Instructions From Within: Six Primary Core Pathways to Lifelong Fitness and Wellness (Feldenkrais based)

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Copyright © Josef DellaGrotte 2007. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. For information or to order additional copies of this book, contact the publisher: Core Integration Training Institute, Inc. PO Box 249 Stow, MA 01775-0249 (978) 461-0221 [email protected] www.dellagrotte-somatic.com

!"#$%&'()*+($,So many hands have contributed to this book in one form or another. Staying on track was the greatest challenge. The mentors who helped shape-shift me from academic to somatic thinking include Moshe Feldenkrais, Ida Rolf, Tom Hanna, Al Pesso, Mantak Chia, the Indian teacher, Osho, the spirit of Gautama the Buddha and the old Zen and Taoist masters of the science and art of being. Colleagues who made direct contributions include Paul Davidovits, Arthur Madore, Kimi Hasegawa, Marcia Giudice, Jean Sarno, Karen Wright, and Lisa Cohen, along with my assisting colleagues in Italy: Monica Landi, Ornella Valentini, Emanuela Fabbroni, and Marina Marchiori. The visual production includes Gianmario Lucini, Scott Glorioso, and Bob Glorioso. The new graphics were designed by Betsy Stepp, with drawing contributions from Janet Bertucci and Darcy Magratten. The behind the scene support team includes my patient, compassionate and time boundary setting publishing editor, Julie Murkette. Also my secretary, Ruth Morrison. Two years of co-teaching with Tom Myers helped open the way to see the paths of functional movement at a new level. Meeting Renzo Ridi of Florence, Italy, collaborating and co-teaching with him has opened up both new scientific research foundations to our work and a wholesome interpersonal relationship. The support from professional published writers also close friends, Paul Davidovits and Ronald Leifer, made the difficult easier. Lastly, the acceptance and support on the part of my family in my being away days at a time needs to be appreciated.

!"#$%#$& Introduction........................................................................................................ 9 Self-Care: The Way to Wellness and Fitness .................................................................. 9 Chapter One The Path-Ways of Core Connected Knowing................................13 The Integrated BodyMind: The Way We Were Meant To Be ........................................ 13 From Stress to Satisfaction ........................................................................................... 14 What is Core Integration? ............................................................................................. 15 Defining the Core and the Pathways.............................................................................16 Mapping, Communicating and Networking Along Pathways........................................ 16 The Safety and the Danger Zone.................................................................................. 18 Basic Minimum Daily Requirements for Wellness and Fitness....................................... 18 Chapter Two - Losing and Re-Connecting to Instructions From Within ..........21 How The System Maps Itself .......................................................................................22 How to Get Back to the True Natural Body .................................................................23 Somatic Intelligence .................................................................................................... 24 Chapter Three - The Six Primary Core Pathways: A New Map of Movement, Direction, Mobility and Postural Stability .........27 The Way: Connecting the Body Back to Itself .............................................................. 27 Primary Core Pathway One ......................................................................................... 29 Primary Core Pathway Two ......................................................................................... 31 Primary Core Pathway Three .......................................................................................33 Primary Core Pathway Four......................................................................................... 37 Primary Core Pathway Five.......................................................................................... 39 Primary Core Pathway Six............................................................................................ 40 Chapter Four - Exercise: The Body, Heart and Soul of Fitness and Wellness .... 43 The Physiological Components .................................................................................... 44 The Essential Movement Exercises ............................................................................... 49 Core Pathway Exercise Series Integrating Upper Body and Shoulder ............................57 Floor Exercises for Enhanced Back Care ...................................................................... 64

Chapter Five - Walking: The Ultimate Exercise For Wellness and Fitness .........69 Varieties of the Walking Experience: Bushmen to Modern ............................................ 70 Pattern and Pathways: Vectors of Force and Myofascial Spread ....................................72 The Engine of Walking: Kinetic-Anatomical Movement Markers ................................. 74 Relationship of Walking and Sitting .............................................................................76 Exercise: Walking with Ease and Power from Foot to Head ......................................... 78 Chapter 6 - Active Sitting As Exercise: Changing the Paradigm........................ 81 Effects of Sedentary Sitting.......................................................................................... 82 Centered Sitting, Stable and Supported ........................................................................ 82 Seven Lesson-Exercises to Improve Posture ..................................................................85 Chapter Seven - Self-Maintenance Systems: Comparisons and Contrasts........... 91 Exercise Gym Style ...................................................................................................... 91 Dance as Expressive Exercise ........................................................................................ 93 Yoga: Positive, Healthy, But Not Without Pitfalls .........................................................93 Yoga: The View From Physics, Biomechanics and Physiology ....................................... 94 Golf .............................................................................................................................98 Baseball........................................................................................................................ 99 Soccer .......................................................................................................................... 99 Chapter Eight - Psychophysical Integration: The Pathways Approach to the Body-Mind Connection ............................... 101 Psychobiology of Pathway Tracking ............................................................................ 101 Neuroscience and Movement Somatics ....................................................................... 102 Emotions, Feelings, Concepts, Beliefs ......................................................................... 104 Neurosomatic Reprogramming ................................................................................... 105 Disconnects and Somatic Pain Disorders ..................................................................... 105 Confused Emotional Intelligence: Bodymind Anxiety ................................................. 106 Pathways of Movement and Psychophysical Conditions............................................... 109 The Blind Side of Mind ............................................................................................... 110 Bodywork: Core Integration Hands-On Applications .................................................. 112 Josef DellaGrotte: Biographical Journey...................................................................... 117 Appendix Clinical Study: A Multifactor Clinical-Instrumental Evaluation of Postural Changes Using The Method of Core Integration and ‘awareness through movement.’ ........... 121 Bibliography and Resources......................................................................................... 124

