Using the Wisdom of the Body.
Moving within our Optimal Range
of Movement (OROM) can help us get past feeling “stuck” and reduce pain
My students know that I am a research junkie. I see life as a
journey and I am always looking at new ideas, the latest yoga research,
information on how the brain works; anything that seems relevant to how we
think, our health and what makes us tick.
Every week
brings new discoveries of some exciting new development. What I really LOVE is
that these modern “scientific” discoveries are always a reflection of what the
ancient yogis and munis have seen in deep meditation
thousands of years ago, and handed down in many ancient texts such as the Upanidshads or the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
Well, this
term I found a great online yoga functional anatomy course which has redefined
the way I am teaching yoga. (www.functionalsynergy.com) Students are loving exploring these
concepts for themselves and the results have been truly amazing. Everyone is noticing the difference.
Optimal
Range of Movement (OROM)
All this is
possible because the latest developments in 3D imaging capture the body in
movement and show how the myofascia holds the body and muscles together and
impacts on healthy – and “unhealthy” movement patterns. Even with basic actions
like standing and sitting we are often not moving within our optimal range of
movement (OROM) and this has negative consequences on the rest of the body.
There are
two parts to this. The first is that we often have ongoing niggly pains or even
worse, chronic pain. The second is that we are often unwittingly placing layers
of compensatory muscle actions on top of one another.
Small “cultural”
compensations, like standing and walking with toes turned out, can also make a
BIG difference. Movement in this non-functional way impacts on the function of
the hip socket, which over time causes larger issues like hip problems, and
results in hip instability which can then move down to the knees or up into the
shoulders. Lack of balanced muscle
activity in the shoulder girdle can cause a number of problems affecting
wrists, neck and head.
Old injuries
and scar tissue can also be part of the problem. When pain redirects our muscle
activity, we naturally use compensatory muscles to perform everyday activities.
Over time this can become the default pattern and almost inevitably this
affects the pelvis and hips. The pelvis is both our anchor and our pivot point
and if our hips lack mobility or stability, we will
compensate somewhere else, whether in the back, sacro iliac joints, knees,
feet, shoulder girdle or neck.
The site of
the pain is often not the cause of the pain. Eg: carpal tunnel in the wrist is
likely to be the result of imbalance in the function of shoulder muscles.
Unhappy shoulder muscles move pain down the arm – and of course this shoulder
imbalance also relates to what is going on in the hips.
And hip
problems are related to the way we stand on our feet – who would have thought
that standing with our feet parallel could make such a difference? We are,
after all “A System” as we say in yoga. Everything affects everything else!
Hip and
pelvis stability is our core strength – yet a lot of us don’t actually have it
– including yoga teachers, as I discovered from the online comments as we
progressed through the course. We all come to yoga believing that the goal is
to “stretch” but in reality, as Susi Hately at Functional Synergy notes: “ A stretch is merely a sensation, it is
not a sign that you are doing the pose correctly.”
How does
this relate to reducing pain?
“No pain, no gain” we hear, but this is not
necessarily helpful or true. Understanding and utilising healthy OROM can help
us to lessen existing niggly pain or even become pain free.
LESS IS MORE - try it and see:
The principle of using OROM is that
less is more. It seems counter intuitive but we have all tried it and it works.
Often we unthinkingly use our arms to leverage ourselves into a position,
whether it is trikonasana (triangle pose) or reaching up to a tall shelf.
When
we use force, we create resistance and tension in the body. This is simple
physics. Newton’s law of motion states that: “every force (action) is
accompanied by an equal force (reaction) of equal magnitude in the opposing
direction.”
In yoga,
without realising it, we often “push’ into a posture to get into the right
look; the way the pose is “supposed” to look. We feel fine. We can do the pose.
But in reality there is something missing. There may be strength and balance in
this method of attaining a pose but it is not “asana” unless there is ease,
softness and stillness in the pose, and this produces quite a different feeling
altogether.
Retraining the Mind and the Muscles
In yoga, when
we do asana more slowly, there is time to increase our awareness of what is
actually happening, which muscles are moving and if there is pure movement or a
sensation of strain or even a niggle of pain as we move in or out of the pose. When
we perform these poses more quickly, we lose this awareness and it is easy to
overlook inappropriate muscle gripping or stacking in order to get into the
pose. One of the more common issues for students is tension in the lumbar spine
when doing backbends like the cobra. Yet this is easily remedied once the
principles of OROM are fully understood.
Many people
have aches and pains, and this includes yoga teachers who have been practicing
yoga for years. By tweaking knees to get into the lotus pose when the muscles
are not ready to do this, we can do permanent damage. Yet much of this could
have been avoided, and can still be eliminated by coming back to simple
movements, with awareness and working from there.
And this
starts from the feet up. If you stand and walk with feet straight and parallel,
then the femur moves with pure movement in the hip socket and increases pelvis
stability.
By doing
these actions with Pure Movement, and retraining the muscles, strength and
flexibility can quickly be regained and more complex asana built on top of a
stable base. In a few short weeks we are all noticing the difference and an
improvement in everyday function.
Subtle changes make an enormous difference.
And this translates into everyday life.
The men in
my classes are all commenting how they notice improvements in hip function,
having changed their walking pattern. Men habitually walk with toes at 10 and 2
o’clock but this is a cultural phenomenon, not biological and I am truly amazed
at how quickly they have managed to change this pattern.
Lower back
pain or a pinch in the lumbar spine is very common especially when doing
backbends like cobra. Learning to use appropriate muscles has enabled students
to overcome this discomfort both on the mat and in everyday activities.
Applying
synergistic movement to everyday function is important. A student reports that applying
this understanding to her horse riding, has transformed her dressage and
hunting.
Others who
have been troubled with hip pain, have noted that all of this has gone and they
can sleep at night without pain in the hips causing endless tossing and turning.
An older
student said she had woken up so sore from gardening that she nearly didn’t
come to yoga class, but had decided to come, knowing it would help. At the end
of the class she announced that all the aches and pains were all gone and she
felt really good.
Is it my
Mind (Ego) or my Body doing this asana?
When you next
do a yoga pose, ask yourself: “Is it my mind (ego) doing this posture or my
body? If you find there is “propping” of muscles to get you into the posture, or
your jaw feels tight and breathing stops, then it is the mind and your ego
setting the goal and the wrong muscles are turning on to support a weakness.
On
the other hand if you are happy to only go as far as your OROM, you will feel
the mind at peace, the body gently flowing and elongating in a totally organic
way, bringing a sense of peace and stillness, and then you know it is the body doing what it
does best.
The irony
is, that often when you do the latter and go with the flow, the body often
elongates further, because it is relaxed and not having to “prop” to keep the
body secure. The first is “exercise” and the latter is “yoga”. Remember yoga
means “union” at all levels.
Water is fluid, soft, and yielding.
But water will wear away rock,
which is rigid and cannot yield.
As a rule, whatever is fluid,
soft and yielding will overcome
whatever is rigid and hard.
This is another paradox:
What is soft is strong.
--- Lao-tse
To find out
more, come and explore the concepts of Body Wisdom and functional synergy at
the BODY WISDOM WORKSHOP on 24 August. (see:
www.yogaforlife What’s Happening)
Namaste
Dharmavati
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