This photo gallery focuses on legs up the wall to sense movements in ones leg joints without bearing weight. These movement patterns are for cultivating awareness using the model of Feldenkrais which is a somatic technique that can harnesses one’s potential to increase physical, mental and emotional fitness. These patterns of movement are ones I have personally witness not being accessed in all ages from elementary ages through to elder stages of life. The culprit? The chair.
These movement tips can support movement in ones hip joints with freedom from upper body weight.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
After a long chest ailment when my heart rate was increased my lungs would tighten up and scream with pain. If out walking I would have to put on a mask to regulate my breath and warm the air before passing through to my lungs. I was curious if rebounding would work. Out it came and each day began with jumping. My threshold was low to begin with and slowly it began increasing with the daily workouts. An unexpected bonus was the reduction in the number of times I needed to urinate during the day and the ability to hold my bladder muscles to wait for available washroom facilities. A valued outcome for this author who also starts the day with juicing. This has meant continuous trips to the facilities in the past.
The rebounder surface bounces like a trampoline and requires core balance. Core muscles from the torso down through the pelvis are tightened slightly while at the same time muscles that extend into the thighs are lengthening and contracting. These are the muscles that control the bladder.
As each benefit becomes apparent it’s getting easier to commit to this daily workout. Some of the benefits in my experience have been:
increased sense of wellbeing
stronger felt sense of lower body; hips, thighs, knees, legs, ankles & feet
higher energy, get up and go (feeling aliveness versus drained)
sounder sleep
improved stamina & lung health
decreased inflammation
tightening flabby areas and creating shape in legs, thighs & belly
I have used the rebounder in the past to support lymph drainage and improve adrenal function. As I continue to improve my threshold and sense of wellbeing I wonder to myself why I ever stopped using it.
I have experienced movement students who have lost mobility due to their lack of active function by unconscious choice, pain or in some cases, illness. Students who begin focusing their attention on their micro-movements find that discomfort decreases, balance and flexibility improve and their quality of life increases. Others believe they don’t have time to take the daily effort that is needed to improve movement function and range of motion. These are the ones I refer to as making a choice for losing range of motion, although unconsciously.
If you don’t use it, you lose it
It isn’t like riding a bike. If days are spent without alternative choices in movement the brain actually does loose the movement patterning. Movement is dumbed down to reflect the dominant activity of the day. This is usually sitting in a chair or sofa looking at a screen. Sitting does not support any functional movement the body is capable of. There is a new analogy circulating that states, “sitting is the new smoking.”
What are some of the other activities that would improve with less sitting?
balance
walking
standing
running
bending
thrusting (improve sexual activity)
squatting
rolling
climbing
sleeping
reaching
breathing
sitting cross legged
cutting toenails
going up and down stairs
As a Feldenkrais Movement Specialist what I am being mindful of in my personal story is how in the past when working out I would over build my muscles to the point of losing connection to my skeleton and sensing its micro-movements and direct force of gravity. I am motivated to find the balance as my capacity to sense and differentiate inner movement is expanding beyond the skeletal movements. This is a slight shift in lifestyle I wasn’t aware of was coming. It’s an exciting new chapter.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
February begins on a number 2 in numerology. A number 2 is all about teamwork, service, love, friendship, patience, personal growth, learning, emotional balance, partnership, acceptance, peace, bonding, and mutual interest. On the negative it reflects shyness, timidity, fear, self-consciousness, drowning in detail and depression. However today in moonology the moon is waning. This suggests today’s number 2 is a great day to support clearing out the clutter of what’s not working well in partnerships. The vibe is there to support taking the steps to making change for the better to create the environment that supports abundance, health and wellbeing. I chose snails to reflect the energy for my day, this first day of Feb., as they symbolize tolerance and perseverance. My intent for these two qualities is to have them in response to having it for myself as decisions for change seem overwhelming, not to put up and shut up and stay with the status quo. It’s all about actions towards changing the conditions to be a better versions of self, not to fit into an unproductive and unhealthy situationship. It begins with the inner and immediate landscape.
Early in 2023 I was shown a technique to tighten my skin along the jawline and neck. I loved the results of this technique and how playful I felt while exercising this way. In the late summer months my focus of attention was distracted and after only two months I noticed a significant difference in the skin tone and felt sensory awareness in these areas. I began doing them this week and I am curious to see if my neck and jawline tighten as much as it did last year. When it tightened up the skin then it translated into my sensory awareness of my felt inner self image. It was a feeling of youthfulness that had been absent for a time. As the skin began to lose its tone over the fall there was a loss in this feeling quality of youthfulness. It was a more relaxed feeling without much sensory awareness. After only the second time this week the sensory awareness in these areas have heightened.
This experience has created an understanding on a subtle level of how one feels old or not depending upon the skin tonification. The pattern of exercise applies to the neck, jaw line and the up into the cheeks. Going upward into the cheeks was an addition of mine. I chose to do this due to my own TMJ tension and the research on it though my practice of Feldenkrais. In these pictures below I demonstrated soaking a towel in warm salted water, rolling it and the areas I use an upward tap on the neck and chin. On the cheeks I follow the same angle as my gaw and also tap using an upward flick. I continue this for approximately 3 minutes. The first time it is awkward however it become habitual when repeating it. I often have a salted water bath and on the days I don’t I use a bowl of warm water with salt and soak the towel. Below the pictures is a few seconds of video showing the upward flick that encourages the skin to tighten.