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'#$(")*+$,"# .('/0123(4567(58295,%58(''$(--52$)5:;,$(-The key to the survival, health, and wellness of any species, particularly our own, is in how to access instructions from within, that is from life experience and self-knowing. This is also the basis of self-care, practical learning for improvement in the basics of body-mind maintenance for life. This may involve making necessary changes and improvements, a form of updating or reprogramming through the practice, interest and pursuit of self-care, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The concept is as old as mankind, but like love, peace and intelligent choices not often applied when most needed. No creature can maintain a lasting level of wellness without this foundation and its implementation into skillful means of living. The paradox is this: the direction of our selfcare has shifted away from the natural biological into confusion and bewilderment about what we really need, and our ability to select and to choose what is good for us. In essence it is all about body-mind equilibrium, the well-functioning of the body-mind system, This setback in knowing our essential self, who we really are, and what we ought to be doing to maintain our health, fitness and well-being seems to be leading into the prospect of ourselves becoming an endangered species. All human beings need at least the following essentials to maintain health, well-being and basic fitness: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

good nutrition sufficient exercise and relaxation enjoyment, love, and wholesome interactions mental observational skills (mindfulness) based on awareness intention, a sense of purpose

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/)#01* 203345%)$$0 There are a host of other needs which must also be met — nurturance, security, acceptance, and expressiveness — but without this foundation, they all become compromised. Unmet needs are revealed in the body. There are no disguises, no hiding places. Imagine yourself for a moment an observer from a different culture, a different world. Look around, take in slowly, notice the current condition of people’s bodies in posture, movement, basic fitness and feeling expression. Is this the way we were meant to be?

!"#$%&'()*(!"#*%&'(+&,(-#*%&' How many of us grew up believing that good health, flexibility, coordination and feeling well and fit was a matter of chance and good fortune, or something requiring too much effort and therefore only for special people; or, only for the young. In this belief system, increasing disorders, discomfort and pain were to be expected. If you made it through your forties without pains, stiffness, and other physical disorders you were considered fortunate. A mindset of unavoidable degeneration by simply aging was a given, and still is. The result: sooner or later we mentally and self-hypnotically get pulled into medical programming, and with this the inevitable corrective surgeries, the pain pills, the medications and other continuing therapy interventions to keep us going. But will this path lead us to a better life, or one in which stress seems more intensified? We have developed the means to extend life. People are living longer but not necessarily healthy and well. The message is clear: to live longer means to learn the sustaining skills, the very means to enjoy it! This book deals with all of these factors but the main one is about presenting a new yet time-tested model, approach and practice for lifelong fitness and well-being. You are about to explore and try out an integrated approach to good body movement and functional exercise using a pathway model on how to get back on track, to reconnect with the basic elements of biophysical and psychophysical realities, the grounding that underlies health, fitness and well-being. Without clear directional paths, the bodymind quickly goes off course. The task is to build a series of bridges that will connect and integrate concepts and practices of body movement, exercise, awareness, fitness, and intention that have a sound biomechanical and biophysiological basis and can be shown to be beneficial for as long as we live. The real validation comes only by direct experience, by trying out the process, the exercises, observing the effects, results, and any felt sense of systemic improvement-results that go beyond the myriad techniques of mere temporary relief. Only in this way can we know whether what we do is actually ‘good’ for us, beneficial and lasting. No amount of externally imposed instructions, medical treatment or makeshift modalities promising the cure to this and that; popular programs on how to stay well and fit can match the evolutionary power of ‘instructions from within,’ the genetically based sensory-motor feedback that every creature relies on for all true ‘functional’ activities of every day life.

