the Feldenkrais Method with Emma Alter

Are you over-using your muscles to stay upright?

We tend to think that if something isn’t working, the answer is to use more power. More force.

Using muscular power without skeletal co-ordination tends to lead to fatigue, and over-compensation. Which in turn can add more tension that we need. Leading to more fatigue.

So more effort isn’t always smarter. In fact, working against your body’s natural co-ordination often leads to more tension and fatigue rather than easy power. When the muscles get tired, you tend substitute co-ordination for overwork. Which exacerbates the problem. Pushing harder isn’t sustainable for long term health or performance. On or off the stage.

You might have clues that your body is working too hard and missing out on smoother, more efficient movement strategies.

Signs you might be overusing fast muscles include:

• Feeling tight or tense after standing still for any length of time
• Experiencing stiffness in the lower back, or
• Noticing that you have to “push” or hold yourself upright.
• Regular back or neck pain for no particular reason.

Understanding Muscle:

Each muscle is made out of a bundle of strands of muscle. Each in their own “sleeping bag” of fascia. Bigger muscles have smaller bundles tied together. And within each muscles is a variety of fast-twitch muscles and slow-twitch muscles.

The slow-twitch muscles are the muscles that turn on when we move small and slow, without strain. Importantly, they’re also the muscles that organise the skeleton.

The fast-twitch muscles add power quickly, but they get tired much faster.

Runners who genetically have more slow-twitch muscles will tend towards long distance. If they have more high-twitch, muscles in the mix they’ll more likely be sprinters.

Slow-twitch strands give us slower movement, but doesn’t get tire fast. High-twitch give a large amount of power, but fatigue quickly.

Fascia’s role in muscle functioning:

Fascia is a thin connective tissue that surrounds every muscle bundle. It also contains nerve endings, sending information to the brain. It helps muscles slide over one another smoothly, and work together efficiently. Like packaging, that keeps everything in place while allowing each package to slide freely. Healthy fascia is part of good muscle co-ordination, and movement ease.

What’s the solution?

When you slow down in a Feldenkrais lesson the brain learns how to recruit the different parts of the muscles in a more co-ordinated fashion. Slow skeleton-organising muscles first, faster muscle on top. Feldenkrais lessons retrain the neural networks which control movement via the muscle connections.

Nervous System and learning co-ordination

So what we want to do, (and in fact, what we do every Feldenkrais Method lesson) is slow down, and size down. We:

• Slow down so the brain can learn to recruit the different parts of the muscle in a more co-ordinated fashion.
• Learn to engage slow-twitch muscles first, and improve skeletal organisation
• Learn to coordinate movement rather than force it, through improving sensitivity to sensation.
• Explore small movements with attention, to build a foundation of efficient self-use.

When we make a movement smaller, we’re learning to co-ordinate those slow muscles that organise the skeleton. Then we get the skeleton aligned before we add power on top.

In a well-organised system fast-twitch muscles are added on top of well organised slow-twitch muscles. So your power is added to an aligned skeleton.

Think of the last time you opened a jar. I always used to huff and puff, and make noises when I couldn’t open something. (I’m only 5’4″ and have small hands.) A friend pointed out that I was wasting energy, and it wasn’t helping with the result I wanted. It was more effective to focus just on my hand and the lid twisting on the jar, without thinking about the power. And he was right, the jar was always easier to open.

What are the benefits of working smarter, rather than harder?

Increased endurance, with less fatigue: Reducing unnecessary tension means greater endurance. Your power is focussed, because everything you’re doing goes directly towards the action.

Reduced risk of wear-and-tear: Greater efficiency of movement means less power being wasted. That excess power ends up as wear and tear in the musculoskeletal system. Which might not matter this week, but over the course of a life time, it all adds up. It’s important that we work in a very efficient way to be moving well as we age!

Improved posture and grace: When you’re not using power muscles to hold you up they’re available for other movements. Better posture comes from the greater adaptability of the muscles. Along with greater ease of movement.

Improved quality of life: When your body works more efficiently everyday movements and tasks become easier. You can move with more confidence and pleasure.