About 2 years ago, I had a major breakthrough in my work with my body. I was finally able to understand how it feels to be truly aligned and released.
However, I was working in a static state, not dynamic - as in standing still vs. movements. The wonderful alignment cannot be sustained as I have yet to develop the necessary muscles to uphold that posture. To do so would take constant work of daily alignment and exercise. In addition to that, I have discovered some dormant muscle injury that was the result of an electro-acupuncture session gone wrong. It was an extremely challenging phase, not only physically, but also emotionally. Soon I slowly let it go, the old habits took over again and I lost that wonderful feeling.
2 years on, I find myself stuck at my performance level, and that there is no way to move forward other than to deal with my alignment again. This time, with a more prepared and positive mind set, and I opt to work more dynamically.
You see, the benefits of working dynamically (with movement) is that you are constantly building muscle and conditioning your movement habits as you work - rather than just "stacking" your joints and expect them to stay there.
So last week, during my dance sessions, as I was working on my body, I discovered 2 habits that was holding me back.
1. There is a sensation of pulling back/clawing down along my middle-lower back muscles.
My teacher commented about my habit of contracting that part of my back to develop an arch and to extend my legs backwards. Now I suddenly realised how dominant that sensation was in my overall body posture.
2. As I work to release that sensation, I found another, even more influential force that is holding me down - there is a pressure over the top of my head that is pressing me down.
Well, technically, it was me, putting that pressure on myself. But it did felt like an invisible hand pushing down on me. It's still me.
So what I did was, I mentally "opened up" this pressure over the top of my head, like opening a box and letting the sensation out.
The mantra I gave to myself was to "believe in the higher power," that is to trust the natural forces to hold up my body, instead of me trying do push myself up.
The counter force to that is also the ground. Dynamically speaking, the more force going downwards, the more counter force there is going upwards, which is how an extended, lengthened body comes about.
So the second mantra was to "believe in the ground I am stepping on." It is the sensation of developing trust, that all is fine.
This sensation extends the highly contracted muscles in my legs, especially my quadriceps and calves.
It is a wonderful load of pressure released from my body from these 2 exercises.
I hope that my sharing of my experiences can benefit your practices as well.
Until next time, warm regards...
Showing posts with label Posture and Alignment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Posture and Alignment. Show all posts
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Body Imagery
Are you able to close your eyes and "see" your body? What do you see?
Do you see colours? Do you see mass and hollow? Or do you sense it in another way? Ie: Sounds and feelings?
Seeing the body is the process of bodily awareness - to be aware of which part of your body or rather muscles is active, which part is passive.
Activity is when a muscle participates in a supporting function in your posture or movement, either mildly or in extreme. It may be extended, or contracted.
Generally, the bodily muscles work together to move, even in a small movement, like lifting a glass of water, as one change in a muscle, creates responses in various adjoining muscles, and all our muscles are intertwined, connected, working as a whole system. Technically, any effort to stop certain parts of the muscles from responding develops into unnatural movements, which inevitably develop tension in another part which is overworked.
When one portion of muscle is overworked, there will certainly be parts of the body muscles which are underworked - passive.
These passive muscles are unhealthy, as habits causing its lack of use will certainly lead to decline of its strength, leading to atrophy, and of course postural changes.
This imbalance may start in one way or the other - either a person had developed the habit of tensing up certain muscles, or the habit of letting certain parts of the body drop when doing an activity.
Movements require full enthusiasm and commitment
It's like, "why do we need to be happy?" As in, we choose to be happy in whatever we do. Because we have to live whether we are happy or not, and we may have to do things we wish we didn't have to, so why not do it well, and do it happily in a relaxed and positive manner?
Movements are the same. We can move like we are forced to, like we don't really care about it, or we can move like we really mean to, using the whole body, the whole set of muscles involved.
Compare doing something alone to involving everyone around you.
Everything, including your back, your head, and your bottom, even your legs and your feet moves along, but in a somewhat relaxed, yet directed manner.
So, what do you do, if the body is not wholly involved?
It could mean having to let go of tense muscles. It could mean picking up slacking muscles.
But another way, is also to sense the whole body. To see it moving as a whole. To see it all lit up inside, or to feel that the energy is through.
This imagery is not just limited to the anatomical body. As you learn to be conscious of the insides of the body, also be aware of what's outside. As we move, our energy fills the space around us. To be able to fully fill up this space, your body would have already been balanced.
Exercises to do this
There can be guided or standard exercises to achieve full balance of the body. Practices of Qigong and Taichi was developed in the way that helps a practitioner develop this flow in the body and outside.
However, a generally good mover have good balance and awareness of the body and its surrounding space as a whole.
In an active warm up, where you move in your stretching instead of doing static stretching, your aim to find these areas of imbalance, stuck energy and other tension in the body, and let them through.
Which is why, active stretching with body awareness is more ideal compared to standard warm ups as our bodies are different from one another and from one day to another. To do so, it involves the coordination between mind and body.
To respond to these differences are only wise, if one is to perform well.
Do you see colours? Do you see mass and hollow? Or do you sense it in another way? Ie: Sounds and feelings?
Seeing the body is the process of bodily awareness - to be aware of which part of your body or rather muscles is active, which part is passive.
Activity is when a muscle participates in a supporting function in your posture or movement, either mildly or in extreme. It may be extended, or contracted.
Generally, the bodily muscles work together to move, even in a small movement, like lifting a glass of water, as one change in a muscle, creates responses in various adjoining muscles, and all our muscles are intertwined, connected, working as a whole system. Technically, any effort to stop certain parts of the muscles from responding develops into unnatural movements, which inevitably develop tension in another part which is overworked.
When one portion of muscle is overworked, there will certainly be parts of the body muscles which are underworked - passive.
These passive muscles are unhealthy, as habits causing its lack of use will certainly lead to decline of its strength, leading to atrophy, and of course postural changes.
This imbalance may start in one way or the other - either a person had developed the habit of tensing up certain muscles, or the habit of letting certain parts of the body drop when doing an activity.
Movements require full enthusiasm and commitment
It's like, "why do we need to be happy?" As in, we choose to be happy in whatever we do. Because we have to live whether we are happy or not, and we may have to do things we wish we didn't have to, so why not do it well, and do it happily in a relaxed and positive manner?
Movements are the same. We can move like we are forced to, like we don't really care about it, or we can move like we really mean to, using the whole body, the whole set of muscles involved.
Compare doing something alone to involving everyone around you.
Everything, including your back, your head, and your bottom, even your legs and your feet moves along, but in a somewhat relaxed, yet directed manner.
So, what do you do, if the body is not wholly involved?
It could mean having to let go of tense muscles. It could mean picking up slacking muscles.
But another way, is also to sense the whole body. To see it moving as a whole. To see it all lit up inside, or to feel that the energy is through.
This imagery is not just limited to the anatomical body. As you learn to be conscious of the insides of the body, also be aware of what's outside. As we move, our energy fills the space around us. To be able to fully fill up this space, your body would have already been balanced.
Exercises to do this
There can be guided or standard exercises to achieve full balance of the body. Practices of Qigong and Taichi was developed in the way that helps a practitioner develop this flow in the body and outside.
However, a generally good mover have good balance and awareness of the body and its surrounding space as a whole.
In an active warm up, where you move in your stretching instead of doing static stretching, your aim to find these areas of imbalance, stuck energy and other tension in the body, and let them through.
Which is why, active stretching with body awareness is more ideal compared to standard warm ups as our bodies are different from one another and from one day to another. To do so, it involves the coordination between mind and body.
To respond to these differences are only wise, if one is to perform well.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Energy, Vibrations and Holistic Wellness
"Everything has vibrations," as physicists, people who dabble in energy works, law of attraction and the likes would tell you.
Sounds are made of vibrations. We all know that. But movements too has vibrations. You and me, as human beings, too, has vibrations.