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!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" My intention is to show you how to access selected and needed instructions from within, getting to know the map of the territory, and to recognize the common bio-physical, directional primary core pathways that all our generated movement energy must take. The reality that holds for all is that we, despite all our beliefs, are connected and grounded in a commonly shared world of gravity, biomechanics, and physiology. Only by interest or intention can we reframe old viewing habits from the felt experience of fresh current reality; or by getting out of the box to see that there is another way. Pathway mapping, by sensing, feeling, thinking and moving, seems to be at the heart of homo sapiens (the one species out of several hominids that has survived). The most plausible current hypothesis is that our survival and further development was based on our ability to both walk, track and to believe that following the path would lead to a positive outcome. My hypothesis is that exercise based on the Core Integration pathway model will yield far more sustaining and wellness maintaining value than the current approach of disconnected exercises, with overstretching and weight-dependent strengthening, which actually generates disturbances, detours, and even dead-ends in the brain’s monitoring perception. From this perspective, the practice of exercise as connected knowing and doing will be shown to enhance all activities of daily life, the ones that maintain us in the stream of necessitous existence. All this can be seen, understood, and improved upon when viewed through the lens of biological and biomechanical movement pathway patterning, described in the following chapters.

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!-./$%(0 1#% !"#$%&'"()&*+$,-$.,/#$.,00#1'#2$30,4506 Be here now but know where you are! — Taoist saying A man parks his car and sets off on an unfamiliar trail, the path splitting and presenting left or right choices. Following some sense of direction he ends up in a small clearing. Seeing a local person nearby he approaches and asks, “Can you tell me where I am?” The local responds, “Well, you’re here!’’ Confused by this response, he asks, “Where is here?” “Well, here is where you’re standing.” The man then asks, “How did I get here?” The response: “I don’t know.” After some head scratching, the man asks, “How can I get back?” The local responds, “Well, that depends on how you got here!” “Oh, I parked my car on a road, and followed the trail sign, and it was swampy.” The local said, “Ah, I may be able to help you with that! You must have parked on B Road. In that case, it’s easy. Just follow this path here, take your first left, then next right at the fork, and at the end, turn left. You’ll be back at the parking lot!”

67(5;$)4567(582958(58(3(5>(2$,56%5=( Health is the ability to deal with the stresses of life and come out better . . . — Moshe Feldenkrais The place where we begin is with bio-evolutionary observations of the entire body complex, its inherent structure and design to maintain us well and fit for a lifetime. Whether in the DNA, the marvelous efficiency and organization of the cells, or the great !#&

/)#01* 203345%)$$0 unknown, the evolutionary dynamics and spirit of life itself, we and our counterpart living creatures contain internal instructions for growth, development, survival, coping strategies, and in all this, play, curiosity, and consciousness as well. Another real, practical and impressive manifestation is even better evidenced by the very survival of older animals that continue to remain able and fit till the day they die. What then do we need to know, to learn, to clarify in order to once again access and activate the CNS pathway connections to tap into and potentially restore this capacity for lifetime fitness and wellness? From everything we now know about exercise physiology, biomechanics, and even body-centered psychology, we move, work, function, feel and live our lives better when our movements are also smooth, well-organized, engaged yet relaxed, efficient and enjoyable. To live fit, well and healthy in both your self image body and your natural body requires your central nervous system to be awake, connected in, responsive, in good communication with up to par muscles, joints, and bones. This internal integration seems to be at the root of what in many cultures and traditions has been called the ‘way’ of nature, the Tao. (Origins: Taoism, a way of life, a non-theistic philosophy originating in China, based on integrating self with nature’s ways.) To live by the grace, physics and physiology of the way of nature takes us beyond words, beyond the mental or intellectual, beyond philosophizing, into actualizing. It requires a functionally integrated operating bodymind system that can, with efficient working movement and core postural support, stay well and fit, tuned and balanced in order to navigate the challenging paths of life. This kind of bodymind state requires being ‘in sync’ with our inherent biophysical operating system guidelines, what we might refer to as bio-functional necessity- doing the movements and actions that relate to necessary activities of everyday life. The more functionally sound our movements are, the better we feel, work and play, with more energy, less fatigue, in effect, transforming the stress of life into wellness, able to fulfill our interests and intentions.

