Too Darn Hot! Super Cool Minimal Movement - 4 - Imagining Connections
Too Darn Hot
Super Cool Minimal Moves
Imagining Connections adapted from “Becoming Aware of Parts of Which We are not Conscious with the Help of Those of Which We are Conscious” From the Awareness Through Movement book
There are natural lines of connection/tension that we can use to move smoothly. Mabel Todd talked about these structures in her 1937 book, The Thinking Body, much admired by Moshe Feldenkrais. Ida Rolf, also deeply respected by Moshe Feldenkrais, based her Rolfing technique on working them. Tom Meyers has taken the concept to a new level, creating the “Anatomy Trains” approach.
These connections are now known as fascia, sheets of connective tissue that is found below the skin that attach, stabilize, impart strength, maintain vessel patency, separate muscles, and enclose different organs. Fascia may appear passive structurally but are, in fact, active. They can provide support for surrounding tissues, help reduce friction, and can transmit mechanical tension generated by muscular activity or external forces. Current researchers are exploring how the fascia integrate and support whole body movement.
Basic Front and back lines of force - fascial connections - that link the muscles to each other and connect the body as a whole.
Of course Moshe Feldenkrais was on top of this.
This lesson comes from Moshe Feldenkrais’ book Awareness Through Movement book, chapter 11. Moshe defines this lesson as a means of bringing awareness to parts of self that are ‘invisible’ - not in conscious awareness. But the lesson is also, by its construction, an extremely low impact exploration of whole-body fascial connections.
To get there we will imagine a ball rolling down the back lines. To access the back lines, a prone, or tummy-down position is suggested. If that doesn’t work for you, no worries, ATMs are infinitely adaptable to different orientations; lying supine or chair sitting are different, but valuable variations.
Unusually, the movements here go from the outside in. Begin by imagining a lovely, cool ball rolling from the foot to the back of your calf. Back and forth. Then roll the ball from the opposite hand to it’s elbow.
Roll, roll, roll. Slowly, the ball rolls from toe through the pelvis and along the spine, past the shoulder blade and all the out to the opposite fingertip. Tracing the fascia lines, bringing clarity, making connections up the center, across the diagonals, and balancing front and back: this lesson covers it all with exquisite economy.
Thinking about this lesson could lead one down the rabbit hole of basketball tricks, but I resist. Still, Azura Stevens, a top 2020 WNBA draft might make a good lesson model
Science Nerd Candy Bowl:
Anatomy Trains: The Superficial Back Line - Muscle and Motion (2:17) - Animation of the fascia lines through the back line
Myofascial Lines - Catfit Global (4:50) - Animation of the tensile lines of the human body: Back functional lines at 0:49, Superficial functional lines 1:36, Spiral Line at 2:30, Arm lines at 3:57
Fascia Lines are the intersections of the body - descriptive Web page
Set Up:
On a mat on the floor, lying on your front. You might want padding for your tummy, across the top of your chest, and possibly for under your chin
You can also do this lesson supine, lying on back, with the usual supports
OR sit on a firm, stable chair with knees and hips level
How you might feel after this lesson: Cool and quiet; Connected fingertip to toes, with clarity on everything in between; Curious about fascia (I hope to take a workshop to bring more to you later); Balanced side-to-side and front-to-back; Aware of the correspondences of front and back lines, and how to use them for greater support and grace.
A smooth, classy, light interpretation