This picture below of Renee on the left was taken sometime in 2019 and the one on the right was on Dec 31st, ’23. You can see a brown mark that had formed on my cheek in the picture taken in 2019. I put it down to early aging due to the stress of raising teenagers on my own while working from home. This first picture was taken after they had left home when there was more time to focus on remedies to explore ways to remove this sign of early aging. I was interested in Sea Buckthorn and had been growing a couple of my own. One is pictured below. It ultimately was the oil that got rid of the last signs of it, which is shown in the later picture. Before investigating Sea Buckthorn infusions I had made many others using oil olive as a carrier and plants I grew in the yard, or gathered in the few block surrounding my home. A memory I have is of a coaching student of mine who had a large brown mark on their face and who suggested getting mine zapped with a laser of some sort. I had no interest as I knew the remedies I had been using would benefit all my facial and neck soft tissue. It wouldn’t be isolated to one spot which ultimately didn’t target the overall skin areas.
This past year I began exploring with coffee grounds as an exfoliator. I would infuse the grounds with a Canadian oil from a flower grown in Ontario called Camelina. This created possibly the most luxurious feeling I have ever had after using it. I use it to exfoliate my whole body.
I came across the combination of coffee grounds with Dead Sea minerals and Sea buckthorn oil, and knew I would like to have it on hand for those times when I couldn’t puth fresh ingredients together myself. I also wanted to experience the combination of ingredients. I found a higher level of salt, lesser amount of coffee grounds and good amount of oil in the combination. I will continue using this product combination on my face and neck, however will mix up my own recipe for the rest of my body. I have gotten used to a coarse ground of coffee and salt mineral that I quite enjoy. However I do recommend this product combination highly.
Over the past few days I have posted the first two tips for manifesting by taking conscious actions in the environment. One’s success can be viewed and experienced through their environmental influences. The environment landscape, or viewscape, can be unsettling or grounding. These tips can encourage one to cultivate awareness in their own home or work space. The third tip is pictured below followed by a downloadable pdf for you to explore at your leisure.
Water & salt for rejuvenation, clearing energy field and purification
The human body is 60 percent water. The human heart and brain is 73 percent water. The lungs are 83 percent water, the skin is 64 percent water, the muscles and kidneys are 79 percent and the bones are 31 percent. Seventy one percent of the earth is covered by water. Ninety seven percent of the water covering the earth is salt water. This writer experiences water as an element to balance and reconnect with self. Water is sacred. Why? We cannot survive without it. Salt is well known as a sacred element as well. It absorbs energies, positive and negative and softens the water. It has the similar influences on your body. Bathing in a warm salt infused bath is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself for rejuvenation; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Years ago while on a holiday with the children I was drawn in to a booth with a woman who shared her age with me. It seemed unbelievable due to the quality of her skin, yet I took her at her word. She was crusty and the memories she shared could easily match the age range she said she was. The products in her booth originated from Dead Sea minerals. I have always taken care of my skin so after a treatment with her products I knew Dead Sea Salts was the real deal. It outshone all the products I had tried over the years.
I have since used it in making skin exfoliators, however, recently I discovered it’s benefits for bathing in. The minerals are excellent for ones skin and detoxing the body. It apparently has 10 times the minerals over other salts, some of which are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, bromides and iodine. Soaking in a warm salted bath is one of the most effective ways to absorb vital minerals. It is known to be relaxing and soothing creating a deeper sense of well being.
How much salt in a soothing bath?
I have read the suggested amount of Dead Sea salt to add to the bath ranges from 1/2 a cup to 2 cups. I found 2 cups a bit much and have settled at approximately a cup. For an added luxury I add 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda. Both salt and baking soda are water softeners and in like it stimulates the same softening and relaxation in ones soft tissues. I often add 10 or so drops of lavender essential oils.
Here is an affiliate link to Dead Sea Bath Salt on Amazon:
Depending upon the levels of stress in those around me and their interactive experiences I will bathe in salt regularly. Some weeks it is 3 to 4 times. It seems to clear my energy field when stimulated by environmental influences which can cause confusion and a feeling to static. This bath will defuse it immediately. It is a self care routine I use with intention.
Length of time for receiving benefits?
Twenty minutes is my go to guide for the basic starting point. I usually go longer if I have the time, however the minimum in twenty minutes.
I alternate the salt I use in the bathe in due to the different minerals from their root origins on the earth. Two others I use regularly are:
Himalayan Pink Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt has a spectrum of more than 80 trace minerals and is one of the purest and naturally occurring salts. It is hand minded from the foot of the Himalayan hills and hand ground. This salt has the same benefits as Dead Sea salt such as reducing stress, inflammation and improving skin conditions. I follow the same routines as described in the Dead Sea salt element.
Here is an affiliate link to Himalayan Pink Salt Salt on Amazon:
I recently discovered Mediterranean due to its price point. I was attracted to the significant difference and did some research. It also has 80 plus mineral elements. It too creates a soothing and healing bath experience.
Here is an affiliate link to Mediterranean Sea Salt on Amazon:
Inside Awareness Center for Integrative Somatic Learning 