:3%+5.,3(--5,%5.2,;-/2",;%$ To live is to deal with stress. — H. Selye, The Stress of Life Our environment, natural and man-made is full of stressful conditions, from sunlight to smog, to miscommunications, misunderstandings, confrontations — an inescapable condition which has within its dynamics positive transformative potential. From birth on we are under the stresses of life adaptation, starting with our emotional needs, plus the major growth and development challenges, learning how to manage lying to sitting to standing, getting back down again to lie, sleep, then getting up again, on to turning, walking to get from one place to another, increasingly better and easier, or faster as

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!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" needed. All this before engaging in sports exercise and other demanding performance activities! That complex of functions provides enough movement to sustain your life. If you add in more activities such as brisk or power walking, running, jumping, other sports and even dancing, you may feel even better, more energetically fit and well. Statistics show that those who exercise with consistency, whether gently or more energetically, live longer and with less health problems. Lower resting heart rates may also correlate with longevity. (Larger animals have slower heart rates-evolutionary energy efficiency at its best. And they live longer.) Even sitting, described by one medical specialist as an “athletic activity,” (L. Wolpin, MD. See Chapter 6) can be vastly improved with basic core-supported functional movements and postural organization. In most of our everyday activities we are continuously manipulating things whether it be washing a dish, writing a letter, working on a keyboard or on a computer. What we do, how we organize and move with our hands, arms, shoulders, trunk, spine, hips, legs, feet in all of these functional acts is critical to our well being. Do it wrong, do it against gravity, do it in a disconnected, disassociated way, and inevitably there will be trouble. On the other hand get it right, however you do it, by ‘trial and error,’ by curiosity, by intention, by experiment, until it feels complete, connected and satisfying. You are then on the way to a healthy body that now can take you through life with a minimum of pain, trouble, breakdown, injury and all the rest including the variety of the muscular skeletal disorders that seem to afflict mankind.

872,5;-51%3(52BB;$*C51%++D$;"2,;$*52$)5E(,&%3#;$*5!'%$*5A2,7&29The brain and central nervous system are constantly mapping the body and all its functions. Simply stated, the brain needs to know where all the parts are and how they are interacting. If connections are lost, problems arise. Muscles and joints get all their instructions from the nervous system network. Left on their own they would be helpless and confused. The brain is constantly tracking itself. Lines of communication are vital. The CNS must be in touch with the whole system. Through our movement experience it is forming imaged programs for daily life activity. It does this through the pathways provided by its great matrix companion, gravity, the ‘force.’ When things do not go right in us it is because there is a disturbance in the pathways the generated forces (energy) must follow.1 Over the years I have worked to design a map of how the brain/central nervous system tracks and facilitates through its body components every movement we do. What I found are six primary core pathways, and their secondary correlates. This mapping has opened a new approach combining bodywork, therapy, movement repatterning and psychophysical intention- all in the service of life and wellness sustaining exercise. From this perspective, exercise takes on a new meaning, a new place in our lives, a motivator and final common denominator: the movement expression of human functional activity. The key is in first identifying and locating the paths, then body-reading and assessing, tracking how CNS with precision and efficiency transmits forces smoothly with functionalstructural ease and power, all in the service of coming out better, not worse!

Feldenkrais, and others before him, recognized that “movement itself is a key to life” to understanding how living systems function. One well-known pioneer neurologist, Sherrington, identified and hypothesized that all physical, emotional, and mental activities in the brain are expressed in ‘final common public pathways,’ the muscular-skeletal movement tracks. 1

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!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" The primary core pathways are the body system’s roadways transmitting needed movement for appropriate functional use, to make possible all that we invest in, including our sense of meaning and purpose. Bio-mechanical pathways are not just conceptual or metaphorical, but have an anatomical basis, can even be tracked using special biomechanical testing equipment. To illustrate how this works, let’s begin with some examples and analogies. Before anything can happen in a human body, an animal body, any kind of body, there must be paths to process, i.e. communicate, assimilate, differentiate, eliminate, perform. These must be intact, available, ‘on line’ and in good working order. To ingest and digest food requires that everything along that pathway system is working. If the stomach, the esophagus, pancreas, or intestines are out of order, not functioning, damaged, then there will be problems. There is a path, a series of interconnected parts of the body from muscles to organs to neurons that is the physiological basis making possible inter-system communication. If communication is missing, again, there will be problems. Other analogies: a good system of roads serves better transport of persons, goods and services. Or, looking into the structure of music: some learn to play by simply doing, practicing, and using intuition. But the more developed, accomplished and creative musicians learn something about the internal structure of music, what I call and compare to as an internal operating system. Music has an almost mathematical structure of relationships and connections composed of notes, keys, scales, chords and combinations. Once you know the paths, you can make music. What makes the music come out in different form and expression — song, serenade, sonata, symphony — is the way the components and the paths are put together. This is known as composition. The world of dance also reveals movement patterns that express action, purpose, meaning, imagining. These movement patterns can be and are often notated, choreographed. It seems that all performing artists and athletes learn and rely on internally sensed pathways. Tai Chi, the Chinese body-mind movement practice is described as using chi energy. This martial arts based exercise system follows clear, grounded biomechanical, physicsconscious directional pathways to direct and transmit force. Tai Chi has its own version of pathways known as the meridians. Yoga, the ancient Indian system of maintaining body fitness, mental alertness and spiritual connectedness, though it may seem contemplative, somewhat mysterious — kundalini energy activation and all — is actually a physically-based system of exercise using a more ancient pathway map of the body-mind represented in asanas, or postures with visceral, metabolic, and psychological implications.2

