Wonder Woman source: Warner Brothers
Lauren Bacall in “To Have or Have Not” source: www.envisioningtheamericandream.com:2014:08:18:remembering-lauren-bacall
Deborah Bowes, PT, DPT, GCFP, developed Pelvic Health and Awareness after the birth of her two daughters left her without bladder control. Combining her experience as Feldenkrais teacher, her work in anatomy and physiology, and training as a Physical Therapist, she created this second series of six extremely slow and gentle explorations of the pelvic floor. This new series adds “power” to the benefits of getting to know your pelvic floor.
Explore how to improve the coordination and strength of your “core” muscles, much more just the abdominal muscles. The power and strength comes from the coordinated use of the pelvic floor, breath spinal muscles, abdominals, and hips. Find vitality and well-being after injury, surgery, or pregnancy. Better balance, easier breathing, more comfortable sitting, standing or walking improve all aspects of life, from driving to sports to performing arts to child care, etc. etc.
In the spirit of “A Chorus Line,” the Orchestra and Balcony series builds on the pelvic floor lessons to integrate the Orchestra (pelvis) and Balcony (breasts). These are classic Awareness Through Movement® lessons with a special focus on connecting the top and bottom with exuberance and delight.
For women and men.
Introduction - Add Weight to Activate
Using small weights to spotlight pelvic floor sensations
In this first lesson, a little bit of weight is the ticket to sensing pelvic floor activation. Have a couple of light, easily-held weights at hand. This is a supine (on back) lesson with segments of arms extending to the ceiling.
Read the Full Post with science nerd links
More Pelvic Floor - 2 - Balance from the Floor, Up and Down
Child Cloud Gazing - source: https:::www.fluidphysio.com.au:
It’s an on-your-back lesson that moves from breathing and sound to feeling into the the abs to differentiating the left and right sides of the pelvic floor. There are a few healing sounds. (Download the Healing Sounds Chart.)
The voila moment comes when you stand back up with a new, deep sense of balance.
Science nerd candy includes 3D animations of the muscles of the pelvic floor.
First video -Ilio-psoas Muscle
Second Video - How Abdominal Muscles Work
Lesson Begins - 6:30
More Pelvic Floor 3 More Pelvic Floor - Lesson 3 - 8-to-15 P - Let it Flow
This week’s lesson is dedicated to leak prevention. Did you know that a healthy stream lasts 8-15 seconds. Less than that and you are peeing too often. You might need to recalibrate your nervous system for less frequency. Over 15 seconds and you are waiting too long.
More Pelvic Floor - Lesson 3 - 8-to-15 P, is supine (lie on your back) lesson with a lot of pelvic rocking to establish a kinesthetic sense of the pelvic floor. First come the abs, then gradually we add contractions of the anus and ureter. This is the first step towards letting it flow, or not, as you want.
In the science nerd section, we delve into the mechanics neuroscience of of mictrition (peeing).
First Video Female Urinary Bladder – Human Anatomy | Kenhub
Second Video How Do We Pee – 3D Animation. (Science art – includes nervous system up to 1:50)
Third Video Female Pelvic Floor Muscle – 3D animation (muscles of peeing)
More Pelvic Floor- 4 - Grab Your Glutes
Teaching Tools for This Lesson: You will want 2 same size, small stick-like things - pens or pencils, knitting needles, chop sticks, etc. during this lesson. Also, padding for knees if you choose to kneel (optional).
The pelvic floor ideally operates like a trampoline, held by the sides but still flexible enough to bounce. Strong, mobile glutes help to suspend the pelvic floor. Tight glutes make the pelvic floor less elastic - and less able to handle the occasional cough or case of the giggles. In many cases, your pelvic floor isn’t weak, it’s tight!
This week, we squeeze those cheeks to feel the connection to pelvic turns, attend to the femurs rotating in the hip socket, and tuning into how the tush helps stabilize the knees. (The knee connection is a real revelation for me!)
The lesson moves through different orientations, from lying on the back to (optionally) kneeling to help build awareness of the power of the glutes and increased awareness of how a tight butt can affect things deep within.
Videos viewed during the lesson:
Les muscles de la hanche : petit fessier, moyen fessier (French titles, but great animation of muscle movement)
Grand fessier; tenseur du fascia lata, deltoïde fessier (muscles de la hanche) (French titles, but great animation of muscle movement)
More Pelvic Floor 5 - More Pelvic Floor - 5 - Strength Training, Slowly and with a Tilt
Turn on your entire brain by imagining you, too, have personalized armor that makes you look great, and has a fabulous golden belt that supports your belly. That Wonder Woman ‘belt area’ is the focus this week.
We will apply our legs’ weight, in slow, eccentric contractions to strengthen the lower abs and pelvic floor. Slow is the operative word for this supine (lie on the back) lesson. It’s the slow, patient attention to the legs, back muscles and abs that ultimately relaxes and strengthens the pelvic floor.
Videos covered in class include:
Target Your Rectus Abdominis with 3 Ab Exercises (useful up to 1:45)
How to do a Squat Properly (doughboys put legs muscles on )
We again apply our legs’ weight, in slow, eccentric contractions to strengthen the lower pelvic floor, this time adding in concentration on the breath to disentangle the hips from, well, everything else. It’s a rude awakening, but an important one.
