Imagine someone doing some basic steps and spins, but they aren't particularly enthused or invigorated by the act. The mover appears 'in their head' as they shift between making technical adjustments and anticipating what's next. They may be having fun, but it's hard to tell based on their expression.
Now, imagine those same movements performed by the same person, in a state of celebration.
If you look at any beginner movement class, you'll see widely-varying degrees of bodily awareness. However, regardless of how someone moves, with a little bit of cueing, anyone can feel if they are in contact with the floor or not.
You don’t need skill or imagination to sense your contact with the floor. You may not be paying attention to it most of the time, but it doesn't require anatomical awareness to grasp what 'weight-bearing' is or to notice which of your parts have the most pressure.
Weight bearing is a constant thing (unless you are temporarily airborne, space traveling, or swimming, you are bearing weight, somehow).
Yet, the details of rolling contacts are rarely zeroed in on outside of higher-level movement environments. But...they could be.
Yesterday, I witnessed a group movement experience that I was SO glad I was not a part of.
After a month away and a week of living the truck driver life, I got a month-long pass to a nearby gym. It’s primarily a rock-climbing gym, but they have a weight room upstairs.
This particular gym runs some group conditioning classes inside of the weight room. While I was gleefully doing irreverent things on the back extension bench, a voice came over the loudspeaker letting everyone know that “Body Blast with Mr. Blasty Blast” [ok, not his real name] was starting soon. I thought, “Oh nice, I’ll get to see if I would ever want to join the class.” Consensus:
OH NO, I WILL NOT FUCKING EVER. (Unless you pay me. I’d consider it if money were involved.)
Have you ever noticed how much a dose of movement impacts your mood?
If you've been sitting down all day and you go outside for a walk, you are likely to feel better. I know I do. However, if you go to a practice session with unreasonably lofty expectations ('I'm gonna do this hard thing I saw and it'll be perfect, just like that Instagram video'), you probably won't leave feeling like a winner. And if you're not skilled at overriding and reframing your own nay-saying... you might not walk away feeling vibrant.
You've likely heard of the research which confirms that exercise is mood boosting (it's usually accompanied by a stock image of people in bright-colors faux-grinning on a jog). While movement does provoke chemical changes that make you feel nice, your approach can amplify the positive after-effects or knock them right out of you.
Did you know I spent decades of my life *wishing* I had the courage to be fully IN my dance?
Until my mid-twenties, I did the majority of my ‘dancing’ as a student in dance classes. As I learned and reviewed, I pushed myself, but I arely felt the dance was emanating from my body in a truthful way.
In an attempt to feel more connected to my movement, I would remind myself of how much I love to dance. I would repeat versions of the phrase, "You want this, you live for this, don’t let this opportunity slip by."
Pillows. In our culture, they’re viewed as necessary bed-time equipment. Along with sheets and blankets, pillows are so strongly associated with sleep that the idea of foregoing one seems unrefined or ‘strange’ to many people.
This post is intended to raise awareness about how pillow use-habits can contribute to neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, tension, etc., and offer some DIY solutions.
We all want to move better, feel better, and get injured less easily, right? Well, looking at how you sleep might make a difference in how you’re moving and feeling the rest of the time.
A cue is a prompt or direction about what to do. We’re exposed to cues about movement all the time in the form of signs such as, “Please keep right,” or “DANGER: DO NOT WALK ON THE ICE."
Do you think they meant alternative forms of locomotion are okay? Or did they mean, “Stay off the ice?”
I’m reallllly into cues. Why? Because the right words have the power to make something you’ve done thousands of times feel totally new. The right phrase can transform your understanding, help you drop a bad habit, or even release some emotional baggage.
Here are 7 ideas to help you become a better cuer. Even if you have no intention of teaching, these exercises are guaranteed to make you more aware of your movement:
I made something! Look!
Massive gratitude to Carla Tracy, MRBRPR and Kenneth Kao/ Pole Ninja Photography for being part of the creative team.
I’ve learned a lot of things during my years on the road—and many of them stem from adaptability. Often, I need to have a little self-talk about accepting and embracing my circumstances. I know that if I’m caught up on my lack of "comforts," I’ll miss out on the details of the life around me. This practice of acceptance also leads to creativity.
On my recent trip to Miami, I met up with Mover Magazine at sunrise on South Beach. I am so impressed with what they captured. Thank you!