Vibrations are emissions of energy. We are an energy conductor. Energy flows through us, and into other things, through our actions, our thoughts, our words, into the things we create, and it is passed along as we go.
In Chinese philosophy, we call this chi or qi. In Hindu philosophy, it is Prāṇa. Both come to mean life force or vital energy.
And in our bodies, there are centres or magnetic fields which are said to generate, conduct or store this energy. The dantian in Chinese, and chakra in Sanskrit. These are a series of vital points in our body which corresponds with vital organs. The specific understanding of these points, and its number may vary between teachings, but generally, these series of points runs across the centre of the human torso, from the base all the way up to the head.
Imbalance, stagnation or blockage in these centres are said to cause symptoms of physical ailments and certain behavioural problems.
For example, a blockage in the 3rd Chakra may defined by physical symptoms of indigestion. Emotionally, it may be expressed in the form of anxiety and extreme introversion. Mentally, this person may feel very disempowered and fearful in his or her life.
It's just a Chicken & Egg story
For some, the study of these metaphysical philosophies seem like superstition or beyond logic. After all, not everyone can claim that they can see auras or other people's energy fields.
However, these are just another branch of study that helps us understand and assess the human condition as a whole. Unlike western medicinal principals which only focuses on the anatomy, eastern philosophies acknowledge the correlation between the mind, body, emotion and spirit as being inseparable. It is a definition of our whole being, and a shift in one aspect, will inevitably effect all others.
Take the 3rd chakra as an example again. A weakness in this area can also be seen posturally, in a collapsed abdomen, weak core muscles - or can even be simply defined as a hunch or a slouch. In movement, he or she may find difficulty in opening up the abdomens, such as in a back arch.
The Correlations
There is a direct relationship to how the various aspects of ourselves affect one another. For example, an external event may had happened to trigger one person, a person A to experience anxiety and panic attacks. With that this person is constantly fearful and loses confidence in himself. This lack of confidence manifests itself into his posture, causing him to slouch. The emotional turmoil will also develop as digestion problems and breathlessness. The bad posture and digestion problem will eventually create a downward spiral in his overall health and well-being, and this will eventually be obvious in his overall (lack of) glow or aura. His new postural position too, is already causing (and is also the result of) the collapse in his internal organs, which will in turn develop tense muscles in his neck, shoulders and lowerback, while giving him a larger lower belly. And a weakened life force in turn creates more havoc in our overall system. The longer he stay that way, the more hard-wired his system is to this setting, and the more solidly it manifests itself. After some time, you can't really tell anymore, which problem is causing what.
When met with doctors or healers, he will be given a different description of the diagnosis.
Anxiety. Indigestion. Blockage. Bad posture.
Tackling all
It may sound like a bad news that one thing can effect so many aspects of us.
But it is also a good news! Because, it is possible that changing one part of ourselves can positively effect another.
For example, awareness and practice in good posture will relief the energy blockage in that area. Not only that, a change in posture also automatically sends a different message to our minds, forcing us to be more positive and optimistic about life. A good energy healing session leaves us feeling invigorated and healthy again. A good counselling or coaching session may help us overcome a traumatic event. Medication and exercise may leave us healthier and therefore more positive about life again.
However, as I mentioned above, some situations start to get pretty sticky, when other symptoms have become pretty stubborn over time.
And the best way, ofcourse, is to be able to address as many of these aspects as possible to enable rapid recovery and growth. It is the reason why, doctors have now found that medication, coupled with counselling and spiritual support is so much more effective compared to just simply using medication.
What method of healing
I would not claim to be in the position to prescribe any specific form of healing that is best for you and your problems. But I do wish to share the understanding of the self - mind, body, emotion, spirit. And I would emphasize that when there is one aspect of you that you seem to have been struggling with for a long time, and not able to overcome, look at the other aspects of yourself. Perhaps the answer is there. You may have a problem with your body. But look at your relationships, your lifestyle. Or do you have faith? If your mental state is terrible, look at your posture, how are you using your body?
Be aware and find clues and answer in places you may not even have thought of. But don't dabble too much into the spirit. It's a whole other world. We are physical beings after all. Our spirit is perfect. It just seem like it is not because of the other 3 aspects of ourselves.
Health, wellness and happiness is holistic. One aspect cannot be well independent of another.
Until next time, I wish you well...
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Muscle and Emotions
We probably all know a little about body language. Different postures express different emotions. We use body language to communicate different thoughts. It does so itself even when we are not realising or controlling what we do with out bodies.
Dancing is about using the body to communicate thoughts and emotions. The process of dance creation or improvisation uncovers the language that is already IN the body, without us thinking too much about it consciously.
Yes, the language is IN the body.
It means that our body stores emotions and memories inside of it, and express it in a certain way in our movements. Like, when a depressed person is hunched, a stressed person's body is tense, even when he's walking, talking, or drinking a cup of coffee.
Sometimes, it is not even about an emotion that is present. It could be from the past - a physical injury, a grievous loss or hurtful actions or words from another person.
All our experiences, as you know, is recorded by our subconscious, and our subconscious memories has physical locations within our body. (There was a book written on it that I just found out about.)
So working on our body, I find, is not as effective as working on my mind.
Yes, our body can learn new movement habits that when developed over the course of 30-60 days, will become automatic. It is important to start with practicing good movement habits through repetitive conditioning. However, there are times when the body seems very stubborn or is fighting against this conditioning. This is where some inner work needs to be done.
When there is a stubbornly bad posture, stubbornly tense muscle, or even dorman muscles, it is very likely that the body is holding in a memory or emotion that is getting in the way of release. Although habits can be trained, I believe that in these cases, overriding it with new habits simply hide its real issue, pushing it further back into the subconscious, where it will manifest itself in some other unhealthy ways.
To address these issues, the first think one can do is to identify the specific muscle group and emotion that is related to this movement habit.
Muscle/emotion/memory
Identifying either one will work as a starting point. The key is to be as specific as possible, and I feel it is best to be confrontational with yourself. To be honest about the real emotion or memory that is hiding inside.
Once you are able to identify either one of these 3 aspects, you can hold it in your mind, and then release it, and go back to replacing it with a new conditioning.
The challenge
The challenge is usually to find out the accurate source of the stuckness. With that, I use clues such as emotional keywords, organ that this certain body part is related to, meaning of chakra - all these are fairly related.
I will be exploring further in this topic in future articles, about identifying stuck muscle groups and releasing them.
Until then, regards...
Dancing is about using the body to communicate thoughts and emotions. The process of dance creation or improvisation uncovers the language that is already IN the body, without us thinking too much about it consciously.
Yes, the language is IN the body.
It means that our body stores emotions and memories inside of it, and express it in a certain way in our movements. Like, when a depressed person is hunched, a stressed person's body is tense, even when he's walking, talking, or drinking a cup of coffee.
Sometimes, it is not even about an emotion that is present. It could be from the past - a physical injury, a grievous loss or hurtful actions or words from another person.
All our experiences, as you know, is recorded by our subconscious, and our subconscious memories has physical locations within our body. (There was a book written on it that I just found out about.)
So working on our body, I find, is not as effective as working on my mind.
Yes, our body can learn new movement habits that when developed over the course of 30-60 days, will become automatic. It is important to start with practicing good movement habits through repetitive conditioning. However, there are times when the body seems very stubborn or is fighting against this conditioning. This is where some inner work needs to be done.
When there is a stubbornly bad posture, stubbornly tense muscle, or even dorman muscles, it is very likely that the body is holding in a memory or emotion that is getting in the way of release. Although habits can be trained, I believe that in these cases, overriding it with new habits simply hide its real issue, pushing it further back into the subconscious, where it will manifest itself in some other unhealthy ways.
To address these issues, the first think one can do is to identify the specific muscle group and emotion that is related to this movement habit.
Muscle/emotion/memory
Identifying either one will work as a starting point. The key is to be as specific as possible, and I feel it is best to be confrontational with yourself. To be honest about the real emotion or memory that is hiding inside.
