Be One with the Cat Stretch

(Photo by deviantart.com/jasmiini)

One of the basic series of somatic movements we teach people is the Cat Stretch series. It is a series of six movements that promote better range of motion and coordination. Each movement is progressive to the next as it  helps  the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems work together more efficiently. You first start out with movements of the spine and pelvis. Then the movements progress to incorporating the legs and arms in various gentle but dynamic positions. Once the basic foundation of the movements are learned, the whole series only takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. It's a great way to warm up your body as you begin your day or relax as you get ready for bed. The Cat Stretch Series was created by Thomas Hanna, who was a long time student of Moshe Feldenkrais. You can find the Cat Stretch along with other useful information in the book...

 Somatics: Reawakening the Mind's Control of Movement, Flexibility, and Health

by Thomas Hanna

Getting your Wheels in Motion

With spring time blooming before our eyes, it's time to get our wheels into gear. Perhaps you want to get started on tending to a new garden, give your home a thorough spring cleaning, have more play time with your kids, or get out and hike. It can be challenging to complete all these daily needs if our wheels aren't moving with fluidity and the gears aren't in proper functioning order. 

How are My Wheels Spinning?

So how are all these wheels and gear metaphors supposed to help you in the first place? A swiss neurologist named Alois Brugger (1920-2001) created one of the first 'get your wheels in motion' theories. Through his concept of the Brugger's Cogwheel, he was able to identify how different parts of the spine are interdependent on one another, much like wheels and gears on a bike. If one wheel isn't working properly then the rest of the system won't function smoothly. It could result in more effort to get up those steep hills of a busy life. Brugger related this with posture in saying that poor posture is not caused by how well you can hold a stoic posture with your shoulders back, chest high, and neck straight. Rather, poor posture is caused by a dysregulation of central motor function, our nervous  system. 

What Happens When a Wheel Gets Stuck

I'd like to think of the nervous system as the gears that control the movement of the wheels. Minute changes in the different segments, or wheels, of the spine create what 'posture' means to us. That's why everyone's posture is unique and individualized. 

Brugger stated that one doesn't have to have pain to in order to know he/she has poor posture. The nervous system is magnificent in that it is able to adapt to mostly any input it is given. So when you sit at your computer desk or hunch over your garden bed, your brain accommodates for the positioning. It does this by changing the signals sent from the brain to the muscles, and back to the brain. This feedback loop repeats until the signals being sent to the brain are changed. Pain occurs only when regulatory protective mechanisms aren’t enough to hold the person in their postural alignment. In addition, pain doesn't necessarily originate where pain is experienced. For example, if someone has pain in their mid back it could be because the wheels above or below that segment aren't functioning well. Even though the person may or may not feel in these other areas, the movement of the wheels will assuredly be affected. When the wheels are functioning properly then all the other organ systems can function well too, such as improved respiration and circulation.

Connecting With Your Wheels

Here is a simple movement exercise you can do to connect with the wheels of your spine.

1. Sit at the edge of a chair, feet flat on the floor. 

2. Begin to draw your pubic bone forward and down to allow the pelvis to tilt forward. Allow the movement to start at the base of the spine and initiate the cogwheel interplay of lower spine, middle spine & neck.

3. While continuing the motion notice how the movement flows through the torso and mid back...the neck & head.  Utilize Brugger's cogwheel image.  If you can't imagine the cogwheels, stop, imagine the reverse cogwheel action & then reverse it again.

4.  Continue rolling the pelvis forward & backward (tucking tail/lifting pubic bone<>pubic bone down/forward & tailbone lifting) and clarifying the cogwheel effect. 

5) For extra credit, see what this same movement feels like with incorporating the pelvic floor in each direction.

 Repeat 5-10 times in a pain free range of movement.

The Brugger's Cogwheel is just one way of connecting to the available movement that your body has to offer. At Wholeness in Motion, we can work with you on helping to master these movements and how they are unique for you.

Written by: Susan Trancik, PTA

References:

1)http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=18210 (retrieved on 3/17/14)

2) http://books.google.com/books?id=mLMLFOlua3YC&pg=PA353&lpg=PA353&dq=bruggers+cogwheel+posture&source=bl&ots=twnwBG9EWO&sig=s9P7MhdODRHRXBkOrLCw_XXqXbk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UN4hU9XKB4H1oASfoIGYAQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=bruggers%20cogwheel%20posture&f=false (retrieved on 3/17/14)

3) http://victoriatheraputicmassage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/8ff6a.jpg (retrived on 3/24/14)

4)https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5KCSs7JMAoGy77dbgnIuh0gmHnNlbkvemcjXRLch-9NsANcjwQQT8Z2Vml_G-v7CN-EFzSlKi5iBc_DT3e-XHAsqHLCU6-yFjRK0ZWAlVGd8qAB-SAvI2q0lTGYl9ZXPJa8zAsK5jdU/s1600/brugger%20cog%20wheel%203.jpg 

(retrieved on 3/24/14)

Here's an article we would like to share with you that shows it's possible to think and feel differently about your posture.

Better Movement, Better Posture

By Olena Nitefor

“Good posture” is usually believed to entail standing up straight and strengthening some critical muscles to maintain that straightness. (The muscles most often seen as being in need of strengthening are the abdominals and the back of the shoulder muscles.) If you have ever tried to achieve better posture through such means, you probably realized that it is futile, and that in fact even if you can manage to “think” about standing or sitting straight, you forget the minute you go to do something else.

So, should you simply give up on “good posture,” succumb to your slouching, let your shoulders droop and let your neck pull and ache? Is it all just inevitable aging?

I suggest you look at the photos below. The man is 75 years old and has had each of his hips replaced in the previous three years. Compare his posture on the left to his posture on the right. Before taking each photo I had asked GB to point up and to the right. Can you see that in the “before” picture he could not stand properly on his right leg, that when he tried to reach, his chest slumped and his neck got short and bunched up in the back? He looks more ready to fall or sit, than to point upward!

In the photo on the right, GB can easily stand on his right leg, his chest is upright, his neck is long and his head is balanced nicely on top of his spine and legs. Reaching and pointing are easy and he looks much younger.

These are “before” and “after” pictures of GB who received seven Functional Integration® lessons over a period of 11 days. The improved posture was a by-product of improving GB’s movement. GB reported that he could walk more easily and further (he gave up his cane because the pain in his left hip diminished significantly), he found himself more agile in putting on his socks, and his neck felt significantly freer when he was driving. And the postural changes that you see here, he does not have to think about and maintain consciously. Now that is dynamic and usable posture!

(Article from the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education, retrieved on 1/8/14, http://www.feldenkrais.com/method/article/better_movement_better_posture/).