Movement for back, hips, neck and brain---cat and cow

CAT AND COW
IN SITTING ON A CHAIR
Come to the front of the chair
Both feet on the floor

CAT:
Back is rounded
by
Pulling stomach in
Rolling back on your pelvis
Lowering your sternum
Letting your head slump down

COW
Back is arched
by
Pushing stomach forward
(extra credit, figure out how to do this on the outbreath)
Rolling forward on your pelvis
Raising your sternum
Letting your nose lift up toward the sky (Do not cram your neck way back)


NORMAL DEAL
In sitting
alternate cat and cow

slowly
taking a few turns to mainly notice the pelvis
a few turns
to mainly notice the ribs and arch/ round of the spine
and
a few turns
feeling your head's involvement in this
and
then
a few turns feeling it all together

VARIATION ONE

In this variation your head does the opposite as the "normal" version

So
VARIATION ONE -- CAT
All is the same except for the head:
Back Rounded
by
Belly in
Pelvis rolled back
Sternum down
and
Head goes UP this time

Two ways to notice this:
The head goes back as the back goes back
and
Your head is rotating the same way your pelvis is

VARIATION ONE -- COW
All is the same except for the head
Back Arched
by
Belly forward
Pelvis rolling forward
Sternum up
and
Your HEAD goes DOWN this time

as before;
Head and belly going forward
and
Your head is rotating the same way your pelvis is

LINK THESE UP:
AND
go slowly
and pay attention
and enjoy the movement
and find something new and delicious
and interesting
each time you do the movement

Go LESS than your full range
Use LESS force
Use MORE attention, ease and pleasure

Enjoy


CAT AND COW AS THEY DO IT IN YOGA

ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES

NORMAL CAT
Back arched up toward the ceiling
as
Pelvis tucks under
Belly tucks in
Head lowers toward the pelvis
And your sternum moves as if down into your belly

NORMAL COW
Back and ribs come toward the floor
as
Your pelvis rotates so your butt is moving toward the back of your head
The back of your head , as you nose lifts, is moving toward your butt
Your sternum is expanding and coming as if up toward your neck

CAT and COW in Yoga:
Go back and forth between these two

VARIATION TWO
Put your weight on your left hand and knee
Have your right knee free

As you do cat,
Bring your right knee toward your nose

As you do cow
Bring your right foot back and up toward the ceiling

Alternate these two


VARIATION ONE IN THE YOGA VERSION

HANDS AND KNEES VARIATION ONE,      CAT
Your back is up toward the ceiling,
Rounded we call it, though blah blah, it could seem an arch
Think of rounding forward in standing or sitting,
This is rounding, just go along with it

Your back is toward the ceiling
Your pelvis is tucked under , tailbone tucked under, as if toward your head
Your belly is pulled in and up toward the ceiling
and
Your head is looking up toward the ceiling/ sky also

as before:
the back and the head are both toward the sky
and
the pelvis and the head are rotating the same direction

HANDS AND KNEES VARIATION ONE,    COW
Your back is arched
Meaning ribs are pushed "forward" if forward is the way your chest points
or
Ribs and belly are pushed toward the floor
and your sternum lifts a bit toward your neck
and
Your pelvis rotates as if the point your butt toward your head
and
Your head this time is
Going down toward the floor

as before:
The ribs and mid section is toward the floor and so is your head
and
Your pelvis and your head are rotating in the same direction

Combine these two
Go slowly
Go slower
Stop a lot

Feel it
feel it
feel it

as sensation

it's very relaxing
and
brain expanding

as are
all of these lessons

cheers
Chris

Late posting for special needs parents, and us all

In my larger work, I am creating what I call the Life Spark Process.

This is a process by which people may rapidly and with joy, clarity and awareness:

1. Get clear of old issues with Mom, Dad and any -ex mates in their life

2. Get clear with their present mate/ or get clear what they want in the next relationship

3. Deal with and leave behind the Inner Critic

4. Eliminate stress as a factor in ongoing daily life

5. Learn to live, think, write, talk and eat in the present

6. Radically improve the feeling/ sensation tone of their life,
by doing the Anat Baniel work, as private lessons, and as do it at home movement work.
Feel better, younger, taller, move easier, with more pleasure, skill and awareness.

What does this have to do with Special Needs Children.

Life can challenge any and all of us. We can lose a job, a friend or relation to death, we can get ill, we can lose a friend or lover to separation and divorce.
And in all of this, there are choices:
go numb
feel badly
stay awake, present, joyous and useful and loving  to others
even though the going is "tough" for us

Now, having a special needs child
creates an ongoing and relentless excuse to feel what people
like to call stress

Two of the best and most effective pathways out of stress are
being present
love.