Once you are able to identify either one of these 3 aspects, you can hold it in your mind, and then release it, and go back to replacing it with a new conditioning.
The challenge
The challenge is usually to find out the accurate source of the stuckness. With that, I use clues such as emotional keywords, organ that this certain body part is related to, meaning of chakra - all these are fairly related.
I will be exploring further in this topic in future articles, about identifying stuck muscle groups and releasing them.
Until then, regards...
Monday, March 18, 2013
About Me: The Long Story - My Love Affair With Movement
If you had read my about page, you would probably know a thing or 2 about me and my practice. But here, I will share the in-depth story of how I came to where I am at today.
I love movement
I have been studying movement all my life.
From dance, martial arts to sports, I have observed movement from a range of aspects and attempted to recreate them, to understand how movers move - how the best dancers dance, how actors act, how atheles jump, how action is created and how movement flow.
As I study these people more, I began to understand that there is a state of being in which these people had created, a stage persona in their performances. It is beyond what is taught in most lessons, what you see in the apparent.
In my career as a dance teacher, I had taught this method to my students in rehearsing for their dances. The difference is between a mediocre or technical performance, and an emotionally impactful performance.
What kind of dancer am I?
When most people ask me, "When did I first started dancing?" I didn't know how to answer them. Like most people, I started dancing when I was little, I mean baby. Unlike most people, I continued dancing and believing in dance, through adulthood.
I revel in art - I sing, play music, draw, paint, occasionally build or sculpt things, and I aspire to act.
I started off mostly as a self-taught dancer, emulating my idols from music videos and concert recordings, and just moving to the beat to music. I start off with dancing Canto-pop like idols Leslie Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Jimmy Lin and Dicky Chueng, during the late 1980's to the early 1990's, a time that could be described as the peak of the genre. It was a time of elaborate costumes, grand concert stadiums, world class performances, and of course, superb dance performance and choreographies. The passion in the music and the moving beats sparked my interest in singing and dancing. Of course, the genre also occasionally offered its share of ballads and culturally influenced tunes, along with accompanying performances, sparking my interests in more traditional and lyrical dances.
In the late 1990's, I started paying more attention towards western pop culture. Dancing girl and boy bands - i.e. Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync - became a scarce oasis of reference towards stylistic physical expression. And then Britney Spears, and there were no others like her.
At that time, we have no MTV and there was no Youtube. Even my VCR at home was spoilt and not replaced. What you see on TV is what you get. As much as I wanted to dance along, I couldn't reference well enough, so I had to pick up the dances as I go. Even if there were good references, they were not like today's K-pop where they have complete dance videos. I had make up my own steps in betweens.
But of course, I was too ashamed to let anyone know I love to dance. People make comments. You are a bad kid if you shake your body. You can't really dance if you don't go for classes, but there were no classes to go for. Children are expected to sit still.
So, I practiced in private, when my parents were not around, when no one was watching.
I wanted to do everything. I loved moving, I indulged in martial arts and gymnastics. And as you can imagine, I simply couldn't sit still.
Training hard
It started with a discovery of my enthusiasm towards chinese period dramas with kungfu/wire-fu. It served to tie me towards deeply exploring my cultural roots, which led to my interest in spirituality. The visuals that I see in these stories triggered a sense of stories untold so full in my heart, that I had to express it out in some form of mono-acting, and I started practicing martial arts for the parts I play. I was mesmerised by the visuals of female-wirefu, which resembles a dance more than fighting, hoping to someday float, glide and display such grace and power at the same time. This eventually covered more female heroine characters, that are technically tomboys of period dramas. I started dreaming of becoming an actress, and at that time, Michelle Yeoh emerged as an icon of my dreams.
Immediately, I wanted to sign up for wushu classes to get started on my basics. Unfortunately, things didn't quite happen for me. I ended up settling for taekwando classes which were offered in my school. I didn't like sparring, but instead I trained hard to make sure my kicks and my taegeuks look good and perfect, all the way up to my black belt in year 2000.
Later, when I entered university, I finally got the chance to approach wushu and taichi. It was a wonder that the techniques are so different, so much more complex even on the lower level, but it also means much more variety in movements. I get to practice movement patterns that I had always wanted to do, it was something that I wished I had started earlier on, for the basics in taekwando didn't prepare me for this. I managed to do a few performances with the team, one which included using sticks. Unfortunately, I did not stay long enough to learn weapons which I had wanted so much years ago. My body was getting tired of the brutal hardness of learning martial arts. It is not what I want to do. However, the years of training had further developed the tough body that already was.
Bending soft
During my early childhood, I was exposed to an international aerobics. I was mesmerised with the participant's flexibility and ability to perform acrobatics like cartwheels and walkovers.
Then during the 1992 Olympic games, I fell in love with rhythmic gymnastics. But it was not until the next Olympic in 1996 that I get to watch it again on TV. I loved the grace, flexibility and dexterity of gymnasts. I also learned to pick up on the flow of their movements, which sparked my interests in gentler forms of dance.
Unfortunately, there were no known gymnastic classes at that time, or would it have been a worthy investment as by then, it would've been too late for me to start (it is important to take advantage of early childhood to develop the extreme flexibility required). But I never gave up on the dream of performing, so I resorted to self-training at home.
I became obsessed with stretching. My amateurish attempts at self-training were somewhat successful - I managed to achieve over-splits, a good level of back bend, and walkovers - but it had also left me riddled with injuries. I developed a lower back pain, and hip joint pain. I also learned that lack of proper warm up could result in torn hamstrings.
The body in conflict
Other than the activities I mentioned above, I was also a competitor in the school's high jump events. I started in my upper primary school, but did not do it again until my upper secondary years. Again, I worked very hard to train myself to jump higher, but in spite of the lower-body strength I developed, my achievements were limited and inconsistent. I was frustrated and didn't know what to do. My knees were aching. I didn't know what I did wrong.
Over the years, I kept pushing through in spite of my injuries so that I can do the things I loved. I kept fighting with my body to make it do better splits, but it seemed to have come to a plateau, while my hip joint became riddled with pain. My body no longer wants to put out the brute strength I was forcing it to. I was abusing my body, pressing on my spine, trying to tear my joints apart, punishing it when it doesn't give me what I want. My performance dropped. My body felt so heavy. All these training must have failed, I thought. I must be getting old. I was 20.
By year 2003, more injuries, coupled by other lifestyle factors had left me with little motivation. I stopped practicing wushu.
Going easy
Aside from the occasional music video dancing, a stretch or two here and there, I was no longer doing any serious physical training in the years that ensues. I swim, go to the gym, played badminton and took up archery to keep myself happy in between struggling through university coursework. Any serious endeavour towards physical achievement seemed out of reach by now. I will settle with being a multimedia designer.
Starting Over
So when I began working for a few months, and life seemed miserable and meaningless.
I asked myself, what would I have to do, that if I don't, I would die? Dance.
If I don't start dancing, I would die.
So I started searching through the net for dance courses that rings a bell to me, and in a convenient location. I wasn't driving at the time, and relied heavily on the LRT system. I took some trial classes in a few separate location, and I still haven't found what I want, until I happened upon Rivergrass Dance Academy and attended classes by it's founder/director, Ms. Mew Chang Tsing.
A new philosophy
The first thing that is very different from anything I have learned before is the attitude towards the body and towards movement.
The first was, to love our body, to treat it with kindness and respect. To not force the body to do something when it is already hurting, because when guided, gently, it will still be able to do what we want it to, without the unnecessary pain.
Second, is to listen to the body. The body has intelligence and it has movement, movement that is different from what is in the mind. If we can let go of the controlling mind, to be quiet and observe, the body will speak its language and give us it's answer.
Learning these two principles are a continuous process, but by first understanding its concepts and applicability, it is the first steps in the right direction.
