BodyMind Think Tank

By Dr. Martha Eddy and Lesley Powell

Lesley: When I was working at Dr. Bachrach’s Center of Sports Medicine, one of the client with a back injury came to work with me. He asked how long would it take to get back to playing tennis. I didn’t answer, I just started doing the Bartenieff Fundamentals with him, particularly the knee drop, diagonals and arm circles. This client had very little rotational ability in his body. When a person is unable to move well in one plane, they will often overuse the other planes. It was clear how he misused “his body in space” had led to his back injury. His rotation improved immensely as well as total body mobility.

The rotary factor is an important in all of our movement. To rotate is to be human. First look at the human body. There is not one bone without some kind of curve and/or spiral. The pull of the muscles on the bones must follow along the lines of the bones. Rotation is underlying in all of our movement. The movements of the bones are usually rolling, gliding and rotating. Rotation has enabled us our mobility and strength. It is rotation that enables us to make level changes and move through space. The simple action of getting out of bed requires internal and external rotation of the thighbones and the pelvis rotating on the femur heads. Observe a baby lying on the floor and its transitions from the floor to sit, crawl and eventually stand up. You will see gradated rotation of the thighbones and the pelvis to accomplish these tasks.

Martha: I am glad that you talked about babies Lesley. We all begin as babies and babies usually begin their movement workout on the floor. On the floor we can spread out, relax, and see the world. Judith Kestenberg - child psychiatrist and movement expert noted that children gain movement repetoire first on the floor and during this time they gain spinal flexibility and perceptual flexibility.

As we go grow older, the LMA systems believe, that this flexibility transfers to the ability to explore options. In our BodyMind Fitness approach we encourage clients who have lost their capacity to twist and spiral physically to find the horizontal plane again AND to re-engage in exploring options within their environment and attitudes. Our approach to rotation has nuances as well. We use phyiscal therapist Irmgard Bartenieff’s brilliant concept of gradated rotation to activate muscle chains in a sequential fashion. This awareness gives equal power to all of the joints along the pathway (from vertabra to vertebra or from finger tip to elbow). By equalizing forces we balance muscles and realign joints. Then we ask clients to note what feels different and how this new way of movement may bring out a new attitude or choice, or not. Options are always options. To quote Bartenieff - “there are always multiple possibilities.” In our fast paced forward moving world the pressures of life sometimes block out our sense of options.

At CKE our motto is “relax, feel, move, take action.” In our BodyMind Fitness work we often also take the somatic approach to finding rotation by getting down on the floor. On the floor we take time to breathe, widen, release, spread out - letting go of the intensity of gravity. Then we activate core and distal muscles with awareness of our movement through space. Instead of just crunches we provide movement options in many different directions. Rotation is just part of the picture but one that is often missing. Our3D Fitness series puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. Join us on April 12 or send a friend at Movements Afoot
Go to online scheduling and workshops to sign up!!