Habits – You and Your Body

How are you doing?  I hope this finds you feeling great! 

But since nobody’s perfect, perhaps you’re a little off today. Are you frazzled, out of your element…or just fuzzy.

The latter is how I’ve been feeling these past two weeks.  There’s work being done on the exterior of the house.  Pounding and noise.  My habits are in uproar, all shaken up.  I leave the house and do my office work outside someplace…  Back again when the workers leave and I see you wonderful clients. Where I can be grounded again in Feldenkrais.  Thank you!

This all has gotten me thinking of habits.  We all have habits.  Some are very beneficial like a routine that helps you stay calm and get things done.  Others are just things you do on automatic. You don’t give much thought to do otherwise.  You don’t even know that there is an option for otherwise.  And maybe it doesn’t matter until it does…

Daily Movement Habits

Since I’m the movement lady I’m drawn to movement habits.  One of the benefits of what Feldenkrais does for you is help you change your inefficient movement habits. For example if you move a certain way to reach up to the cabinet to get a glass.  That’s the way you always do it.  One day “out of the blue” your shoulder hurts.  What’s up with that you say? It just happened out of the blue you say.

Maybe you’re been reaching only from your shoulder.  Maybe your feet don’t know they can help too or that your pelvis can help too.  How would you know that if you never felt it or paid it any attention?

In Awareness Through Movement (ATM) classes and Functional Integration one-on-one sessions we explore different ways your body can move efficiently, smoothly and comfortably. We use tiny incremental steps and really unusual and different steps too.  This way your body and mind can find the right way, the way that feels the most comfortable.

Of course this takes time. 

You can practice this on your own. Pay attention to one physical activity you do everyday. 

Take that one movement like reaching up for something in the cabinet. 

Where do you feel the action take place?  How far down your skeleton do you feel the reaching?  How far down to your feet you do feel the action?  How comfortable are you, how could you be more comfortable?  You’re giving yourself a mini ATM lesson.

Me, sitting at the library writing this I bring my attention to my feet on the floor.  And take a breath.  The work on the house will be done soon and in the meantime I pay attention to my body and take a breath.