Creating dance
As the process of our learning is mostly improvisational, very soon, I am creating dance. Its was like a burst pipe, where all my desires and longings for dance expressions finally found an outlet. Very soon, I was performing on-stage with the group, with my favourite, Lady In Red - a piece which carries a passionate, tango-flamenco tone with the music Assasins Tango.
It then followed by more and more pieces, and greater involvement within the contemporary dance community as a whole, a course on dance composition which led to my first solo piece, The Tree of Life, and the rest was history.
Aside from the influences mentioned above, I also came from a national school system with a heavy Malay cultural influence. at a very young age, I was exposed to Malay classical and folk dances, but I was most taken by Gamelan, Ulek Mayang, Asyik and Inang, because of how ethereal the dancers look on stage, with elaborate costumes, and hypnotic music.
I didn't know how I pick up on the love of spanish-influences dance, but the passion and sensuality speaks to me.
Teaching dance
This burst pipe of creativity eventually flooded into my dance teaching in the international school, where I choreographed pieces for the school production which I directed, working with other dance and music teachers, and the high school students who were given the freedom to create their own - it basically unleashed my creative monster - a playground where pop, contemporary, and cultural performance items co-existed and weave itself into a story of growing up, learning and living in harmony.
The result was, the students get to learn something totally new, the school get to see something new, and expose itself to various forms of dance, and with my performing experience, I helped the students polish their performance quality to a whole new level.
Teaching dance became something that I had-to-do!
What was most satisfying, was not about the choreography process or the performances themselves. But the growth and connection that came during and as a result of the production was where it was most beautiful.
During classes and rehearsals, I have worked with students of various levels, most do not have dance training outside what the school was able to provide. They spent many years not having a teacher who was actually trained in dance, as had been creating dance for performances on their own. I worked to create dances that is suitable for different age groups, different talents and capabilities, and together, I brought them to a level of performance that is entertaining and emotionally satisfying for both participants and audience.
Beauty in a dance performance had to first come from performance quality and polish.
These had to be a result of meticulous training and even nit-picking. Movements were cleaned up.
Then, there is a very basic but impotant element of appearing larger on stage that performers need to be aware of. Movements have to be larger, more lengthened. Students need to expand themselves into a space slightly beyond themselves. This often challenge people in their comfort zones.
Also, there is the element of eye-contact. Eyes needs to be looking in the right places. It was very difficult for students to look up when dancing initially. Most adolescents and teenagers have self-esteem issues. Dancing on-stage and looking up at the audience was most terrifying and unthinkable of. Eyes wander as a result of a wandering mind too. So much training was centered on them being focused and present in the performance itself.
Last but not least, the importance of emotional interaction. Students need to know what their dance is saying, or what they actually wanted to say to the audience in their dance. They learned to accept it, to be honest about it, about themselves and what they wanted to express, or what I needed them to express in their dance.
I talked to these dozens and hundreds of performing students, some on a deeper level. I got to know them on a personal level to understand their unique challenges, and coached them to overcome their own obstacles, bodily, mentally and emotionally.
What's next?
I believed that the training had challenged them to a greater level, but I believed that more people, young and old can benefit from learning dance and training for performance, and overcoming personal obstacles, moving out of their comfort zones. It is my wish to reach out to more people on the same, deep, soulful level, without the constraints of academic curricula which I had to juggle with in school. I wish to create for, and to spread the knowledge of using the body, and healing its injuries.
The healing process
Over the years, I began studying more about the body as I continue studying alot of personal-developement materials. I wanted to heal, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
When I stumbled upon the works of Tony Robbins and understood how much body language affects a person. I saw a video and was very surprised he spoke to one of his workshop participants, and immediately see shifts in their body when their mindset changes. I began observing body language more deeply, and employed questioning techniques to heal my body and let my body work in a more harmonious way.
Many of these techniques were helpful when I was working with my students. I was very enthusiastic about the results that I got and I am determined to practice further and broaden my reach.
Who am I?
I see myself as a life-long learner and teacher. I love to coach people, to help bring out the best in them, in what they do, whatever it is they want to do, to connect with who they are, and find that creative side of them.
As a teacher, I believe that no one is too bad to learn, and no one is too good not to learn.
It is a matter of desire - do we wish to do it or not?
The jewel is inside everyone of us. You just have to draw it out of each person.
It gets personal
I employ techniques from life coaching and strategic intervention, understanding body language from dance and improvisation, energy chakras and self-healing in my teaching. I do not believe in a sterile teaching environment. A teacher teaches best when she knows her students well, and directly meet her needs and deliver at her level.
For me, I keep learning from personal experiences, my meditations and my readings. I believe everyone should.
I hope to someday connect with you on our journey, where we can share and exchange in mind and creativity.
Love,
I love movement
I have been studying movement all my life.
From dance, martial arts to sports, I have observed movement from a range of aspects and attempted to recreate them, to understand how movers move - how the best dancers dance, how actors act, how atheles jump, how action is created and how movement flow.
As I study these people more, I began to understand that there is a state of being in which these people had created, a stage persona in their performances. It is beyond what is taught in most lessons, what you see in the apparent.
In my career as a dance teacher, I had taught this method to my students in rehearsing for their dances. The difference is between a mediocre or technical performance, and an emotionally impactful performance.
What kind of dancer am I?
When most people ask me, "When did I first started dancing?" I didn't know how to answer them. Like most people, I started dancing when I was little, I mean baby. Unlike most people, I continued dancing and believing in dance, through adulthood.
I revel in art - I sing, play music, draw, paint, occasionally build or sculpt things, and I aspire to act.
I started off mostly as a self-taught dancer, emulating my idols from music videos and concert recordings, and just moving to the beat to music. I start off with dancing Canto-pop like idols Leslie Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Jimmy Lin and Dicky Chueng, during the late 1980's to the early 1990's, a time that could be described as the peak of the genre. It was a time of elaborate costumes, grand concert stadiums, world class performances, and of course, superb dance performance and choreographies. The passion in the music and the moving beats sparked my interest in singing and dancing. Of course, the genre also occasionally offered its share of ballads and culturally influenced tunes, along with accompanying performances, sparking my interests in more traditional and lyrical dances.
In the late 1990's, I started paying more attention towards western pop culture. Dancing girl and boy bands - i.e. Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync - became a scarce oasis of reference towards stylistic physical expression. And then Britney Spears, and there were no others like her.
At that time, we have no MTV and there was no Youtube. Even my VCR at home was spoilt and not replaced. What you see on TV is what you get. As much as I wanted to dance along, I couldn't reference well enough, so I had to pick up the dances as I go. Even if there were good references, they were not like today's K-pop where they have complete dance videos. I had make up my own steps in betweens.
But of course, I was too ashamed to let anyone know I love to dance. People make comments. You are a bad kid if you shake your body. You can't really dance if you don't go for classes, but there were no classes to go for. Children are expected to sit still.
So, I practiced in private, when my parents were not around, when no one was watching.
I wanted to do everything. I loved moving, I indulged in martial arts and gymnastics. And as you can imagine, I simply couldn't sit still.
Training hard
It started with a discovery of my enthusiasm towards chinese period dramas with kungfu/wire-fu. It served to tie me towards deeply exploring my cultural roots, which led to my interest in spirituality. The visuals that I see in these stories triggered a sense of stories untold so full in my heart, that I had to express it out in some form of mono-acting, and I started practicing martial arts for the parts I play. I was mesmerised by the visuals of female-wirefu, which resembles a dance more than fighting, hoping to someday float, glide and display such grace and power at the same time. This eventually covered more female heroine characters, that are technically tomboys of period dramas. I started dreaming of becoming an actress, and at that time, Michelle Yeoh emerged as an icon of my dreams.
Immediately, I wanted to sign up for wushu classes to get started on my basics. Unfortunately, things didn't quite happen for me. I ended up settling for taekwando classes which were offered in my school. I didn't like sparring, but instead I trained hard to make sure my kicks and my taegeuks look good and perfect, all the way up to my black belt in year 2000.
