Soften the back by rounding
Try this lesson when your back is achy, or perhaps after something strenuous, or when you just want to feel longer and taller.
I did it after a twelve mile hike at 11,000 feet with a lot of up and down, ridge to valley and back up the next ridge, over and over. Exhausting! My dog slept for two days after that.
Small note on the growth mindset:
It is vital for our mental, emotional, and physical health to release our movement from the normal control we usually exert. When we stay stuck, we have little chance of perceiving choice, novelty, or even new experiences.
The idea of a “fixed” versus “growth” mindset has been around for decades. Successful executives, designers, engineers, athletes, spouses, and the person down the block who's had a rough life and is still standing—they all have a growth mindset.
That means they have perseverance, resilience, and the ability to transform one set of variables into a different pattern: Namely, to change perspective.
This is exactly what happens in the Feldenkrais method when we explore different variables in our movement. You don’t even have to think about it! Just do the lesson and allow your sensations to emerge.
Carol Dweck, who pioneered this research, writes that, “If you believe your brain can grow, you behave differently.” She calls it “malleable intelligence,” just as Dr. Feldenkrais talks about the “malleable self-image.”
Because we are malleable and designed to learn, the growth mindset can help you get unstuck and infuse every aspect of your life with greater choice and freedom.
More lessons:
This lesson is from the Preparation for rolling/soften the spine series in the Feldenkrais Treasury. I recommend doing all fourteen for a strong, coordinated torso.
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Quote of the week:
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ”