Reset Your Body Beat - 6 - Relearning Rolling With Diagonals
Reset Your Body Beat - 6 - Relearning Rolling With Diagonals
Little hands to little feet or knees and … Flop!
Based on “Restorative Rhythms: Feldenkrais Lessons for Health and Pain Relief - 5 - Diagonal Rolling” as taught by David Zemach-Berson, GCFT®
Tummy time is over for now. Back to looking at the ceiling (or mobile) and flopping into rolling.
We are developmentally at about 4-6 months. What begins as an accidental result of reaching an arm across the body grows into intentional rolling from back to side.
The Feldenkrais Method is very much based on allowing our baby selves to develop at our own pace, experientially through experiment, failure and trying again. That is the real learning that is the foundation that supports all future growth. Our baby selves don’t need our parents to short-cut and short change our learning.
I find it interesting that this important developmental phase gets little attention in the YouTube world of worried parents pushing their children forward. Completing the roll to the tummy is what it’s all about for parent anxiety. However, to skip this step in the process is ignoring an important intermediate stage.
This is a supine, on the back, lesson. Have enough room to be able to roll to either side, if that so pleases you. We begin bringing the knees up to the belly and letting them drop to the side. Soon, our little hands grab our little feet and flopping to the side comes even more easily.
As we have seen in some of the developmental videos, getting the bottom arm out of the way can be a sticking point in the program. Our adult selves can help our baby selves by exploring extending the bottom arm while rolling to the side. Finally, we find more momentum and stability by crossing the top arm to the opposite knee - a diagonal!
Again, slower is best. This lesson can be a welcome ironing out of the upper back/shoulders and lower back/glutes. It also reminded me of how I hold tension in the ribs and quads, a habit that is finally clarifying itself: I have been blind to the habit and stumped on correcting it. This lesson is an opportunity to let the ribs, thighs and everything else go soft, even flabby.
It’s back to babyhood and beyond! Enjoy.
Science Nerd Candy Bowl:
Rolling Back to Side, Head Control - Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises (2:09) - a preview of this lesson presented by Colton and Amy Sturkey (I like her)
Set up for a supine rolling lesson
Lying on a mat with enough room on both sides to roll
Support for knees and back of the head, if desired
This can be done in a chair, though the rolling part will be up to you
How you might feel after this lesson: A bit trancey; Breathing coordinated with walking; Hips open and comfortably aligned; Legs aligned in hip sockets, with ground forces flowing easily from foot to hip to head; Shoulders surprisingly released; Upper back and chest looser and more flexible; Low back and middle glutes ‘ironed out;” Deep into baby mind; Curious about what’s next!
Wednesday 9:30 am or 6:30 pm class registration, keep using it. $40/month; $15/single lesson. PayPal or Venmo to jackisue@aol.com. Or check to Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574
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