A few weeks ago, I did some lessons around the pelvis. And I asked everyone (probably around 30-40 people) where their hip joints were. Very few people knew. Many people pointed to to the top of the pelvis at the sides (the ischium) and other people pointed lower down, in various places. And it’s not to judge- it’s hard to feel where they are, along with many of the hundreds of joints that we have in the body.
But if we don’t know where joints live, we can’t move them very well. If we can sense ourselves better from the inside, there’s more chance of being able to organise our movement more successfully- with less wear and tear on the joints, and with more fluidity and grace.
One of the things we focus on in a Feldenkrais lesson is the skeleton. There are a few reasons to do this:
- We talk about muscles of the belly and back being our core, but anatomically it’s not such a useful idea. The skeleton is our internal frame, our core. Far more than muscles- which in the mostpart are pretty near the surface.
- The muscles are there to move the skeleton, not vice versa.
- Whilst we can feel the muscles in movement, it’s a complex system. For most people’s level of awareness, it’s not easy to work on in a functional way.
- The skeleton is a much simpler system. So far easier to visualise. It’s possible for all of us to have a sense of how it sits inside of us.
- It makes a massive difference to how we move if you know where your joints are (rather than where you think they are).
- The superpower of thinking about the skeleton rather than the muscles means that we move more ergonomically automatically, without having to think about it.
In the next 4-5 weeks we’ll be focussing in on improving our sense of our skeleton, especially our spine. Expect improved movement of your head, neck, shoulders, back, and the rest of you, if you join us!
the Feldenkrais Method with Emma Alter 