Category: Movement

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Hip, Knee, Ankle Pain? Check your feet!

feet

If you’re sitting or laying down, your knees (and ankles to some degree) aren’t weight baring; generally it won’t be noticeable if there is an imbalance or some damage in the muscles that produce the movement around these joints.  It’s when we translate weight through the legs during standing, walking, that the problems may present.

When you walk, are you aware how you walk?  Do you notice which parts of your feet hit the ground?

Does your shoe always wear out evenly?  As opposed to more on one edge more than another.

Are you pain free from ankle, knee or hip pain when walking/running/exercising?

If answering no to any of the above questions my curiosity as a movement professional would have me watching your feet in static but more particularly in dynamic standing.  It can be a question of the chicken or the egg?  Which came first, the joint pain or having an irregular gait (i.e. the way you walk)?  I watch thousands of pairs of feet, regularly (either in my clients or just people who walk the streets of London in front of me in my day.  For me clients, by also hearing or seeing what issues are present for the body, it no longer surprises me to hear what pains a person has after seeing them move on their feet.  The more I watch, the more I remember how many problems I had before educating myself about the biomechanics of walking.

So, if you have unexplained pain in your hip, knee or ankle (or even in your shoulders and back but that’s too complicated for this simple blog post), try paying a bit more attention to your feet..

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Yet Again the Yoga Practice Creeps Up On Me

Some of you will know, some won’t. I’ve been in rehab since May, it was a ‘special’ start to the year and I’m still recovering; although I think this rehab (basic rest and recovery in many facets of life) span is capturing and restoring my body, energy and such from a much deeper and older set of wounds.

Today I awoke with the sun, I have black out style curtains but still, the sun bought me up with him, therefore giving me an hour or so to practice before work. During the past 5 months I’ve practiced physical yoga perhaps twice, kind of, as my injuries have been too loud otherwise.

As I practice simply Uttansana, Trikonasana, Parsvottonasana I get more richness than perhaps ever before. I realise once I’m done, that I’ve been practicing yoga all along, it’s that I’ve been working on the first 2 limbs of the yamas and niyamas. It’s in these first 2 limbs, before the asan, ie physical practice as most people know yoga, that we work on how we treat ourselves in respect to our individual person and in respect to being in society. This is where the foundations are laid.

I read this week about someone criticising yoga for being too self-indulgent and too much of an industry and, I couldn’t agree more. However, IF we all taught as teachers or were taught as students more on these first 2 limbs before the acrobatics (I don’t do acrobatics for my practice by the way, it’s just not for me), I think yoga may have a better vibe, feeling and presence within our o so needy global community right now, especially here in the West.

Thank you yoga practice and teachers, no word of a lie, it really did save and is transforming my life, a little more each and every day x

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I Just Don’t Feel Like It

I Just Don't Want To Do It

I Just Don't Want To Do It

I Just Don’t Feel Like It.  Would missing that class be a total abomination of my physique, training, or education?  Would not going out with my friends, making me a bad friend, a recluse, or to never meet my match?..  What happens when I don’t feel like doing what’s on the agenda?   Would missing all those things affect me in a negative way?

So far, by ditching what I don’t feel like (even if it’s a last minute change of heart) and taking the time to listen to what I do want to do; I’ve gained ridiculous energy for other, previously neglected areas of my life.  For example, finding new interests, fixing my bike, contact with family and old friends, taking better care of myself, and more in depth research into the niggles which have been bothering me for years.

The I Just Don’t Feel Like It scenario I’ve recognised when working with clients too, as I work partially in the fitness industry, and it’s here people want to be pushed and pushed to achieve and do more.  You name it, it’s on the table, better buns, abs, biceps, smaller waist..  I don’t consider my teaching as fitness per se, but Pilates and yoga are both tied up in it in our society, and I’ve been constantly doubting if I push my clients enough, especially in group classes..  My thinking is, if you have the energy there to pay attention and apply yourself to a situation, THEN You’ll do the work, if you don’t, then maybe take the time to rest?  Give your best to a situation you feel like applying yourself to, though this might be hardcore napping or having tea with friends. I’d suggest, anything that isn’t wasting energy by staring into a screen..  Work with good form, not in a half assed kinda gonna do something..  In my opinion, that’s just time wasting.

Why can’t we do our best and when we need to, take a rest so we can evaluate if we need to keep going or, change track?  Why do we have to run ourselves into the ground and rely on caffeine, supplements and other people to get us going?  Why can’t we tune into our innate intelligence and realise what it is that we do have energy for?

The more we leave ourselves to NOT do the things we don’t feel like, the more we come to understand WHAT it is that we do feel like doing.  When you keep doing things because you think you ‘should’, they act as distractions from the things which may otherwise ignite our enthusiasm to be proactive and get out into the world; however that looks for each individual.   It might feel a bit messy at first, but trust yourself, that if you don’t feel like doing something or going somewhere, then there’s another part of life waiting for you to discover it..  Of course, this isn’t going to work for everyone, I’m still investigating what it is when people are so called ‘Lazy’, as I’ve never been considered as lazy, to me it seems like hardcore procrastination; perhaps fear based, but that’s a whole other topic..

I’d love to hear any comments…

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Somatic Unwinding

So far, the experience has been profound.  I’m feeling a need on some level to do some crazy exercise to shake it all up and get back into my past default in questing for muscular strength.  However, having just received a second 1:1 hands on session of Body Mind Centering, from the lead trainer Katy Dymoke, I’m just going to continue to lay on the floor and be with the tangled mess which is my inner body..  This beautifully sweet training, and supporting body work is helping me to unwind the world of pain felt in my body which; I had surrendered to needing to endure forever, now I’m not so sure.

nerves

It’s a crying shame that despite the amount of yoga and Pilates sessions I’ve received that there isn’t more of this information present.  I have just 2 teachers in each discipline whom teach from this perspective.  THIS is what it’s all about, not your abs, your yoga selfies or your legs a kimbo!..  I’m so exhausted, in a good way, hence why this is the only thing I’ve managed to publish through out my so far 2 weeks Somatics training, but more is coming!  Watch this space ..