Simplified Neuroscience: CNS Directed ‘Final Common Pathways.’ Neurologists such as Sherrington and others had opened a window into the cns to muscle and joint connections, based on the findings that all activity generated in the bodymind-ner vous system complex must travel the same common pathways. For example, all emotional activity is only known by being expressed in the body. Even when not expr essed, emotional energy can be stored as tension, held, some hypothesize, in body tissue as tension, blocks and restrictions which can be manually detected. 2

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67(5.2/(,952$)5,7(5@2$*(35F%$( Just to cross a street requires activating a reflexive, often unconscious neural intention. The CNS sends out messages to all the joints and muscles in a very organized way so that all parts are in sync and you arrive safely. But if the apparatus is out of sync, you may stumble, miss seeing a car, or find yourself unable to move swiftly. So how is the way lost; what goes wrong in a bodymind system designed or evolved to work in an integrated way in which all parts communicate and cooperate? With the proliferation of consumerdriven, even anxiety driven not very well-grounded notions and concepts such as: systems of exercise education which are often driven by factors other than sound biomechanics and muscle-joint physiology; diets which do not work, and of course beliefs about energy and the healing powers of healers and their secret methods (interesting, mostly subjective, often magical-woo woo, sometimes capable of inducing a positive placebo effect, but rarely in accordance with scientific testing). While the human mind seeks meaning and relief from confusion and anxiety in strange and myriad ways, when we depart from gravity-based reality, we lose the path. The result is not integration but wandering in confusion, seeking relief and hoping for the cure by trying this one then that new modality which may promise much but result in very little. The pathways of communication have been disturbed by new impositions, interventions, demands, and bewilderments including poor body training. The CNS, under such stressors and conflicting practices seeks apparent safety by compartmentalizing. But this comes with a negative cost: sectors lose contact with one another.

=2-;"5>;$;+D+5@2;'95G(HD;3(+($,-5/%358(''$(--52$)5:;,$(-These requirements worked for our human ancestors and are just as necessary now. They are: basic daily exercise, a healthy diet, time for relaxation, enjoyment, relational interaction and selfcare. If we gave the same attention to the care of our bodies as we do to the basic maintenance of all our appliances, our cars, and even our pets, we would have far fewer problems, fewer diseases, disorders and debilities. This kind of selfcare is a dictate of nature itself, a powerful internal tendency to return to equilibrium. We go off course badly when we view body maintenance especially through basic daily exercise as an unwelcome interruption in our busy lives. The shift comes when we develop the felt sense that our movement-exercise needs are a welcome inclusion which fits into daily life activity from sitting, standing, walking, extending to all kinds of interactive activities ranging from the recreational, sports, the movement- sensual, like dancing, the sexual, social or anything else expressive. Once you know yourself in this way, you have gained far greater control of your life. Begin with the basics, our ability to move well and fit without injuring ourselves, the way we were meant to be. These are the dictates of the brain and the entire body complex, its inherent structure and design to stay well and fit for a lifetime, something we now know through both scientific study and practical application.

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./00+"1 Movement is central and indispensable to all life sustaining processes and activities. Good movement observed in practical application is well-organized, fluid, not forced, following muscular-skeletal ‘flow’ paths that maintain the body in good postural positioning for functional activity. Movement is composed of specific functional actions taking place in the articulations of the human body. Each movement we do follows specific pathways and leads to results or outcomes as we intended. A more comprehensive definition of good functional movement is any movement from play to performance to work that meets the uncompromising test of gravity, good biomechanics, physiology, and brings us to a satisfying result or completion. Some have even posited that ‘function’ is all.

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!-./$%(0 23" 7,+506$&02$8#(.,00#1'506$',$90+'/:1'5,0+$;/,$%/5%O(+($, 6#E404&3( P4==#& If you lie on your back, push off with the right leg, and take the left knee towards the left shoulder, the left groin should remain soft to the touch. If you feel muscles contracting as you touch this area, it tells you that your body is habituated to using the oblique muscles and the iliopsoas in a way that inhibits spiralic spinal rotation. Part of the training to change this dysfunctional, limiting, habit is to develop a new feel, to access the muscle-movement flow in the true path #3. This is the core of the core movement, and once learned will be there for life. Pathway #3 is just short identification code that helps to develop your sense of connected points and direction. Turning can be done standing, sitting, lying, prone. You know you are on it because it takes you to one side, the other, or both. [See the appendix for lessons on DVD, CD, and audio, on turning in all directions, including from back to front, or front to back.

