From Core to Floor - 2 - Roll Legs, Engage Floor
Kwan Yin - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Song Room
From Core to Floor - 2 - Roll Legs, Engage Floor
Coordinating Breath, Pelvis and Legs
Based on “Activating Sides of the Pelvic Floor” as taught by Deborah Bowes, GCFP
Working muscles without understanding the overall structure they fit into can be an exercise in amplifying pre-existing bad habits and imbalances. That’s what Kegels did for Deborah Bowes and the reason she sought to develop a balanced and strong pelvic floor. This lesson is about sensing into and rebalancing side preferences.
This is an on-your-back lesson that spotlights the left and right sides of the pelvic floor. The ‘levers of awareness’ are the legs. We feel into how, with coordination, rocking the pelvic makes space for the legs to roll outward (inhale) and inward (exhale.).
This is a deceptively simple lesson - accessible for new students, an opportunity to go deep for those who have some experience sensing inward.
Don’t be surprised if you find some major side to side differences. Heads up: you may improve the way you walk.
Science Nerd Candy: If you want a review of the pelvic floor system musculature - enjoy:
Ilio-psoas Muscle (a short build up of the pelvis-knee connection)
The female pelvic organs: the muscles of the pelvic floor, the inner walls of the pelvic cavity (a 7 minute exploration of all the bones, muscles and organs that layer up to create the pelvic floor system)
Abdominal Muscles (little dough boy builds up the abdominal anatomy - see sidebar)
The adductors and the gracilis medial compartment of the thigh (demonstration of how the adductors work. Unfortunately, the pelvis is immobilized and doesn’t show coordination of breath, pelvis and legs. Best I could find.)
Hanging Leg-Hip Raise | Muscle & Motion (little dough boy orchestrates pelvic tilt)
Pelvic floor balance is critical to overall balance in standing and sitting. Now is the perfect time to start improving your balance. Your future self is thanking you.
Set Up:
Lying supine on a mat
OR sitting on a firm-bottom chair with knees and thighs level. A footstool or folded towels to raise the floor might be helpful to simulate bent knees
How you might feel after this lesson: Tuned into your root chakra/pelvic floor, Clear on the connection from the abs to the back; Tuned into your particular preferences and how they affect your pelvic floor; Sensitive to the pelvic floor’s role in balance in sitting and standing.
If you have a Wednesday 9:30 am or 6:30 pm class registration, keep using it. If you were registered for the 12:00 pm Wednesday session, you’ll need to register. Registered, paid students receive the lesson recording link on Thursday. $50/6-lesson series; $15/single lesson. PayPal or Venmo to jackisue@aol.com. Or check to Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574
For new student registration, Click Here