String of Pearls/Solid Support - 1 - From the Tip Down
String of Pearls / Sold Support
Exploring the Spine - From the Tip of the Tongue Down (Your Tongue Rudder)
Based on “Liberating Your Neck and Jaw 1” as taught by David Zemach-Berson, GCFT®
“It’s all about the pelvis,” says one of my Feldenkrais teachers. True, true. But let’s not forget about what the pelvis supports: that whipping, twisting, lifting, turning, curling, arching, stable spine. The structure that makes us the upright apes we are.
And while we have done a whole lot of work on using the weighty and centralized pelvis to simplify movement, for this lesson we raise our awareness to the subtle influence at the very top of the spine. Deep within the head, which we will explore in this series, is the tongue. This complex muscle is optimized for eating and forming sounds. We are going to try using it as a ‘rudder’ to gently guide the spine.
As the Femunculus model demonstrates, the tongue takes up a whole lot of motor cortex real estate, as do the hands and genitals. The tongue is among first muscles we develop as we reach for food and suck it out and down.
This is a quieting, deep within lesson. You might be a bit spaced out by the end. We will lie supine and feel into the echos of a moving tongue as they reverberate down the spine and into the whole body.
The implications of this awareness might bring performance insights for high level athletes and musicians, For the rest of us, it’s back to our babyhood roots to as we rediscover “I have a tongue!”
Science Nerd Candy Bowl: See all the great info from the last round of this series
Not many practices take the tongue connection as deeply asGCFT®. Therefore, not too many images that connect the tongue to spine. This is the best I could find for the moment.
Set Up:
Lying supine (on your back) with appropriate head support. Cervical spine alignment is critical to this lesson, so pay close attention to whether you can easily swallow while lying on your back. If your saliva catches at all, bring some support for the back of your head or neck.
Some poeple may want support under their knees or low back. You know what you need.
How You Might Feel After This Lesson: Tongue connections to spine; Deeply relaxed; Soft Face (I’m ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille); Tall, elegantly postured; Refined athletic performance for the highest performers - and maybe the rest of us. Playful like a genius.
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
Originally by “Bread,” a young Boy George turned a rock ballad into a reggae love song. What’s the tongue connection? Wait for the very end…. Everything I Own