Awareness Through Movement #2

Seeing Heels on the Stomach - a lesson in extension :)

look at how easy this little one makes back extension look, see that beautiful curve in the spine to hold the head up for a cheeky grin. Think of this as you move through tonight’s lesson.

Today’s lesson can be challenging for people who spend a lot of time hunched over - looking at phones, sitting, driving - in what is called ‘flexion’… making the experience of extending back a little uncomfortable. Imagine a stick that has been curved one particular way most of its life and you want to straighten it out - it takes time, please be THAT patient with yourself!

We spend 9 months curled up in the womb, in flexion. At birth it’s the first time the head is extended back as babies prepare to enter the world and take the first breath. Slowly over time our bodies learn to lengthen and extend backward -

Please move slowly so that you can gently introduce these movements to the back.

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen suggests that humans have a front body, back body and a middle body, like a sandwich - as if there are three layers that act independently of each other. If it helps you to think this way, then think that tonight we are working with the back body.