Pelvic Floor Revisited: Spiraling In - 6 - Strong Floor, Easy Chest
Magnificent Michelle Yeoh in Wing Chun (1994)
Pelvic Floor Revisited: Spiraling In - 7 - Strong Floor, Easy Chest
Strong glutes and the floor support a flexible chest
Based on “AY 97, Optimal Lifting of the Knees” by Moshe Feldenkrais and taught by Deborah Bowes, GCFT®/PT
Apply your legs’ weight in slow, eccentric contractions to strengthen the pelvic floor and muscles along the spine. A strong floor, stacked spine, and soft chest enable new movement options including deeper breaths.
Back to lying down - a REAL Feldenkrais lesson - for more pelvic floor system strengthening. This variation uses our knees as pulleys to catch and lift the pelvis, transmitting ground forces up the spine.
The three layers of intrinsic back muscles, known as the erector spinea, collectively extend from the sacrum to the base of the skull. When the pelvis is properly aligned in gravity, these muscles hold the spine in place and free the ribs to move.
Optimal use of the knees. source: target your rectus abdominus with 3 Ab Exercises
Skillfully connecting the pelvis and spine through the action of the knees is step one. From there its time to begin to notice if you have a habit of constricting the chest - likely unnecessarily - to ‘help’ rock the pelvis or lift the legs.
Abdominal and thigh muscles. Image source: innerbody.com
This lesson is yet another opportunity to harmonize pelvic support, ground forces, and circle muscles down the digestive tract. Synchronizing these actions begets smoother peristalsis and more conscious elimination. Bring your cork if you like practicing soft face and lips.
Visualizing the spine as a pyramid, with psoas connecting femur to spine for supporting the legs Source: Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga .
Visualizing the front support system, from leg through pelvis to chest. This support allows you to breathe and move.
Source: Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga
Science Nerd Candy Bowl:
Target Your Rectus Abdominis with 3 Ab Exercises (useful up to 1:45)
New! Hanging Leg Raises (shows relationship of psoas from femur to spine to help elucidate ‘spine as pyramid’)
New! Abdominal Bracing (A review of the abdominal muscles’ structure, with an animation of this lesson’s centerpiece movement at 2:42)
L'ilio-psoas ou psoas-iliaque (French, shows psoas’ connection from leg to spine - a theme this week - in sit ups)
Take this one slowly. The lesson is simple, but also challenging. The connections between leg, hip, chest, and head (including neck and jaw) may be surprising and frustrating. Good thing you are starting now!
Set Up for Supine Lesson:
Lying on a mat with support for head and legs as needed
OR Leaning back in a comfortable chair so head and neck are supported
Blankets and socks as needed
How you might feel after this lesson: Tuned into your root chakra/pelvic floor, New sense of the coordination of breath and pelvic floor contraction and release; Sense of the pelvic floor as a muscle group; Connected from pelvic floor up the center line to the head; Softer lips!; Better understanding of how timing the exhale and glute grab enables tremendous core power; Sense of when the pelvic floor is relaxing.