In case you're looking for an idea for a New Year's resolution......I was inspired to write this post after a client of mine volunteered that one of the fundamental concepts of the Bodymind Method, the zipper, has become a key awareness in her Total Transformation Program. She also told me, to my great pleasure, that after practicing this concept for the last few months, it has become automatic and happens without her even thinking about it. I always say, it's one thing to know a concept but entirely another to know it in your bodymind. My client also told me that she read that it takes an average of 66 days for anything new to become a habit (I always love her storehouse of fun facts). And when I researched her statistic, I found it to be true- encouraging evidence that important change is possible anytime!
Women especially can relate to the experience of lying on the bed to zip a tight pair of jeans resulting from the post-holiday (or post-pregnancy) few extra pounds. The zipper has to do with accessing the lowest of the abdominals, specifically the pyramidalis muscle, the core in the body, that provides power for all human movement. Bringing your attention to the triangular muscle that runs from the pubic bone up to the navel and imagining zipping up a tight pair of jeans (causing the pelvic floor to lift), was a discovery that changed everything for me as a dancer. It allows the release of tension from the upper torso creating effortless balance and ease of movement. Other benefits that my client discovered are improved posture (she said it's impossible to slouch if your jeans ar zipped!) and total relief from her chronic lower back pain (really?!). You can only imagine my excitement at hearing this!
The notion of the zipper is related to the idea of the Dan Tien (Dantian) which I discovered years ago studying Qigong, the ancient Chinese martial art that involves meditation, controlled breathing and movement exercises. Located about two inches below the navel, the Dan Tien is not only the reservoir of energy (chi/qi), it is the connection to the rest of our body. As all human energy comes from the core, all power which mobilizes the body originates from the Dan Tien. Scientific studies also confirmed that the navel area is regarded as the “Second brain” which handles some 100 million neurons and influences our mood, sending and receiving impulses, recording experiences, and responding to emotions. The fact that this area is where conception happens, "like the root of the tree of life", lends compelling weight to this idea for me too.
Visualizing the image and accessing the sensation of zipping up a tight pair of jeans from the pubis to the navel is an important Idea for health and wellness. Not only is this the place where we should think of our activities originating from (not the shoulders!!!), utilizing the sensation to also target where the breath should travel down to, combines the pivotal notion of diaphragmatic breathing (To Breathe Is To Live) with finding your core (center); one stop shopping for these two fundamental concepts of the Bodymind Method for Personalized Optimization.
There are many benefits to zipping your jeans besides helping to find your center and releasing tension from the neck and shoulders. As my client discovered, this single awareness also stabilizes the front rim of the pelvis allowing the energy to continue up the spine and out the top of the head to create an easy alignment of the torso without having to use the back muscles to sit up straight. It's really like magic. Also, because of all of the sitting we do in our everyday lives- at our computers, driving, etc- we have an epidemic of lower back issues (Straighten Up And Fly Right). The hips stay semi-flexed (slightly bent) when we stand up, tipping the pelvis forward, increasing the lumbar curve and putting unnecessary pressure on the lower back. Eventually this can cause degeneration of the discs between the vertebrae, often resulting in a need for back surgery. Lengthening the hip flexors and dropping the tailbone by zipping up, can alleviate this syndrome in many sufferers of lower back pain. I'm a big believer in taking responsibility for our own health to avoid the need for medical intervention whenever possible. Making the choice this New Year to zip it is an important step in the direction of realizing your personal best.
#zipit #chronicbackpain #pyramidalismuscle #qigong #dantien #findingcenter #acessthecore #movingwithease #energyupthespine #secondbrain #breatheintothecore
Comments