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A3;+23951%3(5A2,7&295KP F:4(Q%+'#&+5(J!"+&,M(.*%"+5%? In some ways, this pathway is the most practical with the greatest potential for sustaining exercise, posture and fitness, yet paradoxically is less used! First let us get the map of the path. The Diagonal Spiralic integrates features of the other paths, and like path 3 involves turning, twisting, and elevating but uses the opposite leg as the thrust leg. This path allows for so many functional movements and exercises as basic as sitting, and as developed as walking, swimming, gymnastics, and many sports activities from tennis to basketball — just to name a few. We call path 4 the ‘grand spiralic’ when used in full body integrated activities, exercises or engaged performance actions such as walking, swimming, jumping. Its main feature is that it provides both support and transmission of forces into the upper body; therefore it is the main movement template for maintaining upright posture in all human beings. The graphics and the photos will convey the images and the connections. You can initiate the path from the feet, the legs, even the hips, or the shoulders. But it follows an invariant core pathway. If one hip is rotating forward, and you are pushing off from the same leg as rotates the hip, then the direction of force passes through front path on a diagonal. That means the other hip has to go back. If you get this action clear, you will see by the arrows that the force being generated is going to turn and lift the ribs on the opposite side of the thrusting leg up and back. Well, that is easy so far. But since there are many, many muscles and joints involved just doing this, it will take some practice to get the feel. The diagonal spiralic has the effect of really engaging and directing the vector of force through the legs and levering these through the pelvis into the ribs and spine. Good walking form does all this. Good sitting posture would also benefit from spiralic exercises in sitting. Poor sitting disengages the path and puts the system to sleep, often in a slump, or, in static held positions which overtask the back muscles. What gets lost in disconnected

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/)#01* 203345%)$$0 sitting, as well as standing and walking, is the functional activation of the spine to rotate and to provide levering through the ribs. What is behind back pain, spinal stenosis? The compression collapse syndrome, because the spiralic action involving the stabilizing muscles of the spine is missing. (For those who know some anatomy, the deeper multifidi muscles of the spine, the ones that also work together with the great front abdominal-spinal stabilizer, the transverses abdominis.) It is only a matter of 1) staying on the path; 2) getting to use it until it becomes as natural and familiar as apple pie; and 3) then using it in any number of activities which have to engage your #4 path. Of course, grand spiralic is constantly interfacing with the back path, the front path, and participates with its close, almost twin relationship, the turning path. Therefore it is not a path that can just live on its own. It too is interconnected as are they all. From a biophysical-biomechanical perspective, it is universally consistent, observable everywhere; in everyone the pattern can be found and activated. The variation is only in the style of use.

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Standing, or sitting: press-thrust gently through the right leg allowing it to straighten more . . . and while still weighted on the right leg, bring the left front hip bone back, left knee slightly bending forward, left heel lifting, several times until the image connections get clear.

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Continuing with the press-thrust, place both hands under the left lower ribs, assisting them to open in back, and direct your left elbow back. The left ribs can now expand back, supporting and moving together with the left shoulder gliding back, directed back through the left arm and elbow. Do several times then rest and observe.

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Now press-thrust through the left leg, and continuing as above, direct the diagonal spiral action into the right hip, under the lower right ribs, expanding up into the upper right ribs, the right shoulder and right arm going back — several times, then rest and observe.

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Combine both of these to create a sense of walking in place, just lifting one heel at a time.

!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" This is the basic ‘template’ for the spiralic path. When our pre-programmed intelligence perceives this pattern of action, and recognizes that it is right, both functionally and structurally, the reprogramming is complete. To maintain it, it has to be used; otherwise the previous ‘adaptive’ habit pattern returns. This spiralic pathway carries with it and engages the spinal vertebrae, creating needed movement and a free supply of the movement supporting energizing vitamin: elevation. It comes with the package. You do not have to lift yourself up by your shoulder or back muscles. The lift is generated by a levering effect starting with the hip joint, the rotator muscles, through the front path, using some back path, and even a touch of lateral, as we shall soon see. The spiralic path is necessary for true upright walking, and for active sitting as well. Using it properly means getting a sufficient minimum daily supply of not only posturally elevating, but also strengthening movement exercises. In summary: The Diagonal Spiralic (Core Pathway 4) is the key to most of the strengthening movements you need to stay integrated and fit.

A3;+23951%3(5A2,7&295KT F:4(S#00#&(P+34"+5(J.%,4(G4&,M The fifth pathway describes the earliest evolutionary develop-mental movement, using a distinct levering action that allows for uplift, balance, stability with an accompanying myofascial spread most readily observable when you are standing. The body standing shape and form is then unmistakable. The key is the side-balancing action (seen in the lower lumbar region of the spine and the sacro-lumbar connection. (Let’s look from the glasses of primary biological origins: If you were a fish, or a lizard, or even a bear, you would move with a side-bend, a sidewind ‘resonant’ wiggle.) If your lateral movements are in sync, you will notice a cantilever, as one side moves down while the opposite moves up. The combined action is like two circles rotating in relation to each other, consistent with the structural form of the pelvis, ribs and spine.

