Happy Hips, Peaceful Pelvis

Do you remember sucking on your toes?  (I hate to tell you this, but I think I was able to do it until I was 12 years old.  I know.  TMI.  Really though, our hips are made to move and Maddie on the left, is proof.

I recently read an article about stretching for seniors.  The author said that as we age our muscles become shorter and lose elasticity. True, but why?  In short, too much adult-ing:  we sit more and move less, and, we have been doing it for 30, 40, 50, 60 years.

 Both of these can affect the structure of your bones and muscles.  We need to move, but the trick is to do it safely so that we can do whatever type of exercise we like.

So, what do the hips and pelvis have to do with each other?

Well, take a look at the diagram on the right. This is a picture of the pelvic floor,  which shows the muscles we tighten when we do “kegel” exercises (you know, pretend that you have to urinate and stop it.) Many of us still do the tightening now,  all the time, even though our baby is 35 years old.  So how come even though we’ve been diligently squeezing at stoplights for years we now have dribbling and pain during sex?  It’s because these muscles are now are not only weak, but tight.  What do you think would happen to your biceps if you held your elbow closed for 35 years?   

Muscle strength comes from being able to shorten a lengthened muscle.  If the muscle is already short, it can’t get any shorter or stronger.   Also, notice how close your hips are to the muscles in your pelvis:  the hip socket is above the pelvis and to the side. Some of the muscles that move your hip come from your pelvis and vice versa.  If one is tight and weak, the other is too. These muscles are not only related to your hips, but to your back, knees, and feet. If you are overusing or holding one area, chances are that you’re doing it elsewhere, too.

How many of you have been stretching your hamstrings for 25-plus years before running, walking, yoga, or dance?  Is it working?  Do your hamstrings, in the back of your hip, or your muscles in the front of your thigh, ever get longer?  No they do not. They get tighter.  There is a difference between stretching and elongating…and that’s the key difference between exercise and health.

KNOCK FIRST IS OFFERING A SPECIAL WORKSHOP FOR LADIES ONLY FEATURING

Movement Teacher, Beth Rubenstein MS, PT, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner

Come find out how to make your pelvic muscles more effective as you age.  Discover how to guide yourself in a gentler way so you can alleviate pain and stiffness while moving with ease and joy!

Go here to sign up :

https://www.eventbrite.com/d/md--rockville/events--next-month/happy-hips-peaceful-pelvis/?mode=search

Brain Changing Class

I’m taking a Changing My Brain class! 

Some people, however, call this class TAP.

I started my tap class last April just before my 65^th birthday and I LOVE IT! I wanted to learn it when I was a little girl but my mother wouldn’t allow it (something about Vaudeville and the sketch-y underside of showbiz, I think…)

Anyway, I can’t wait to tell you about this class!  An admitted baby boomer herself, Deborah Perez is a beautiful dancer and an excellent teacher.   We do our shuffle-ball-changes at  By Your Side Dance Studio in Culver City and she is by far one of the best dance teachers I have ever had.  She is able to adjust her teaching so that it’s unique to all of her students; making each one feel as if they’re getting a private lesson.  We have former dancers, young and strong new-comers, and me: a 65-year-old, semi –coordinated, would-be dancer and gymnast. 

I’ve always loved dancing.  I love ballroom because I can turn off my brain and pretend I’m a tall, long-legged dance diva.  Not so with tap.  This style of dance requires you to tune in, turn on, and tap up!

Tapping appears to be the perfect path to fitness of body and brain.  It’s not unlike what I have experienced in my 25 years as a Feldenkrais® teacher; we like to think of ourselves as “neuroplasticians” because our work can change the way people think, feel, and act.   According to Norman Doidge in his latest book, The Brain’s Way of Healing, neuroplasticity is the “property of the brain that enables it to change its own structure and functioning in response to activity and mental experience. “  We used to think the brain and central nervous system was set once we reached the age of 25, but Doidge now believes that in order to  “enable neuroplasticity to happen, the approach must require the active involvement of the whole patient in his or her own care: mind, brain, and body.”

I think I am definitely in the process of transforming my mind and brain, and (with a little luck) my body.

I am tapping into the unknown; sometimes this dance can be confusing and just plain hard.  For instance, I was already aware of my toe clenching habit but you sure can’t do that in tap without developing pain almost instantly!  So it forces me to be constantly aware of where I am on my feet.  This requires the participation of my brain and muscles which in turn means constant challenges to my balance.  I have to stay upright, relax my feet, move in a circle and keep my hand aloft while slapping, spanking, shuffling, and ball stepping. 

Talk about challenging!

One of the ways we encourage neuroplasticity in the Feldenkrais Method® is by using novelty.  Awareness Through Movement lessons are full of “novel” movements.  We “wake up” the brain (and therefore new neural pathways) by bringing our awareness to parts that move together.  That’s what happens in tap!  In every lesson, we learn something novel.  I have learned the “Buffalo,” the “Irish,” the “Grapevine,” and loads more.  And then there is memory.  I can feel my brain growing as I learn the moves and then put them into a sequence. A strategy thay my teacher recommends is letting the music tell us what’s next.

Of course, all of this requires strength and endurance.  My legs are not as strong as they used to be and I don’t have the muscle fibers I once had.  As I Feldenkrais teacher I know that if I move just from my feet, I won’t last long in this vigorous dance.  I must engage my whole self.  If I don’t, I won’t get through the hour class without being debilitated.  If I do, I’ll feel invigorated!

So: awareness, novelty, strength, endurance, and memory.    Tap wakes up your brain and your body by using all of these and I have to tell you that along with my work as a Feldenkrais teacher, I feel like I have found just the right combination of body and brain exploration. I can feel those neurotransmitters transmitting!!

I have now found another love besides the gentle, lovely movement I do when I lie on the floor for an Awareness Through Movement® lesson.  My ability to tune into my movement and find another, more suitable way to do it is ingrained in my Feldenkrais® study. Both are keeping me young (and relieving my guilt about hating crossword puzzles and Sudoku!)

 

Deborah Perez of By Your Side Dance StudioBy Your Side Dance Studio and your happy, dancing Feldenkrais teacher!

“Movement is Life, without movement, life would be unthinkable.” 

M.Feldenkrais DSc

Tapping along until next time,

Beth