Paint Your Head with the Floor, Undulation of the Week

This is one of my favorite undulations for relieving neck pain. The key is to move slowly and discover new muscles—both tight and weak—in the neck. (Undulation #26)

Relieve Neck Pain with Undulation

Last month at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida, I had the opportunity to see dozens of wild species native to Florida. Every single animal undulated: manatees swimming, a snake reaching for a branch, otters wrestling, turtles paddling. The birds especially caught my eye. I don’t think they have neck pain, because they work out the kinks with their own movement.

When people want to stretch the neck, they usually stretch as fa-a-a-ar as possible, pulling the muscles to maximum elasticity or even beyond. Birds don’t do that. Even when the owls turned their heads to look behind, they kept their movement within a comfortable range. There was no straining.

The herons used their necks in all activity. When taking off or landing, the neck rippled with flight rather than being held stiffly, like most people do. Reaching into the water encompassed the entire body, flowing from foot to leg and through the spine and neck. Try reaching forward. Can you let your neck flow forward and back as you do so? Feel how much more ease you have this way.

Even flapping wings, which is thought of as a mechanical back-and-forth motion, was circular—almost a figure 8. Give it a try. Pump your arm forward and back, like swinging a tennis racket halfway. Feel the tension in your arm and neck. Then swing in an oval shape, letting your elbow move up and down and the motion of your wrist and hand follow the elbow. Let your opposite hip move, too, so your spine can undulate. Notice how much better it feels.

The flamingos’ necks were a constant sea of motion. Every step, gesture, noise sent a wave that traveled out the top of the head. How could they have neck pain with that constant internal massage? Similar to the flamingos, the swans’ necks moved like silk rope, without effort or tension, and then, just as easily and gracefully, straightened like a palm tree reaching for the sky.

Photos by Dope on the Slope blog, http://meanderthal.typepad.com/dope/

Unnoticeable, Undulation of the Week

Tiny movements activate the tiny muscles that support the spine. This advanced undulation can get you through a boring meeting or hours on the bleachers.

Sit Down and Be Quiet . . . Not

When our kids were younger, my husband used to joke, “We spend the first year teaching them to walk and talk and the next four years to sit down and be quiet.” It’s a bad joke with serious implications for all of us. Like most parents, we were uncomfortable with our kids’ squirming and antics in public, so we urged stillness. Then I became a Structural Integrator and learned that stillness is the root of old-age aches and pains. I’ve been trying to counteract my earlier mistakes ever since by educating people about the benefits of movement.

The body is designed to move. Movement nourishes joint and cartilage, activates the lymph system, and even promotes effective digestion. With stillness, we starve our bodies of needed vitality. No wonder old age aches, and pains, stiffness, and stillness are synonymous.

Now I highly encourage wiggling to free the shoulder blades from the ribs, relieve stiffness in knuckles, and release sticky spots from the spine. You can undertake specific exercises like undulations or just pretend that you’re a five year old anxious for recess. (Aren’t you?)

I wish I had told my boys to avoid disturbing the people around them, to not be still, but make their movements small, almost unnoticeable. That would be a valuable skill, because their posture would be improved, their tissues nourished, and they could more easily sit through long meetings or their current college lectures.

Please feel encouraged—as encouraged as a baby taking your first steps—to stay active and vital. Spread the word, too.

Tailbone Penmanship, Undulation of the Week

Writing the alphabet with your tail (Undulation #26) is a playful exercise to free the low back, sacrum, and pelvis. Done subtly, it can also affect the tailbone. You can do this on hands and knees as shown, or while seated (it’s especially fun on an exercise ball) or standing.