Back part 2

Lena wrote in last weeks posting about the horse's inherent asymmetry and it is something that also applies to us humans.

When you lie on your back with books under your head and on a relatively hard surface, you have every opportunity to familiarize yourself with your own asymmetry. What you should pay attention to is the weight-bearing points that are in contact with the surface; the back of the head on the books and the contact the shoulder- blades, sacrum and soles of your feet have with the surface.

If you have done your homework you've had 10 occasions to check yourself. Does your head tend to fall to one side or the other? Is one shoulder blade against the floor while the other is lifted off the surface? Are your weight more on the tip of the tailbone than on the upper part of the sacrum? Is your lower back arched in such a way that you easily can slide your hand inbetween the back and the floor? Are both the inside and the outside rim of the feet in contact with the floor? Does your feet stay on the floor or do they tend to slide off away from you? Do you have as much weight on the left and right diagonal (scapula - sacrum)?

Now I want to emphasize that perception is more important than perfection! I do not think you can be 100% equilateral, the importance of this work is to become more aware of yourself and your asymmetry. That knowledge allows you to know when you need to be more focused on the Means-Where-By so that you and the horse are properly prepared in riding different excersises.

For the next period of homework, I like to give you some tips and hints to bring the process further forward.

If the head tends to tilt to one side it is often due to the muscles on that side being more contracted. One way to help yourself to keep your head still in a neutral position is to make use of your eyes. Aim at a point midway between the knees up towards the ceiling, keep looking in that direction.

If one shoulder-blade is kept a little above the floor I have a personal favorite. Place your arms straight out sideways from the body (you will be like a cross). Be aware of that the muscles of the arms can be shortened so there may be a reason to have pillows to rest the forearm against in the beginning.

When you want to bring your arms back to rest your hands on your belly or the iliac crest it is important that you do not lift your arms off the floor but allow them to slide on the surface toward the body. Keep track of how the movment affects the shoulder, elbow and wrist, if you notice any muscle tension, pause - become active passive (inhibit) - and continue with the movement when the tension has subsided.

If you easily get your hand under your lower back I urge you not to press down the back towards the floor. It is far better to place the lower legs (calf) on a chair seat or sofa in order to free the torso completely from the weight of the leg and allow the muscles in the leg to disengage.

If your feet tend to slip away or you have an uneven contact between the inside and outside of the foot, focus on your knees, make sure they always have a direction straight up toward the ceiling.

Breath, notice your own breathing, were does the breathing become visible in you? Where is your chest influenced?

“When anything is pointed out, our only idea is to go from wrong to right; in spite of the fact that it has taken us years to get to wrong we try to get right in a moment.” F M Alexander