Later, when I entered university, I finally got the chance to approach wushu and taichi. It was a wonder that the techniques are so different, so much more complex even on the lower level, but it also means much more variety in movements. I get to practice movement patterns that I had always wanted to do, it was something that I wished I had started earlier on, for the basics in taekwando didn't prepare me for this. I managed to do a few performances with the team, one which included using sticks. Unfortunately, I did not stay long enough to learn weapons which I had wanted so much years ago. My body was getting tired of the brutal hardness of learning martial arts. It is not what I want to do. However, the years of training had further developed the tough body that already was.
Bending soft
During my early childhood, I was exposed to an international aerobics. I was mesmerised with the participant's flexibility and ability to perform acrobatics like cartwheels and walkovers.
Then during the 1992 Olympic games, I fell in love with rhythmic gymnastics. But it was not until the next Olympic in 1996 that I get to watch it again on TV. I loved the grace, flexibility and dexterity of gymnasts. I also learned to pick up on the flow of their movements, which sparked my interests in gentler forms of dance.
Unfortunately, there were no known gymnastic classes at that time, or would it have been a worthy investment as by then, it would've been too late for me to start (it is important to take advantage of early childhood to develop the extreme flexibility required). But I never gave up on the dream of performing, so I resorted to self-training at home.
I became obsessed with stretching. My amateurish attempts at self-training were somewhat successful - I managed to achieve over-splits, a good level of back bend, and walkovers - but it had also left me riddled with injuries. I developed a lower back pain, and hip joint pain. I also learned that lack of proper warm up could result in torn hamstrings.
The body in conflict
Other than the activities I mentioned above, I was also a competitor in the school's high jump events. I started in my upper primary school, but did not do it again until my upper secondary years. Again, I worked very hard to train myself to jump higher, but in spite of the lower-body strength I developed, my achievements were limited and inconsistent. I was frustrated and didn't know what to do. My knees were aching. I didn't know what I did wrong.
Over the years, I kept pushing through in spite of my injuries so that I can do the things I loved. I kept fighting with my body to make it do better splits, but it seemed to have come to a plateau, while my hip joint became riddled with pain. My body no longer wants to put out the brute strength I was forcing it to. I was abusing my body, pressing on my spine, trying to tear my joints apart, punishing it when it doesn't give me what I want. My performance dropped. My body felt so heavy. All these training must have failed, I thought. I must be getting old. I was 20.
By year 2003, more injuries, coupled by other lifestyle factors had left me with little motivation. I stopped practicing wushu.
Going easy
Aside from the occasional music video dancing, a stretch or two here and there, I was no longer doing any serious physical training in the years that ensues. I swim, go to the gym, played badminton and took up archery to keep myself happy in between struggling through university coursework. Any serious endeavour towards physical achievement seemed out of reach by now. I will settle with being a multimedia designer.
Starting Over
So when I began working for a few months, and life seemed miserable and meaningless.
I asked myself, what would I have to do, that if I don't, I would die? Dance.
If I don't start dancing, I would die.
So I started searching through the net for dance courses that rings a bell to me, and in a convenient location. I wasn't driving at the time, and relied heavily on the LRT system. I took some trial classes in a few separate location, and I still haven't found what I want, until I happened upon Rivergrass Dance Academy and attended classes by it's founder/director, Ms. Mew Chang Tsing.
A new philosophy
The first thing that is very different from anything I have learned before is the attitude towards the body and towards movement.
The first was, to love our body, to treat it with kindness and respect. To not force the body to do something when it is already hurting, because when guided, gently, it will still be able to do what we want it to, without the unnecessary pain.
Second, is to listen to the body. The body has intelligence and it has movement, movement that is different from what is in the mind. If we can let go of the controlling mind, to be quiet and observe, the body will speak its language and give us it's answer.
Learning these two principles are a continuous process, but by first understanding its concepts and applicability, it is the first steps in the right direction.
Creating dance
As the process of our learning is mostly improvisational, very soon, I am creating dance. Its was like a burst pipe, where all my desires and longings for dance expressions finally found an outlet. Very soon, I was performing on-stage with the group, with my favourite, Lady In Red - a piece which carries a passionate, tango-flamenco tone with the music Assasins Tango.
It then followed by more and more pieces, and greater involvement within the contemporary dance community as a whole, a course on dance composition which led to my first solo piece, The Tree of Life, and the rest was history.
Aside from the influences mentioned above, I also came from a national school system with a heavy Malay cultural influence. at a very young age, I was exposed to Malay classical and folk dances, but I was most taken by Gamelan, Ulek Mayang, Asyik and Inang, because of how ethereal the dancers look on stage, with elaborate costumes, and hypnotic music.
I didn't know how I pick up on the love of spanish-influences dance, but the passion and sensuality speaks to me.
Teaching dance
This burst pipe of creativity eventually flooded into my dance teaching in the international school, where I choreographed pieces for the school production which I directed, working with other dance and music teachers, and the high school students who were given the freedom to create their own - it basically unleashed my creative monster - a playground where pop, contemporary, and cultural performance items co-existed and weave itself into a story of growing up, learning and living in harmony.
The result was, the students get to learn something totally new, the school get to see something new, and expose itself to various forms of dance, and with my performing experience, I helped the students polish their performance quality to a whole new level.
Teaching dance became something that I had-to-do!
What was most satisfying, was not about the choreography process or the performances themselves. But the growth and connection that came during and as a result of the production was where it was most beautiful.
During classes and rehearsals, I have worked with students of various levels, most do not have dance training outside what the school was able to provide. They spent many years not having a teacher who was actually trained in dance, as had been creating dance for performances on their own. I worked to create dances that is suitable for different age groups, different talents and capabilities, and together, I brought them to a level of performance that is entertaining and emotionally satisfying for both participants and audience.
Beauty in a dance performance had to first come from performance quality and polish.
These had to be a result of meticulous training and even nit-picking. Movements were cleaned up.
Then, there is a very basic but impotant element of appearing larger on stage that performers need to be aware of. Movements have to be larger, more lengthened. Students need to expand themselves into a space slightly beyond themselves. This often challenge people in their comfort zones.
Also, there is the element of eye-contact. Eyes needs to be looking in the right places. It was very difficult for students to look up when dancing initially. Most adolescents and teenagers have self-esteem issues. Dancing on-stage and looking up at the audience was most terrifying and unthinkable of. Eyes wander as a result of a wandering mind too. So much training was centered on them being focused and present in the performance itself.
Last but not least, the importance of emotional interaction. Students need to know what their dance is saying, or what they actually wanted to say to the audience in their dance. They learned to accept it, to be honest about it, about themselves and what they wanted to express, or what I needed them to express in their dance.
I talked to these dozens and hundreds of performing students, some on a deeper level. I got to know them on a personal level to understand their unique challenges, and coached them to overcome their own obstacles, bodily, mentally and emotionally.
What's next?
I believed that the training had challenged them to a greater level, but I believed that more people, young and old can benefit from learning dance and training for performance, and overcoming personal obstacles, moving out of their comfort zones. It is my wish to reach out to more people on the same, deep, soulful level, without the constraints of academic curricula which I had to juggle with in school. I wish to create for, and to spread the knowledge of using the body, and healing its injuries.
The healing process
Over the years, I began studying more about the body as I continue studying alot of personal-developement materials. I wanted to heal, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
When I stumbled upon the works of Tony Robbins and understood how much body language affects a person. I saw a video and was very surprised he spoke to one of his workshop participants, and immediately see shifts in their body when their mindset changes. I began observing body language more deeply, and employed questioning techniques to heal my body and let my body work in a more harmonious way.
Many of these techniques were helpful when I was working with my students. I was very enthusiastic about the results that I got and I am determined to practice further and broaden my reach.
Who am I?
I see myself as a life-long learner and teacher. I love to coach people, to help bring out the best in them, in what they do, whatever it is they want to do, to connect with who they are, and find that creative side of them.
