Awareness to SHIMMY - ribs, ribs, ribs

Get those ribs moving - and not just for circle or belly dancing. Open ribs give your breath depth, your twists more rotation, your low back more room to breathe (think about that), your neck better support and thus relaxation. Practicing this lesson, I found some important clues about where I was gripping my middle ribs, and how that habit has contributed to my slumping habit. Big learning!

If you only have 15 seconds - at a stop light, cross walk full of phone-gazing pedestrians, when you receive a call you don’t want to answer - try this micro-move:

• From lying on your side or sitting in a firm chair: breathe into the middle side ribs, those agains the floor or side of your choice, and let the ribs on that side expand apart.

• Notice how the ribs on the other side come together.

• Let the movement flow through your whole torso.

• If you have time, raise the opposite arm overhead on the floor or towards the ceiling. As you expand the opposite ribs, turn to look at the raised arm. Or just imagine it raised, and turn your head to look at it.

Here’s the full lesson transcript for those who would like to repeat the lesson. The instructions are the same for each area of the ribs, so it’s pretty easy to remember once you have the pattern down. Enjoy!

1.     Observe your sense of volume and fullness. Wider or narrower.  Side to side.  Feelings about what you are sensing?  Where does the front begin and the back end?  Where do the sides begin and end?

2.     Choose your more comfortable side to lie on.  Roll onto that side.

3.     Press ribs into the floor.  Notice your definition of ribs.

4.     Focus on your MIDDLE RIBS, whatever that means to you.

• Press your middle ribs into the floor.  Feel where you work, how you make it happen.

• Lift middle ribs away from the floor. 

• Push middle ribs upward to a ‘hand resting on your ribs”. Move them upward.

• Draw ribs away from Imaginary hand on middle ribs

5.     Repeat with LOWER ribs, lift away from floor, push into floor, imagine a hand pressing the ribs down, then following a hand that lifts away from the ribs. The rest.

6.  Repeat with UPPER ribs. Lift away from floor, push into floor, imagine the hand pressing down then lifting up and follow. Notice how your spine changes shape to work with these upper, often mysterious ribs under the clavicles and shoulder blades. Rest

7.  Take ceiling side arm over head and take hold of opposite ear.  Lift head. 

8.  On side, Imagine a hand on the top side of pelvis and shoulder.  Move hands away form each other, hip and shoulder move apart.  When pelvis or shoulder stops, stop movement so both move begin and end together. Then bring the ribs together as shoulder and hip move towards each other.

9.  Lift middle ribs away from floor. Compare to first time.  Push and compare. More distribution? 

10.  What is your sense of front, back, sides, depth, volume, breath, balance and symmetry?a.     Roll to stand.  Now walk, sense shape, breath, feet on floor. Notice your regal bearing! And try a shimmy - you go!