We all know the physiological importance of movement. At this point, there are multitude of studies that show us how detrimental being sedentary is, and how important it is to be in motion.
Sometimes movement is prescribed as a one fits all, however, not all movement is ideal for all. There is a lot we can gain from the right practice/movement.
In a nutshell, what's this about?
To explain it in a very simplistic way, somebody whose knees fall in will benefit from different exercises, than someone whose knees fall out. If we are stuck in certain positions and doing random exercises with a fast pace, we will be reinforcing those unwanted established patterns. We won't be creating new and better ones.
The issue with that is that, in the long run, if we're not well aligned, we will be more prone to degeneration and more pain. Being in good alignment helps us function at our best! As I am writing this, I try to remember to relax my shoulders, which I tend to tighten when I'm focusing on something intently.
Elise's words of wisdom on movement.
I am a somatic practitioner, besides being a corrective exercise specialist. I think that they both have their place in an integrated movement routine. Looking at movement from a corrective exercise perspective, I can see the muscles that are under active and overactive and help balance those to gain better posture and alignment.
The bringing of awareness through the somatic practice is very important as well. What we do through most of the day with our bodies counts a lot in terms of maintaining our posture. I can take one hour of my day to do a routine of exercise. However, if the rest of the day I am slumping on my chair or raising my shoulders up to my ears, then I am reinforcing those less-than-ideal patterns.
The benefits of somatic training.
Somatic training is a broad umbrella. It includes movement performed with awareness and focus on the internal sensations, versus the external look of the movement or outcome. As explained before, a major benefit of slowing down and noticing what is happening, is to be able to disrupt the already established patterns. Somatic training offers many other benefits as well.
Some of us might know that the way we move can say a lot about us. You probably know who is coming towards you without looking at the person. After all, everyone has their own particular ways of moving. If that is the case, it also means that adding different ways to move to our already established ones, will help us expand our possible responses in life.
How so? If I were a person with an “it’s all ok” attitude, or an overly adaptable person, this would be helpful in not stressing myself out with little things. However, that attitude might not be ideal when someone is trying to walk all over me. I might need to access a punchier response in that case. Nevertheless, if I don’t have that quality of response in my toolbox, that would limit me.
A wonderful way to add that would be by adding punchy and pressing movements to my routine. I might want to work with pushing motions and other things as well.
Find the right movement with Elise!
The way we move often reflects our connection with our inner and outer world. It can help us create changes in our lives by becoming more mindful of the way that we move. We can also add more movement possibilities to our palette. Somatic practitioners have an ample training that is very in depth, but you can start to improve your posture and well-being by adding more body awareness throughout your days and by experiencing different activities than your regular ones.
Booking a class may help too! So, if you want to find out more about my work as a movement specialist and health coach, you can take look around this website and leave your contact information. You can also visit any other of the entries of my blog, such as this one https://www.vivaelise.com/post/why-the-order-of-your-exercises-matters