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A Bit of Anatomy
Muscles attach to at least two different bones. Tendons attach a muscle to a bone. Ligaments attach one bone to another bone. Ligaments help keep the joints from moving beyond their joint surfaces. Tendons help move the joint when its muscle contracts. Muscles, ligaments and tendons have receptors that provide sensory information to us. That is, we get feedback from our body giving us specific information. Here are a few descriptions of those receptors and how we know what they are telling us and how best to use that information. You may have heard of them in your classes or books or through your friends or practitioners, even…
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Love Your Shoulders
My finger slides across his shoulder…lightly…just enough to let him know that I am there and just before he turns and reaches up, me following; each of us dancing to the music in response to each other. Spinning, turning, sliding…the fluidity of the dance…that is what I love. If I push, I get immediate feedback…a strain, a frustration, a disappointment. I practice letting go and staying attentive, both needed to be in harmony with myself, my partner, the music. I have been there before, my excitement, my ambition pressing my body forward, pressing for something that it cannot do or is not ready at that moment and then…
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Harmony In Support
I transported onto the silky white ground under a bright blue sky. I had been away for months. The lusciousness lifted and held me. Jason sat on a picnic table. I opened my arms signaling a hug. The conversation began. Walking tall, I met Jimmy next. He had just returned from Costa Rica on retreat. He carried the energy. I captured it. Eric joined as he climbed on Jimmy’s back. Jimmy yielded to his weight. They had traveled together. His tanned skin evidence. I watched them share space. I put my backpack down and joined the others in the open area. There were about 30 of us. BC-Before…
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Developing a Healthy Relationship to Food and Digestion
On the first day of my Feldenkrais® training program, the directors arranged to have a wholesome, catered luncheon. It was great, tasty and healthy…until I ate way too much of the scrumptious gourmet brownies for dessert. I felt terrible the rest of that day and the next. All my excitement for beginning a new adventure buried in an overdose of sugar, just because I didn’t have what it took to enjoy my excitement without reverting back to a childhood pattern. That was 30 years ago and the last time I ate to such discomfort. It was a memorable day because of my struggles with food and body image.…
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More To Say About Breathing
There can never be too much to say about breathing. Especially since it takes practice and attention to not leave it behind when we are doing the most mundane things. James Nestor, author of Breath, The New Science of a Lost Art, provided a 30 minute video for the Feldenkrais Summit this past May. I had talked to people about his book, listened to radio interviews and watched some of his YouTube videos. None of them moved me to buy his book, until I watched the summit video. I was intrigued by his explanation of the size and position of the mouth and throat and how over time,…
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Flexible Feet & Ankles
Early Learning Many people take notice of their bodies when in pain, taking them for granted unless something doesn’t work quite right. It’s unfortunate, but true. And it is understandable. We aren’t taught how to live in our bodies. With emphasis on thinking and doing and less on the embodiment of living, it makes sense that we are limited in staying ‘tuned in’. We do the best we can with what we have as we grow and learn in our families, communities and cultures. However, none of that is without trouble. Working as a physical therapist I did have opportunities to learn how to get out of pain…
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Breath
Covid-19 2020 has seen the emergence of a global pandemic and the loss of human life of over 1.3 million people world wide, 2nd only to the Spanish Flu of 1918. Here in the United States the number of people infected has surpassed 12 million along with 255,000 deaths within eight months. Covid-19 is thought to be transmitted through droplets. When an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, the droplets land in the nose or mouth of someone nearby, drawing the infection into the lungs. We have learned from public health officials that social distancing and wearing face coverings is the best defense. However, some people find it…
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A Crowded Restaurant
Standing shoulder to shoulder in a crowded restaurant for an hour waiting for an open table takes its toll. (Four years previous to Covid when doing so was not such a threat.) There were five of us celebrating Matt, my middle son’s 21st birthday. As our wait time progressed, so did the edginess. Yes, it was hot and crowded, but we wanted to stay. It was my first time and everyone in our party raved about the food. So we waited. In his stewing irritation and with whatever else comes along with challenging situations, Matt began to complain to me about something. I honestly can’t remember what it…
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It Only Takes A Second…
But we will give it two minutes. That is 120 times more! Wow that’s a lot. Imagine if our bank account made that big of a change? We probably wouldn’t be sitting at our computers! Maybe??? Change happens on a dime. As we are experiencing during this pandemic. There have been lots of roller coasters emotionally, financially, physically, mentally. And it is summer here in Maine. And it is lovely! Besides shark attacks and droughts and covid, we continue to move forward. And my moving forward is to start a “2 Minutes To Improve Club”. Inspired because I want to hike Mt. Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine …
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What Is Enough?
May 25th. George Floyd died at the hands of police. Uprisings spread nationally and internationally over racial injustice. Raw anger and rage led to violence, arson and looting. Protests filled cities across the nation. Interviews, podcasts, videos, poetry, song, dance, and visual art supported all manners of expression. Grief and reflection ensued. This is a “moment”, a moment to look inward individually and collectively. No stone will go unturned. As I wrote the above, I was well aware of thoughts, much more than feelings. The feelings were the week before: grief, disgust, dismay, frustration–all easily tapped into; on the surface, some might say. Grieving for days, feeding my…
