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4-joint, 3-lever system
Nov. 15th, 2008 07:33 amAlexander practitioners hold that we are 4-joint creatures -- one joint at the skull/neck base, another at the hips, another at the knees, and the final one at the ankles. The interesting thing about that is, that if you fix one joint you indirectly fix another. Necks and pelvises are related; pelvises and knees are related; knees and ankles are related. (Side note: singers and actors will almost certainly over the course of their careers run into a teacher who yells at them a bunch about their necks/chins. That comes straight out of Alexander and the idea that your neck pulls along the rest of your body, so if you fuck up at the neck, you're much more likely to screw up the rest of your body's balance.)
What that means is that if you are messed up at one of those joints, you should probably look to see if there's distortion further up or down the line at the other. In my case, my right knee and ankle hate me because my right hip enjoys twisting while I'm sleeping sidelying.
Most people with knee issues have hip issues, whether they know it or not.
The problem is that I almost never remember to readjust my hips. I could do it every day, with Sotai (if anyone in the area is interested, I can show you how), but I tend to forget.
Today, I remembered to fix my hip first, rather than hitting snooze 5 times, and it feels really, really wonderful. The knee stabilized, and I remembered to stretch out the ankle. As a bodyworker, I tend to believe that inner balance lies in the body along with the breath (and many meditation practitioners will agree) and I am just... hoping that that is enough to hang on to, today.
What that means is that if you are messed up at one of those joints, you should probably look to see if there's distortion further up or down the line at the other. In my case, my right knee and ankle hate me because my right hip enjoys twisting while I'm sleeping sidelying.
Most people with knee issues have hip issues, whether they know it or not.
The problem is that I almost never remember to readjust my hips. I could do it every day, with Sotai (if anyone in the area is interested, I can show you how), but I tend to forget.
Today, I remembered to fix my hip first, rather than hitting snooze 5 times, and it feels really, really wonderful. The knee stabilized, and I remembered to stretch out the ankle. As a bodyworker, I tend to believe that inner balance lies in the body along with the breath (and many meditation practitioners will agree) and I am just... hoping that that is enough to hang on to, today.