You already know this, if you are a parent,
and maybe you forget,
and so this essay is a reminder:

And it is why the Anat Baniel Method,
and well done Feldenkrais work
works so well: Children are touched in the present,
and small improvements and variations
are created in the present,
we move slow
we move gentle
we move with curiosity as our guide rather than "trying to get something to happen"
the practitioner is always listening, "listening" with their hands:
what is going on in the child
Right Now

And this can be your secret as a parent:
you can touch the child,
no matter how fussy or limited your wonderful child
seems to be
but just touch, in the present
feel what you feel
sense and imagine and tune in on what they feel

move slowly
very slowly
feel what shifts in them from your movement

life is good this way:
when we touch another in the present
it is as if everything else in life is of no importance

we touch
gentle
moving slowly
we listen to what they feel like,
we notice what seems to be changing in them
we search for greater pleasure
and a bit of novelty for them,
for ourselves

we sense ourselves in gravity
we follow our breathing

we can do that right now,
reading these words

life is good

and then there is love:
love is just about what we are exploring above:
what is
sticking with
accepting
enjoying
liking
loving
what is

how your child feels to you right now
you know that's perfect
you know you child's perfect

and learning can and will happen

human brains are the most miraculous small package
in the universe

brains love to learn
to create order out of chaos
to bring meaning to the confusing

small movements
gentle

even now
this now now, right now,
we can arch our backs a bit and let our stomachs come forward
relaxed
and then we can round our backs, belly in,
sternum slumping down,
we can go back and forth gently
very gentle,
as if touching our spine and ribs and pelvis and sternum
with our movement

this is self love
this is a grand and sweet alternative to stress

go on,
be sweet to yourself
you deserve it

the present
of being present
is always here

love yourself by being present
and loving your child
even better than your already awesome level
that's possible

good

Pain is... not everywhere, so where else can you go/ Bonus: helping with migraines

Let's say your right shoulder is sore
You had an accident way back when
or you fell on it
or lifted weights with anger and inattention
or whatever
pitched a baseball too many times without full awareness

It's sore.

You lie down on the floor or table or bed
and someone asks you to pay attention
to what you notice.

Where do you go first?
To the sore shoulder?
To the calm ribs on the left side?
To the happy toes in right or left foot or both.
To the tension in your neck that you didn't even know was there,
and you're kind of excited to release.
To the feeling/ sensation of the back of your head on floor/ ground/ table/ bed?
To the good feeling in your left pinkie?

The list is long and varied, but the points are two:

One: there is a lot of us to pay attention to
This is a great and glorious "game" at almost any moment in our lives.

Two: we may have a tendency to put our attention
immediately on "what's not working"
rather than what feels good.

So, be it.
This might be nature's way of helping us remember that
we have an area needing improvement

And the other point is elusively obvious:
why neglect all the rest of us.

So, if you are in any pain:
lie down and any position that is comfortable

Scan yourself for painful areas
and non painful areas

Be sure to include a sensing of all of your skeleton:
legs toes fingers hands ribs vertebrae pelvis head arms shoulder blades

Sense all of you
and get this feeling:
how much of you is a non pain zone
and how much is.

And then try this:
begin any movement
slow and gentle in the non pain zone,
and notice it
feel awareness spreading to this movement
and allow yourself to enjoy aware and slow and gentle movement

Now rest
and feel what difference that made

Now do this same feel good movement
in a slightly different way.

As you do this,
feel what is going on in your body
learn more about how this feels good.

Rest again.

Now pick some third way of making this movement.
Go slowly and gently
with the premium on awareness
and as you are doing this movement
pay
a SMALL amount of attention to your pain zone.

See if you and your brain can realize that gentle good feeling
movement can coincide with parts of us that don't "feel so great"

Rest.
Now, with the smallest possible movements,
move some part of you in the "pain zone"
or right next to it
(shoulder is the zone,  move the ribs, or your elbow or fingers, or you neck;
or move, very very slightly,
your shoulder)

The movement has to be slow enough and gentle enough
that the pain doesn't increase.

Add in an awareness of all the part of you that aren't in pain.

Move slowly and gently,
I've said that I know,
and
hey
move slowly and gently,
and find the pleasure
the learning,
the pleasure
even in this small and slow and gentle movement
inside the pain zone.

Rest.

This is a retraining of many people's whole world view,
so go slowly and gently about learning to see pain
neither as all consumming
nor as something that needs to be instantly "gotten rid of"

It will go
as organization increases,
so keep moving slowly (and gently)
in ways that feel like they are connecting more
of
you
to more of
you

Good luck.
Lots of rests.
Tons of awareness and smiling and breathing.
And did I mention:
move slowly and gently.

ciao
for
Now

Good.
Chris