Full Body Gardening, Springtime 1: Raking = Diagonals
Monk elegantly rakes pebbles.
Image source: http://priorworld.com/editorial/japanese-gardens-yamashita
Full Body Gardening, Springtime 1: Raking = Diagonals
Pulling from toe to tip to save a back
Variations on the “Minimal Lifting” lesson as taught by Arlyn Zones, GCFT®
Is there any movement involving an arm or leg that isn't a diagonal? Look and you shall find. Reach the arm and find the support in the opposite hip. Lift the knee and the opposite lower ab is there to support the floating torso.
Time spent exploring these geometric body relationships can be profoundly worthwhile. And can help save your back in the garden. In this lesson, your tool is the rake and the overall motion is pulling. The diagonals in question run from the front toe through to the opposite shoulder. The arms matter too, but it’s the hip-shoulder relationship where the power and distribution of work play out.
This lesson may be familiar to some - we covered it in “The Grand Horizontals” This version is seated to better feel the connections to gravity and rake. Lift one shoulder at a time and feel how that movement flows through your torso. Then start connecting one shoulder to the opposite hip to find where the movement flows or stops. To balance things, we connect the hip and shoulder on the same side - because those connections are always there, providing backup support.
Set Up:
Seated on a flat-bottom, armless chair. Thighs and hips level. Use a folded blanket on the chair to raise the hips, on the floor to raise the feet.
If you want, have short broomstick or other stick-y thing to use as a rake
The Voice-O-Meter sounds this week, chosen for their connection to corners:
Lung Sound - SSSSSSSSSSSS - the sound of wind in dried leaves - releasing grief and making space for courage
Kidney Sound - CHOOOOOO - the sound of breath echoing through a long tube - forcing out cold, fearful energy and making space for gentleness and generosity
I searched hard for some Science Nerd Candy diagonals, but I am ahead of my time. Close approximation:
Bird Dog Exercise | Improve Your Core and Balance, Muscle and Motion: (1:18) Shows the movement of the shoulder blade and pelvis as shoulder blades slide upward and low back curls. Try translating this movement to sitting, standing, raking.
How you might feel after this lesson: Connected; ribs soft and flexible, shoulders and neck relaxed; longer reach; settled into the hips; surprisingly deep twist in the torso; breath optimally matched to movement; increased stamina for paddling or peddling; more powerful golf or tennis stroke. Full body raking - get that gravel out of the grass, the grass aerated, the mud clods broken up!
Thanks to colleague Anita Bueno for inspiring this series and sharing her lesson scripts.
New Student Registration for the series. Continuing students use ongoing login. $40/month or $15/individual class. PayPal or Venmo: jackisue@aol.com. Or Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574