As a teacher, I believe that no one is too bad to learn, and no one is too good not to learn.
It is a matter of desire - do we wish to do it or not?
The jewel is inside everyone of us. You just have to draw it out of each person.
It gets personal
I employ techniques from life coaching and strategic intervention, understanding body language from dance and improvisation, energy chakras and self-healing in my teaching. I do not believe in a sterile teaching environment. A teacher teaches best when she knows her students well, and directly meet her needs and deliver at her level.
For me, I keep learning from personal experiences, my meditations and my readings. I believe everyone should.
I hope to someday connect with you on our journey, where we can share and exchange in mind and creativity.
Love,
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Money and Fat
Many times when I talk to people about losing weight, I talk about being aware of and accepting your fats.
Accepting my fats?!
The money story
OK, think about when you withdrew cash from your bank account. What happens after a couple of days?
Most likely, you will be asking yourself, "Where have all the money gone?"
Hands up if this did not happen to you. How come you can sometimes live with very little money in your wallet and still somehow get by, but when you withdrew the money fresh from the ATM, it will all be gone before you even noticed?
How to safe all the money
If you are planning to safe money, first you will have to spend less than you earn.
Every month, you put aside an amount that you want to safe, and then you get to spend the rest. You might even spend a little extra sometimes, but it is OK if you make up for it the next time.
Keep the money long enough and it will start accumulating some interests on its own. Get them in to fixed-deposits and you can accumulate even more interests, and you credit them to principal, and eventually, the interests will start compounding into significant amounts!
Spending the money
If you have lot of cash, and you keep it at home, or in the bank, you're not gonna use it anyway.
So no matter how rich you are, if you don't carry your wallet around with you, you're not gonna have money to use. You'll have no money to pay for your ride, no money to buy things with, or buy food with. So what's the point of being so rich? If you're not gonna spend some money on yourself (or others), why gather so much money?
How to spend all that money?
So let's say you are in a situation where you have too much money. So how do you get rid of it?
Just grab some cash and credit card, stuff it in your wallet, ask a few friends out to the mall, and just watch the money disappear! Poof! That's it, before you even realise.
Sometimes, you may feel uncomfortable carrying all that money. It's cumbersome, you might get robbed, applying for credit cards are troublesome, but if you don't take it along with you, you won't use it.
So what's the point here?
The point is, in your workouts and in your daily activities, if you don't "carry your fats around with you", you're not gonna use it.
This has to do with the tendency for us to adjust our posture according according to the fats we've accumulated. Like if your butt is heavy, you'll tend to stick it out more. If your belly is huge, you'll let it drop in front of you. If you're generally heavy, you will be more likely to drag yourself around more, reluctantly. So all these habits are not very "spending". In fact, the longer you conform to the bad posture, the faster your fats will turn into fixed-deposits, with compounding interests!
Generating cash-flow
Using up fats takes muscle tone and blood circulation.
When we are in a bad posture, we tend to be straining smaller groups of muscles while neglecting some others, failing to use the muscle system as a whole. And it is where these neglected muscles are that fats will form and skin will sag. And it is where the muscles will feel the weakest and most reluctant to work after a period (sometimes lifetime) of inactivity.
Having the right posture tends to force these muscles to work - especially muscles around the core. The more the muscles are stimulated, the more blood will flow through, and the faster your fats will be replaced by muscle mass.
It's like carrying cash in your wallet
Sometimes, people complain that they workout so much, yet they couldn't get rid of the fats in some areas.
If you are in this situation, you might want to recheck your posture, especially during your workout. If your posture isn't right, you're not working the right muscles.
It's like going out without taking your wallet with you, and the money is still in the bank!
In fact, if you have the right posture, your body will start working those muscles even when you're not at the gym. That happens when every regular movement such as sitting, walking and going up the stairs uses whole groups of muscles instead of the few.
Along with that, by being conscious of my fats, my body alignment is more accurate, and it triggers a kind of awareness in my body that says "these are extra fats, I don't need them," and they will eventually get the job done.
So when you start working out with the right posture, you may initially find that it forces you to do it the hard way, your body will feel different, awkward, it is alot more tiring, requiring fewer reps, but at the same time, every little movement seem to force alot of muscles to get working.
It's like spending all your money on one or few expensive items, rather than buying many small, regular items. The money just goes out alot faster.
So, the next time you walk up the stairs, do jogging, or go for your next workout session, uplift the bum, bring your tummy with you, or whatever fat part that is, feel the fat, and watch it get worked out.
Good luck!
Accepting my fats?!
The money story
OK, think about when you withdrew cash from your bank account. What happens after a couple of days?
Most likely, you will be asking yourself, "Where have all the money gone?"
Hands up if this did not happen to you. How come you can sometimes live with very little money in your wallet and still somehow get by, but when you withdrew the money fresh from the ATM, it will all be gone before you even noticed?
How to safe all the money
If you are planning to safe money, first you will have to spend less than you earn.
Every month, you put aside an amount that you want to safe, and then you get to spend the rest. You might even spend a little extra sometimes, but it is OK if you make up for it the next time.
Keep the money long enough and it will start accumulating some interests on its own. Get them in to fixed-deposits and you can accumulate even more interests, and you credit them to principal, and eventually, the interests will start compounding into significant amounts!
Spending the money
If you have lot of cash, and you keep it at home, or in the bank, you're not gonna use it anyway.
So no matter how rich you are, if you don't carry your wallet around with you, you're not gonna have money to use. You'll have no money to pay for your ride, no money to buy things with, or buy food with. So what's the point of being so rich? If you're not gonna spend some money on yourself (or others), why gather so much money?
How to spend all that money?
So let's say you are in a situation where you have too much money. So how do you get rid of it?
Just grab some cash and credit card, stuff it in your wallet, ask a few friends out to the mall, and just watch the money disappear! Poof! That's it, before you even realise.
Sometimes, you may feel uncomfortable carrying all that money. It's cumbersome, you might get robbed, applying for credit cards are troublesome, but if you don't take it along with you, you won't use it.
So what's the point here?
The point is, in your workouts and in your daily activities, if you don't "carry your fats around with you", you're not gonna use it.
This has to do with the tendency for us to adjust our posture according according to the fats we've accumulated. Like if your butt is heavy, you'll tend to stick it out more. If your belly is huge, you'll let it drop in front of you. If you're generally heavy, you will be more likely to drag yourself around more, reluctantly. So all these habits are not very "spending". In fact, the longer you conform to the bad posture, the faster your fats will turn into fixed-deposits, with compounding interests!
Generating cash-flow
Using up fats takes muscle tone and blood circulation.
When we are in a bad posture, we tend to be straining smaller groups of muscles while neglecting some others, failing to use the muscle system as a whole. And it is where these neglected muscles are that fats will form and skin will sag. And it is where the muscles will feel the weakest and most reluctant to work after a period (sometimes lifetime) of inactivity.
Having the right posture tends to force these muscles to work - especially muscles around the core. The more the muscles are stimulated, the more blood will flow through, and the faster your fats will be replaced by muscle mass.
It's like carrying cash in your wallet
Sometimes, people complain that they workout so much, yet they couldn't get rid of the fats in some areas.
If you are in this situation, you might want to recheck your posture, especially during your workout. If your posture isn't right, you're not working the right muscles.
It's like going out without taking your wallet with you, and the money is still in the bank!
In fact, if you have the right posture, your body will start working those muscles even when you're not at the gym. That happens when every regular movement such as sitting, walking and going up the stairs uses whole groups of muscles instead of the few.
Along with that, by being conscious of my fats, my body alignment is more accurate, and it triggers a kind of awareness in my body that says "these are extra fats, I don't need them," and they will eventually get the job done.
So when you start working out with the right posture, you may initially find that it forces you to do it the hard way, your body will feel different, awkward, it is alot more tiring, requiring fewer reps, but at the same time, every little movement seem to force alot of muscles to get working.