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/)#01* 203345%)$$0 In this way, the body again uses levering forces to balance its actions of right to left locomotion and still stay in the middle. Path 5 permits a thrusting action through the leg-hip-lower lumbars that immediately translates into more sustained uplift. We cannot afford to weaken or lose this primary movement pathway function because the consequence is a gradual contraction of the lower back muscles, log-jamming in the myofascial tissues, compression of the discs — the onset of that never-causativelyexplained disorder called ‘degenerative disc disease’ — and the inevitable stenosis, the narrowing that used to be mistakenly cited as the cause. Any well-trained movement therapist can detect right away the distinct configuration: the absence of the cantileverlike motion in the lower back which renders a person unstable, susceptible to falls (most therapists sadly do not think this way). Walking becomes more difficult, and back pain more likely to be activated. Another view of the lateral is in skiing. There you can see all the side bends and how they allow for fast motion, turns, and stabilized mobility. The lateral actions should involve the entire spine, even the base of the neck. Trained race walkers also use this lateral feature together with the other pathways to achieve a smooth but powerful glide that permits efficiency and greater endurance.

A3;+23951%3(5A2,7&295KU T**#=%34(P+34"+5(.:%D3(J.%,4(G4&,M This path, the complementary twin of path 5, provides the movement for balancing and shifting. As with paths 1-2, and 3-4, so paths 5-6 also belong together. Lateral bending and shifting are two aspects of the entire set of lateral actions which can be and are combined with the other pathways, depending on what you intend to do.

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!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" Try doing a few of the path 6 side bends you see. One of the more obvious effects is the ‘lengthening’ you will experience on one side. The pathway is identified by a simple formula that is constant: ◆

Shift yourself over to one leg. Press, thrust and straighten onto that standing leg; then bend your upper body, even your arms, to the opposite side.

◆

Observe the sensation of the uplift on the standing leg side, especially if you reach up with the same arm. (You can also use a fitness band, as illustrated)

This is the difference in the otherwise commonality between path 5 and 6: bending to the opposite side of the standing, thrusting leg.

U4040>4"%&'(3:4(-%=3#"17(B%O(+($,5RS(3";-(-4 crouch > forward bend > squat > stabilize > come up path 2, then into path 1, full extension.

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!"#$%GF#131H%*'+,%I Standing: using the path 2 deep core pull-up into the right hip, with a spiralic feel of uplift through the lower ribs.

Sitting: the push comes from the left leg with the pelvis going back, and the uplift.

Side-lying: right leg extends, right hip back lengthening and spreading the right ribs.

Push from right leg, turn ribs, reach forward.

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!"#$%J#'1D%=93#'53(%*'+,%K Standing: using opposite leg to push-off (thrust), band is pulled into opposite deep pelvis and under ribs, using path 3 features but now without turning.

Side view: Active thrusting right leg engages the upper body, creating the ‘grand spiralic’ as used in walking, swimming, and many other dynamic actions.

Sitting: the right leg is now the thrust leg, the left hip levered up with hip going back.

On the back: the right leg is the pushthrough/thrusting leg moving the left hip back and ‘floating’ the left leg to lift.

Side-lying: leg thrusts, swinging back with the right hip (and shoulder) coming forward.

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!"#$%L'+$#'5%*'+,%M%%@2'C$%23D$%>$1DB Back view: weighted on right leg showing left side uplift.

Standing (front view): weighted on left leg and lengthening on the right side with uplift

Sitting: weighted on left hip

Side-Lying: Right leg lifts like a thrusting leg, arm reaches down along leg. Note lengthening of ribs on left side creating an uplift of head.

Side-lying: On back: hands-behind head, elbow in back of the hip coming forward.

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Sitting: weight goes to right hip as right leg pushes to lift right side and arm.

Standing: the weighted leg is the left, now with left side lengthening and bending to the right, being lifted by the levering biomechanical action.

Combined Path 5-6 Sequence Standing: stay on one leg and bend the upper body one way, then the other. Change legs, of course!

On the back: same path as in standing and sitting, with left leg pushing off and bending upper body and spine to the right.

