”.  Some of you, who are familiar with creating a “Body Clock”, may find it helpful while in sitting to delineate a “Pelvic Clock” or a “clock” around your mid-back area.  Rather than immediately creating a large, 360 degree clock, you may first wish to explore going back and forth directly between the hours of 12 and 6 O’Clock or between 3 and 9 O’Clock, before doing just the first quarter of the clock (the hours of 12, 1, 2, and 3), before ultimately tracing the full circle (the complete clock).

Be creative during your long journey.  Think of creating clocks along your Self (your body) wherever you wish, as well as any other strategies or options that will make your journey more pleasurable.

“Getting there (can be) is half the fun!”

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