Tag: Feldenkrais

Live and learn….

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

What a wonderful weekend I’m having! It started last night with a fantastic instructor training class at Kusa Dojo. Okay, so it was a bit difficult to get to the dojo on a gloriously beautiful spring evening, especially being Friday evening and everything. To make matters worse, I had to maneuver around all the revelers getting an early start on their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the local pub. But it certainly was worth the effort. It’s amazing how much you can learn about how you move when you really slow things down, listen to the quality of your movement, and go back to the basics. Oh, and it also helps to have two highly skilled teachers coaching you. I was able to find where I was making my mistakes and now have the opportunity to work on them, on my own, without...

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Habits, constraints, and neuroplasticity….let the learning begin!

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

In my martial arts class, we often practice something called “randori”. One student stands in the center of the room while the other students form a circle around them and take turns randomly attacking the person in the middle. It’s kind of like the Ninja version of monkey in the middle. And it scares me to death. It is my least favorite training activity, but my incomparable stubborness won’t let me opt out. And besides, the guys would make fun of me if I refused to play with them. Last week, after we completed our randori, just as I heaved a sigh of relief, Sensei said, “We’re going again.” He looked at me and said, “And you are not allowed to do the same techniques. I want you to find new ways to react to each attack.” My response...

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The balance challenge continues….

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Fit Tips.

So, what would happen if you did fall? I remember skiing with my father and my husband about 20 years ago. My father (who was an excellent skier as well as a martial artist) took a very bad tumble.  My husband witnessed the fall, and quickly skied up to him to offer assistance. My Dad was laughing as he got up, and my husband was stunned that he wasn’t hurt. He said, “George, you fell like a 30 year old!”  And he got up again like a 30 year old. At the time, my father was in his early 60’s. My Dad knew how to fall. Most of us do not, which leads us to develop a fear of falling. After all, most of our activities as adults are performed in an upright posture: standing, walking, running, dancing, sitting, etc.  As a result, we lose our connection with the ground, we...

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Strong arms, soft shoulders.

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Feldenkrais.

Here is a wonderful exploration for finding the connection of your arms through your shoulders and spine. 1) Sit on the floor with your knees bent out to the sides and the soles of your feet facing (but not touching) each other. You may need to place a folded towel under your sit bones for comfort. Place your hands on the floor behind your pelvis and lean into your arms and hands. Play with the placement of your hands. Do you prefer your fingers pointing away from yourself? Towards yourself? Somewhere in between? Take a few minutes and very slowly explore where your arms and hands can be so you feel your arms can easily support you. Stop. Take your hands away from the floor and rest. 2) Return to sitting with your knees bent, soles of the feet facing each other and place your hands behind...

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