Side lying: right leg thrusts lengthening the entire right side !((

Shoulder Path Connections Path 1

VF

Path 2

VF

VF

Path 3

Path 4

(Turning Left)

(Spiraling Left)

VF

VF

Path 5

VF

(Side Bend to Left)

Path 6

(Bend to Left on Right Leg)

VF

VF Note: Diagram represents movement flow rather than angle accuracy

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S#"4(I+3:$+1(KL4"?%=4(.4"%4=(2&34'"+3%&'()**4"(G#,1(+&,(.:#/5,4" =,"F5D$#7P#C%=9#$'D2%@*'+,%-B Standing, symmetrical and asymmetrical: as front ribs spread, collarbone ends lift, and shoulder blades configure back and closer together.

With arms lifting out, up and back, the lower borders of the shoulder blades circle around and apart.

Sitting: as above, engaging shoulder with arms lifting.

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=,"F5D$#7P#C%=9#$'D2Q%"99"23+$%@*'+,%;$) Story: Habit-The Hidden Controller, Meets the Angel of Change Harriet and Harry (species: homo sapiens, the current anthropomorphic naming based on our unique ability to know by reflection, connection, inductive and deductive reasoning) are homeowners (in the ‘American dream’ tradition). But heavy rains come periodically causing leaks, and often flooding water into the basement. With not just the flooding but the anticipation of it, homo sapiens Harry and Harriet experience significant stress, not only by the actual accumulation and damage, but also by the anticipation of further episodes of unpredictable damage. This leaves them often feeling helpless against the vicissitudes of nature. Harriet and Harry gradually develop coping strategies to deal with this recurring event which wreaks damage to not only the basement but affects the heating, and the washing machine, and whatever else has accumulated by way of storage in basements. Using basic sapiens-given intelligence, they look into water removal strategies, and techniques, and soon find someone who is skilled at removing water from basements. Now at least they have found a means to temporarily allay stress, and settle into the habit orientation associated with this treatment arrangement. But the source remains unresolved, carrying with it along with the anxiety preoccupation, the continuing irritation of rains producing flooding, and what may happen next. Add in a host of other concerns of daily life and its dreads connected with this phenomenon. Harry’s ‘sapiens’ potential soon gets stressed, compromised, and suffering begins. He develops high blood pressure, seeks out medical treatment and gets medications to keep it in check. While the decision is seemingly intelligent, nevertheless the medications soon produce side effects which generate more sleeplessness and mental confusion. Harriet also tries to cope with the situation in good sapiens fashion, but soon becomes nervous, seeks out psychological counseling, gets a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, is given anti-anxiety medications, and in this way manages the stress produced by the chain of events stemming from the anxiety state of worry around constant water flooding. Add this to the other preoccupations and toxic anxieties of everyday life — roof leaks, job concerns, relational conflicts, gaining weight, and the stress levels rise. However, Harry and Harriet have developed by now a support structure in place to help manage mental anxiety arising from the dreaded unpredictables.

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!"#$%&'$()"#*+%),*-($.(" Now it happens that Sam (homo sapiens of the developed integrative systems thinking school) happens by. Observing the situation, Sam points out that things need not be this way, that there are alternatives that might halt the worsening scenario, or even reverse the expected outcome. Sam takes a good look at the entire layout of the land and soon comes up with a plan to resolve the problem. He sees a different path, the key to a prevention strategy which will divert the water, end the flooding, and restore the house to better condition. Harry and Harriet’s first response is enthusiastic, open, interested and excited to try this new approach. Sam, however, has to point out that the strategy only works with preparation applied in due course before the actual recurrence of this painful event. ‘Oh yes, we will do what it takes. Just show us the way. We’re already excited and ready to make the necessary changes. We just need to change our plans and scheduled appointments a bit, then we will be calling you to get started on this new approach which makes so much sense.’ Sam gets everything ready. Days then weeks go by, but no response is forthcoming. Our habituated homeowners have so many things to do, and so many anxiety-provoking matters to attend to. Nothing changes. The old habits continue. What happened? Thinking is a double-edged sword. When we are anxious, thinking degenerates into worrying about what if’s, a mental agitation that generates negative stress with unpleasant, unwholesome, even damaging effects on the body-mind system. Psychosomatic disorders increase with unresolved stresses. Then add habituation, also a positive-negative two-edged sword of our body-mind adaptation to the stresses of life, quickly turning from helpful servant to compulsive habit controller. Harry and Harriet began to realize that this new approach — rational as it was, based on good scientific thinking, and better chance for demonstrable result — would require a change in habits of adaptation. What about the arrangement with Charlie the plumber, always there to apply the ‘treatment’ to the flooded basement? And what about this cozy and convenient arrangement with the psychotherapist who offered support and understanding, paid by insurance as well. What would happen if the medications then had to be changed , or no longer taken? This better approach, more rational and intelligent as it might seem, involved making a decision to take another path that was unfamiliar and non-habitual. The anxiety surrounding a change in behavior — even though the change augured a more sustainable secure, and relaxed way of life — began to mentally supercede the perceived but never experienced benefits.

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