Day 3 Nervous System, 2nd Session with Katy

Dropping in, listening..

Relearning how to hear.

A deep yearning for these pathways to clear!

To sense in(my)sides,

Of course before sensing the other may fully arise..

Organ support, how to purport?

After a life time of neglect,

6 short years means I’m not quite there yet..

So many feelings, mainly in my gut and head,

To hear, implicitly, impartially,

My body craving this in its totality.

I’m sorry, I’m here now..

No wonder it all hurts, for so long working as a disjunct and abstract organism..

It’s not just you dear muscles, ligaments and bones whom need to hold up this being.

It’s not just you dear organs, fluids and glands, whom cope with digestion, procreation and feeling..

As, all together, a synergy can persist,

Allowing ease, strength and harmony to exist.

Crossed messages, fibres and pain,

Never again can I move the same..

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Fighting Monkey (Copenhagen Workshop 2016)

For 4 days I’d had my mind blown
Head fuck extraordinaire..  Fighting Monkey Copenhagen 2016, Monkey Mind doesn’t stand a chance..

IMG_3482

Jozef and Linda share about moving in a way which is not only palatable but accessible and really freaking exiting.  Moving with your whole organism, opening up or enhancing ones ability to respond to oncoming challenge, moving harmoniously within your natural organism and within your environment. Assertive yet open encouragement to break out of preconditioned patterns and models, and providing the space to entice every cell of your being to work at it’s best. To keep moving, using the constant current of life and your universal vibration in order to respond to unknown variables. Coming out of the prefrontal cortex, the analysis part of your mind, and coming into the space of infinite potential; thus allowing a maximal harmonious play with your environment, whatever that may be..

For me, being a mover for a lot less time than most of those who were also attending the workshop, I found it highly demanding but very accommodating and encouraging to allow my mammal organism to move more freely and more ease fully than ever before, with a consciousness beyond the basic mind control, tapping in ever deeper to ones central channel. The principles they use are delivered in a manner such that I believe anyone can gain, whatever their background; however to have a good awareness of ones mechanics beforehand is a must to enable safe and optimal participation.

I trained intensely before this workshop, mainly working on strength and balance; this was a wise impulse for me to follow as you need to have at least a certain amount of balanced perception of strength and flexibility in order to progress through the games architecture offered. My journey with movement clearly started when I was created in the womb, but due to my path in life, movement took a sideline for schooling, university and the inevitable working at a desk for several years; following the path I assumed to be the one I needed to follow..  No matter what your background, if you’re reading this, you have a body (however that has manifested it’s unique and wonderful self) and to have a body means you NEED to move it.  Use it, or lose it.. 😉

Having a few year experience with martial arts (kick boxing mainly) and more recently with Pilates and yoga put me in good stead to keep up, awareness and knowledge of biomechanics has also been fundamental in allowing me to move in way which has reduced the stress on my body and thus increase its desired output. As when you move with poor form, this not only stresses your joints but also your nervous, energetic, emotional, digestive and other biological systems; don’t get me wrong, any movement is better than no movement but let me just drop in the word ‘optimal’ to marinade on one’s brain..  Once an awareness about basic mechanics has been embodied these proposers of fighting monkeys blow all of that out of the water. When I work with people who don’t move enough or don’t have enough awareness of their body and I can see why my other teachers have placed such strong emphasis on ‘correct’ movement; I.e. Offering movement tasks to people which can help them to stabilise and open up joints in a safe manner. This is not the only way. The joints and structures need to be allowed to move in such a way which challenges them, tests them, not only supporting them.  I can see from a general teaching stance how these techniques of basic linear alignment can help in general classes with people who aren’t so interested in movement per se and perhaps, need to first build up their basics and manage general and obvious pathologies; but I’m very happy to redefine, rebuild and reimagine what these blessed bodies can do..

Linda’s smooth and elegant yet super strong movements inspire the sense of grace and ease with the vibration of each and every one of your cells.  Jozef’s apparent background with martial arts often brings in the element of fighting to the games he shared, or I guess this could be put as, the need to respond to irregular happenings in the environment, as it’s generally not the case that our every step and every interaction will only be challenging us in a uniformed way. Therefore our body requires the neural, biochemical and physical ability to adapt constantly. How do we do that if we have only ever moved in a regular fashion?

All weekend, and in the weeks leading up to this I’ve felt energised, waking up early, until my head has been hitting the pillow (sometimes) being alive.  Now I feel I could sleep for the next month, or two..  So much demand on the systems of my organism, finally catching up with me.  But I wouldn’t change this for the world. I can feel those hard to reach areas are now pulsating with life, even if my muscles are intensely aching and my head is heavy.

The most nourishing part for my spine from the games of the fighting monkey was working a lot with moving my head with the balls.  I’ve discovered or reinforced in my brain where it is I have been having less than complete systems of movement, for me.  I can see, even though I live in a city I need not be holding myself in this bracket and boundaries anymore- mindset is of great importance. Confidence in movement is of great importance too.  I’ll admit, I’ve been quite scared of moving in certain ways as the body I have is an amazing tool for learning; the amount of eccentricities it’s shown me to work through can be pretty tiring but it’s been so refreshing to smash the shit out of what I thought it could do and open up my imagination more to what it’s built to do.

Thanks, respect and big up to Jozef and Linda x