Liberating Your Jaw With Your Voice - 5 - Floor to Core (feat. Angelique Kidjo)
Angelique Kidjo - Agolo (1994 video)
Liberating Your Jaw with Your Voice - 5 - Floor to Core
The Voice-O-Meter Kidney and Lung Sound’s Guide to Relaxing the Abs and Finding Your Voice
How does the spectacular Angelique Kidjo sing AND dance like that? Part of the answer may be her exquisite posture. This week we review a lesson that explores the core, using the ultimate tension finder: The Voice-O-Meter.
Spines twist, rotate and bend to allow the amazingly free movement that lets humans dance and dive and spin and hit golf balls. The spine also lock in for stability.
The three layers of intrinsic back muscles, known as the erector spinea, collectively extend from the sacrum to the base of the skull. These muscles are associated with the movements of the vertebral column, and the control of posture. Also feeding into the spine are the psoas muscles, which depend on the stability of the spine to properly lift the leg.
Abdominal and thigh muscles. Image source: innerbody.com
This lesson comes from Deborah Bowes’ “Pelvic Floor Discovery” series. She adapted it from a classic Awareness Through Movement lesson (AY97).
Exploring the solid spine configuration is core to this lesson. Knees, as pulleys, catch and lift the pelvis - one side, the other, then both together - drive the spine into stability to support for both the legs and the upper body.
Optimal use of the knees. source: target your rectus abdominus with 3 Ab Exercises
Skillfully connecting the pelvis and spine through the feet and knees is the lesson intro. Step two: channeling the movement of the pelvis into the spine, the ribs, head and neck.
And that is where the Voice-O-Meter comes in. The voice is the ultimate and most intimate gauge of the tensions that constrain movement and may lead to injury.
This week’s Voice-O-Meter sounds will be:
Kidney: CHOOOOO, releasing damp cold and fear, making room for kindness,
Lung: SSSSSSS, releasing dry cold and grief, making room for courage.
With those connections clear, the only thing blocking your voice is your mind. (See The World Needs to Hear Your Voice Blog post.)
Science nerd candy bowl (it’s been a while): reviews of spinal anatomy and physiology,
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’)
Abdominal Bracing (A review of the abdominal muscles’ structure, with an animation of this lesson’s centerpiece movement at 2:42)
L'ilio-psoas ou psoas-iliaque (French, shows psoas’ connection from leg to spine - a theme this week - in sit ups)
Visualizing the spine as a pyramid, with psoas connecting femur to spine for supporting the legs.
Visualizing the front support system, from leg through pelvis to chest. This support allows you to breathe and move.
Source: Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga
This can be an energetic lesson, so take it slowly and rest at the first hint of tiredness. Or let Angelique and her dance troupe get you calling on the ancestors and singing along, even if you don’t know the words.
How You Might Feel After This Lesson: Connected from toe to top, Open ribs; Deep breath; Diaphragm and pelvic floor activated; Fresh understanding of how the abs, psoas and back muscles support the spine; Taller; Tuned into the power of a connected core; Inspired to try African dance ; )
Agolo
I just saw
the face of the god
of love and
Tenderness passing my window
At this moment don't despair, let's think
Of the love that mother earth offers us
If we are generous, she will make our
Future prosperousLove, life, mother earth
Love, life, Africa motherland
Enjoy the benefits of mother earth