It's like spending all your money on one or few expensive items, rather than buying many small, regular items. The money just goes out alot faster.
So, the next time you walk up the stairs, do jogging, or go for your next workout session, uplift the bum, bring your tummy with you, or whatever fat part that is, feel the fat, and watch it get worked out.
Good luck!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Mind and Body of Pain
Many people unknowingly live with joint pains in their lives. As they go about their day to day lives, as age increase, workload and responsibilities mounting, it is easy to ignore the body and the sensations that it is giving. It is not until a problem becomes too persistent and too painful to ignore that a problem in the body is addressed.
"No pain, no gain" is the mantra that has been taught to us, about the wisdom of working hard and persevering for long term benefits. However, in medical understanding, pain is attributed to a sickness or a problem. As a part of the human survival instinct, pain is designed to help humans or living things identify danger or harm. So how come we are contradicting ourselves?
According to The International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is defined as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".
While there are many causes for joint pains, including bone or muscle injury, and various other diseases such as rheumatism and arthritis, (an exhaustive list here) and may need medical treatment, some of the more common pains are simply caused by muscle tension and repetitive strain injury - strain caused by activities that we perform on a day-to-day basis, which may not appear harmful or injurious, bu causes damage in the long term.
Some of us experience pain that have no apparent causes or notable injuries when we seek the doctor, and there is little that a doctor can do. Yet, this kind of pain can be very persistent in our everyday activities, especially if you are an active person or needs to perform physical tasks on a regular basis. This kind of pain can stem from muscle tension, joint misalignment or even mental-emotional - such as stress, grief or anxiety, the type which experts call psychogenic pain.
In such cases, the best relief is to be able to alleviate tension through the practice of relaxation of the mind and body.
Breaking The Pain Pattern
As we continue to accept that constant pain and tension is necessary part of our lives, we will continue to breed behaviours and habits that will continue to give us pain - like how you would keep pressing onto that sore knee every time you walk up the stairs.
Eventually, such a pain will become unbearable and you would start to avoid using it all together, and put weight on the other side of your body. This in turn causes pelvic and spinal imbalance, which will create new pains in your hip joints and lower back.
See how this can continue developing into a pain pattern?
The Recovery Loop
We may not realise it, but we may constantly be putting unnecessary strain into little joint muscles to bear the burden of our body weight, muscles which are designed for light movements, whereas large muscles meant to carry the body weight lie dormant. But because we have been so desensitised from responding to our bodily pains, we continue to repeat the habit until the tissues becomes inflamed and sore.
Such as in the situation mentioned above, the tiny muscles in front of the knee cap were forced to bear the burden of pulling the body weight up, when you should really be lifting yourself forward using all the big muscles in your core, buttocks and thighs.
However, by learning that the load of your body weight is not meant to be supported by any one small muscle, but distributed across your body, you understand that the pain is not necessary at all, or can be significantly minimised at the very least. In the process, your body feels lighter, your movements easier and swifter, and at the same time, you are also working those areas that have been gathering fat - your tummy and buttocks - all at the same time.
The truth is that, your body knows exactly how to work and heal itself, if we allow them to. If you can learn to listen to your body more often, to be mindful of how it should really work, and allow its natural processes to take over, you will begin the cycle of healing and increased wellness.
Long-Term Pain vs. Short-Term Pain
So can you avoid pain altogether?
If you have participate in any sports lesson, the first thing you notice after your first class is how sore your muscles are. But this does not mean that you should stop the activity altogether. In fact, when you grew your first teeth, and your wisdom teeth, the process was painful too, at varying degrees. And when you get that wound falling from a bicycle, there were some pain and discomfort underneath that scab that you so badly want to scratch and poke.
The point is, pain is not entirely avoidable. We are meant to deal with pain at one time or another. However, the difference lies in dealing with long-term pain or short-term pain.
Identifying Injuries
1. Lazy habits - Most injuries that develop over time were the result of bad habits which I would label as laziness - habits such as slouching is a posture from the unwillingness to hold up the body using the core muscles, but letting the body "rest" which in actual fact, puts strains on particular small muscles.
2. Wrong technique - Perhaps, you may find that certain exercises you do don't seem to give you better results even if you have repeated it for several weeks or months regularly. But instead, you experience pain in the course of the activity, and the pain may have even increased even though you did you increase the intensity of your exercise. In this case, you should know that you might be using the wrong muscles to perform this activity, as if you have done it correctly, you should see improvement over time, and pain from unfamiliar muscle activity would cease.
Another good indication of technique is the area of pain. Pain in the muscles from overworking is much less of a problem compared to pain in the joint. As muscles are made of elastic tissues and have ample blood supply, it can stretch, and recover itself easily when experiencing microscopic tears (which is common in weight training). However, the joints are made up of tendons and ligaments, both which are non-stretchable. But when stretched or strained, they are slow to heal and generally does not go back to its original form.
Sharp pain is another indicator for wrong technique. Tears in tendons, ligaments, muscles and fascia. Other possibilities include pressing on nerves, which may also bring about sensations of numbness, giddiness or nausea.
3. Holding in tension - Muscles operate in 2 ways - contraction and extension. The alternation of this contraction and extension of muscles create movement in our joints. And naturally, we would think that holding a position means keeping the muscle contracted, and the sensation of contracted muscle seem to communicate strength, control and work. However, the contracted muscle is stiff, and if we attempt to stretch it, we would be fighting with our own body, causing tear and harm. Muscles are mean to be mobile and dynamic, to assist us in movements. If holding muscle contractions is a constant habit, you may have many sores and injuries in your body.
Also, if we are in a state of emotional stress, it is a natural response for our body to contract its muscles, to keep us in a state of vigilance. This state is tiring and it will not take long before the body is exhausted. To maintain endurance, become more flexible and minimise injury, the muscles need to work in a relaxed, extended manner. This not only appears graceful movement, it also helps one feel calm and light!
Change That Attitude
Training, stretching and your favourite activities need not be painful or injurious, if done the right way. Physical activities should be enjoyable, help you stay healthy, fit and most of all, happy!
So if you find yourself in the habit of hurting yourself, ask yourself again:
- Is this the right way to do it?
- Should this be so painful after so many times? If not, then what is the right way to do it?
- How can I use my whole body so that the load of my body weight is distributed across the large muscle groups?
- How would my healthy body do it?
If you are certain that the issue is physical, you can always ask your teacher or trainer for advice, or if you don't have one, attend classes from a teacher who can help you with these issues. Some teachers may dismiss pain and injury as common or part of the process, but a good teacher would be able to point you in the right directions. Otherwise, you may hire a specialised practitioner, counsellor or a coach who can help you specifically with forming movement and emotional habits.
Feel free to comment on if this article have helped you, or if you practiced other techniques that were really effective in helping you deal with pain healthily.
To find out more about how you can improve your life through , email movenphil@gmail.com.
"No pain, no gain" is the mantra that has been taught to us, about the wisdom of working hard and persevering for long term benefits. However, in medical understanding, pain is attributed to a sickness or a problem. As a part of the human survival instinct, pain is designed to help humans or living things identify danger or harm. So how come we are contradicting ourselves?
According to The International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is defined as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".
While there are many causes for joint pains, including bone or muscle injury, and various other diseases such as rheumatism and arthritis, (an exhaustive list here) and may need medical treatment, some of the more common pains are simply caused by muscle tension and repetitive strain injury - strain caused by activities that we perform on a day-to-day basis, which may not appear harmful or injurious, bu causes damage in the long term.
Some of us experience pain that have no apparent causes or notable injuries when we seek the doctor, and there is little that a doctor can do. Yet, this kind of pain can be very persistent in our everyday activities, especially if you are an active person or needs to perform physical tasks on a regular basis. This kind of pain can stem from muscle tension, joint misalignment or even mental-emotional - such as stress, grief or anxiety, the type which experts call psychogenic pain.
