Using rotation to get off the ground safely while looking up
I used to poo-poo the idea of core support. That’s because many folks use the term to mean muscle tone in the front body, usually in the abdominals. I don’t agree that this is your core, or that it is a productive use of energy.
If you have you been struggling to stay mobile because of pain in your lower back, arms or leg joints, you’ve probably been advised to strengthen your core at some point. Chances are no one talked about back muscles though.
Why I made this video series on something I used to poo-poo
I’ve become an SEO slut, basically. I’m shamelessly using this term, and have made a whole series of videos about core support.
I have come to realize the error of my highfalutin Alexander Technique ways. I failed to communicating effectively with lots of people who instinctively understood that there was some kind of support missing in their bodies.
It’s true. Your abdominals will need to engage! It’s just that they are not alone. There are two larger movements that are guaranteed to activate your abdominals in a way that coordinates with lots of other muscles too:
- Movement that gently rotates your core (head, spine, ribs, pelvis)
- An ability to release into and push up off of the ground
Most forms of somatic wisdom, fitness, and bodywork would agree that core support, or activation, is something we all have in common as a goal.
We just have different ways of getting there. I’m so sorry I’ve been such an annoying purist all these years!
One common pitfall: more effort does not equal more support
It makes so much sense that we would assume more effort = more support, but it’s not true. Better coordinated effort will though! Being clear about where you want to go in space helps coordinate all parts of your body.
First, use the support of the ground to let your core body release into full length, depth, and width before you start to move.
Second, get curious about where you want to go.
Third, use rotational movements to get the most out of your mobility in relationship to the ground, using momentum and the spiral design of all your big movement muscles.
That’s why this last video in my series is about using rotation and looking up and out to come up off the floor safely.
One exception to combining extension and rotation
The only exception would be that if you have chronic back pain and you know that it kicks in when you go extend (arch) your lower back, please don’t start your learning process with this last video! Go back to the first video in the series and start there.
But also, I hope you won’t be afraid to look up and out gently. Let your eyes lead your head to extend on your spine, and rotate on your spine, in a small and safe range of movement.
Without this activation of eyes, ears, head and cervical spine, your bigger back muscles won’t be fully activated in all their glory, and it will be difficult to lift your head up and get your legs under your body.
Compression and rigidity weaken muscles
The central idea of the Alexander Technique is that we won’t move well if we are compressing or distorting our core body, the axial skeleton and all its contents.
There are other kinds of pain that it’s related to as well, like repetitive stress injuries (RSI) in your arms or legs. The AT cured me of that as well.
All human movement is made using leverage of limbs in relationship to our axial structure – all the parts that attach to our spine: head, ribs and shoulder girdle, and pelvis; and the relationship of that structure to the earth.
You don’t just want to have strong arms and legs. The movement of arms and legs will not be as powerful or fluid if the center body is stiff, unable to rotate within its structure, or weak. The forces of motion won’t be able to pass through one part of your body to another.
Flexion and extension of the spine is only part of the picture. If you don’t include rotational movement, you won’t really be strengthening your core. Also, if you don’t begin all of your movements – flexion, extension, and rotation – with your skull, sequencing through all the vertebra, you will be stiffening or shortening in one way or another.
When I tried to focus in on only “muscles of the core” (abdominals) as a young dancer, it didn’t strengthen me.
It injured me.
When I started to look at my body in relationship to the ground, and in relationship to getting up off the ground, or getting down to the ground, things shifted for me completely. With curiosity and practice, all my injuries were resolved.
I’m sharing this story in case you’ve been struggling with some of these issues. If you’ve been trying to strengthen:
- your abdominals
- your limbs
- and you are getting injured more often
And you’ve been doing a lot of exercise…and you are not getting stronger, feeling more grounded and freer to move…
If you haven’t looked at this core body, please do, because it could really change things for you.
Injuries heal.
You feel more stable and grounded.
You feel free to move and it feels good
Having a good relationship with the ground is the beginning of all core support. Our felt relationship with the Earth, this huge mass that your body it evolved in relationship to for 500,000 years, is your best friend. Start there and move out and up!