Solid spine configuration is core to this lesson. The trick the use of the knees as pulleys to catch and lift the pelvis - one side, the other, then both together - while engaging the spine in its support function. This is an opportunity to explore deeply how to align the low back for optimal strength and support for both the legs and the upper body.
Unnecessary tension is both tiring and can lead to injury. In Feldenkrais language, this excess muscle engagement is called ‘parasitic’ movement. Here is a chance to strip that extra tension away and allow freer movement, unconstrained by parts that want to help, but are actually getting in the way. Look into the chest, the upper back, neck, jaw, tongue (yes!) and toes for tension that only holds you back.
Read the Full Lesson Post, with All Video Links
Video References include:
Target Your Rectus Abdominis with 3 Ab Exercises (useful up to 1:45)
Hanging Leg Raises (shows relationship of psoas from femur to spine to help elucidate ‘spine as pyramid’
More Pelvic Floor - Integration - Orchestra and Balcony 1 - Side-sliding Ribs
The shimmy workshop is all about finding the side-to-side, fan-like movement of the ribs: the middle ribs, lower ribs and the teeny ones up under the arm pit. (What? There are ribs there?) And harmonizing the ribs, maracas and the pelvic floor.
Fan imagery can be helpful in visualizing the ribs in this lesson.
I watched tens of YouTube tutorials on belly dance, fire dance and samba-style chest circles, but none came close to this and the next lesson for breaking down rib movement. What Dr. Feldenkrais developed for judokus is very transferrable to other movement forms.
This is a side-lying lesson. You choose the side. You may want some support for your head, and maybe a spacer between your knees to protect a sensitive back.
Reach the entire lesson Post, including video references
A few videos from this lesson:
Intercostal Muscles (cool wikipedia animation of the chest)
Intercostal Muscles - Function, Area & Course - Human Anatomy | Kenhub
Muscles of the Thoracic Wall – 3D Anatomy Tutorial (Longer video with lots of detail, musculature covered up to 7:40
More Pelvic Floor - Integration - Orchestra and Balcony - 2 - Lift and Separate
Gliding Ribs Front and Back, with a Shoulder Blade Detour
This is a celebration of the interconnections between ribs, shoulder blades, spine and pelvis. And an affirmation that with a little attention, time, and instruction, beautiful chest circles are yours.
This lesson is familiar, one of my favorites. It’s sometimes called the ‘Gentle Fingers, Pretty Ribbons.” This ‘Orchestra and Balcony” variation builds support from the pelvic floor up through the ‘pyramid’ of the lumbar spine to enable complete freedom in the thoracic spine, ribs front and back, shoulders, and clavicles.
Like last week, this is a side-lying lesson designed to give thoracic spine and ribs lots of flex. We will also connect to last week’s side-to-side rib sliding. From there, chest circles are yours.
Have some cheek support and maybe something for between your legs for lying on your side in maximum comfort.
Videos viewed in this lesson:
Shakira – Ojos Asi – young Shakira sings and shimmies 2007 – the gist of this lesson’s movements (~7 min) and simply beautiful
The Shoulder Girdle – 3D Anatomie Lyons - movements of the scapulae (~2 min)
The Serratus Anterior – 3D Antatomie Lyons – details of the muscles around the shoulder blade and ribs (~2 min)
More Pelvic Floor - Orchestra and Balcony - 3 - You Know How to Whistle, Steve, Don't You?
“You just put your lips together and blow”
Teaching Tools for This Lesson: You will need a cork that you are willing to put in your mouth. You may want to wash your hands in preparation for rolling your lips.
This lesson comes from Italian Feldenkrais trainer Mara Fusero, Instituto Feldenkrais. I imagine Mara as Sophia Loren, teaching an ATM in Italian-accented English, with long lunch breaks in the olive grove, while somewhere in the background someone sings an aria.
Bacall was a teenager when she shot this scene, but lips that can whistle are the right of women of any age. We may have to reimagine our self image - so here we go.
No science nerd candy this lesson. You might refer back posts on to the muscles of the face and, the tongue for relevant anatomy images. You might also practice your chest circles and pelvic floor contractions to get in the mood.
Lauren Bacall To have and Have Not 1944 source. https:::envisioningtheamericandream.com
MORE PELVIC FLOOR - ORCHESTRA AND BALCONY - 4 - CARRY IT LIKE AUDREY
Perfect clavicles, shoulders and neck
Another “Orchestra and Balcony” moment to lengthen the back, lift the chest, look clearly at the horizon.
Our role model is the epitome of elegance, the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. This is a favorite breathing lesson refocused to bring lift to the clavicles and sternum and expanse to the upper back ribs. All the while connecting to the pelvic floor. You can add in the cork for extra soft lips.
MORE PELVIC FLOOR - ORCHESTRA AND BALCONY - 5 - IT’S A WRAP
I’m Ready for my Closeup
This last lesson is formally called “The Tongue” lesson, but I call it the “Botox lesson” for the way it relaxes the face and lips. The root of that relaxation is the tongue.
We will be exploring the feeling sense of the jaw, and, similarly to the cork lesson, move the lips without moving the jaw and move the tongue in every direction it can go. All the while keeping the tongue as soft and neutral as possible, and seeking the connection of tongue to pelvic floor via the abs.
Enjoy the classic line, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” from the film original and the Broadway musical adaption with Glenn Close, who really can sing. It’s creepy, yes. But the line is a thing of beauty. (There’a also a Carol Burnett version - you’ll have to look it up yourself.)