In such cases, the best relief is to be able to alleviate tension through the practice of relaxation of the mind and body.
Breaking The Pain Pattern
As we continue to accept that constant pain and tension is necessary part of our lives, we will continue to breed behaviours and habits that will continue to give us pain - like how you would keep pressing onto that sore knee every time you walk up the stairs.
Eventually, such a pain will become unbearable and you would start to avoid using it all together, and put weight on the other side of your body. This in turn causes pelvic and spinal imbalance, which will create new pains in your hip joints and lower back.
See how this can continue developing into a pain pattern?
The Recovery Loop
We may not realise it, but we may constantly be putting unnecessary strain into little joint muscles to bear the burden of our body weight, muscles which are designed for light movements, whereas large muscles meant to carry the body weight lie dormant. But because we have been so desensitised from responding to our bodily pains, we continue to repeat the habit until the tissues becomes inflamed and sore.
Such as in the situation mentioned above, the tiny muscles in front of the knee cap were forced to bear the burden of pulling the body weight up, when you should really be lifting yourself forward using all the big muscles in your core, buttocks and thighs.
However, by learning that the load of your body weight is not meant to be supported by any one small muscle, but distributed across your body, you understand that the pain is not necessary at all, or can be significantly minimised at the very least. In the process, your body feels lighter, your movements easier and swifter, and at the same time, you are also working those areas that have been gathering fat - your tummy and buttocks - all at the same time.
The truth is that, your body knows exactly how to work and heal itself, if we allow them to. If you can learn to listen to your body more often, to be mindful of how it should really work, and allow its natural processes to take over, you will begin the cycle of healing and increased wellness.
Long-Term Pain vs. Short-Term Pain
So can you avoid pain altogether?
If you have participate in any sports lesson, the first thing you notice after your first class is how sore your muscles are. But this does not mean that you should stop the activity altogether. In fact, when you grew your first teeth, and your wisdom teeth, the process was painful too, at varying degrees. And when you get that wound falling from a bicycle, there were some pain and discomfort underneath that scab that you so badly want to scratch and poke.
The point is, pain is not entirely avoidable. We are meant to deal with pain at one time or another. However, the difference lies in dealing with long-term pain or short-term pain.
Identifying Injuries
1. Lazy habits - Most injuries that develop over time were the result of bad habits which I would label as laziness - habits such as slouching is a posture from the unwillingness to hold up the body using the core muscles, but letting the body "rest" which in actual fact, puts strains on particular small muscles.
2. Wrong technique - Perhaps, you may find that certain exercises you do don't seem to give you better results even if you have repeated it for several weeks or months regularly. But instead, you experience pain in the course of the activity, and the pain may have even increased even though you did you increase the intensity of your exercise. In this case, you should know that you might be using the wrong muscles to perform this activity, as if you have done it correctly, you should see improvement over time, and pain from unfamiliar muscle activity would cease.
Another good indication of technique is the area of pain. Pain in the muscles from overworking is much less of a problem compared to pain in the joint. As muscles are made of elastic tissues and have ample blood supply, it can stretch, and recover itself easily when experiencing microscopic tears (which is common in weight training). However, the joints are made up of tendons and ligaments, both which are non-stretchable. But when stretched or strained, they are slow to heal and generally does not go back to its original form.
Sharp pain is another indicator for wrong technique. Tears in tendons, ligaments, muscles and fascia. Other possibilities include pressing on nerves, which may also bring about sensations of numbness, giddiness or nausea.
3. Holding in tension - Muscles operate in 2 ways - contraction and extension. The alternation of this contraction and extension of muscles create movement in our joints. And naturally, we would think that holding a position means keeping the muscle contracted, and the sensation of contracted muscle seem to communicate strength, control and work. However, the contracted muscle is stiff, and if we attempt to stretch it, we would be fighting with our own body, causing tear and harm. Muscles are mean to be mobile and dynamic, to assist us in movements. If holding muscle contractions is a constant habit, you may have many sores and injuries in your body.
Also, if we are in a state of emotional stress, it is a natural response for our body to contract its muscles, to keep us in a state of vigilance. This state is tiring and it will not take long before the body is exhausted. To maintain endurance, become more flexible and minimise injury, the muscles need to work in a relaxed, extended manner. This not only appears graceful movement, it also helps one feel calm and light!
Change That Attitude
Training, stretching and your favourite activities need not be painful or injurious, if done the right way. Physical activities should be enjoyable, help you stay healthy, fit and most of all, happy!
So if you find yourself in the habit of hurting yourself, ask yourself again:
- Is this the right way to do it?
- Should this be so painful after so many times? If not, then what is the right way to do it?
- How can I use my whole body so that the load of my body weight is distributed across the large muscle groups?
- How would my healthy body do it?
If you are certain that the issue is physical, you can always ask your teacher or trainer for advice, or if you don't have one, attend classes from a teacher who can help you with these issues. Some teachers may dismiss pain and injury as common or part of the process, but a good teacher would be able to point you in the right directions. Otherwise, you may hire a specialised practitioner, counsellor or a coach who can help you specifically with forming movement and emotional habits.
Feel free to comment on if this article have helped you, or if you practiced other techniques that were really effective in helping you deal with pain healthily.
To find out more about how you can improve your life through , email movenphil@gmail.com.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Posture and Alignment
Awhile ago, I attended a tango workshop held by a visiting tango teacher who is also a physiologist.
While her workshop was about the basics of close embrace tango, she spent most of the time focusing on posture and alignment to create the right “connection” (the most important element esp. in close embrace as connection is harder to form and the tight space between the partners demands a higher level of synchronicity). Of course, many experienced tangueros and tangueras were able to benefit from it, for the most part, because posture and alignment is the basis of movement itself, whatever form it is.
In the workshop, she taught us about what a healthy tango posture is like, and how a good connection means that we can feel each other’s legs even when we’re
During my first few months of tango, I had struggled with balancing and other connection issues.
It took me awhile to try and decode the dance itself. I was frustrated about being stuck in the beginner class, as I am more than astute with musicality and steps and basic stuffs like that, being a dancer.
I stopped going for classes and focus on practicing on the dance floor instead, while I try to decode the dance and because I don’t believe in just learning the steps.
The first turning point was when one popular, regional tango teacher visited, conducted one class and subsequently a workshop. I felt so relieved to realize that what was wrong was really my posture. The hand hold wasn’t right, the shoulder too stiff and what not. Of course, I was also being either too strong, trying to lead the leader or I totally lost my balance and control of my centre (I will write another article about tango and relationships)
I changed a couple of things about my posture and my dancing improved. But I still wasn’t very balanced. One other teacher during another workshop commented that my bum was sticking out. Hmm… it’s really hard to know what you’re doing when you’re just trying to focus on what you leader is trying to get you to do. So later, I learned to suck my bum in while I danced, and surely, I found much more balance in my steps.
However, my posture and alignment at that time was still pretty rubbish. There has always been a serious posterior tilt in my pelvis and tight posterior hip muscles, making my bum look like it’s always dropping behind. I have tried strengthening my core muscles, but somehow, it just failed to include the support for the base of my torso. At that time, I seemed to have accepted it as a natural state of my posture.
Until one day, a fellow tanguero shares a post from tangoandchaos.org on facebook about tango etiquette and the like. I started browsing around the site and found that the author of the website have a really deep and insightful knowledge and understanding of the dance, having an Argentinian girlfriend who is a very good tango salon dancer and having spent some years studying old milongueros closely, documenting their technique, their style and each of their uniqueness, which may vary, as tango salon is a truly improvisational and open for interpretations and independent development.
What is common however, is that the techniques of the dancers has evolved over the years, from their beginnings in the 1920’s to a very efficient, effective form. That the alignments and the postures the dancers adopt would be the most comfortable and healthy for their routine daily doses of dances, that can go on for hours. You can imagine if they don’t have a good posture, they may not even be able to dance anymore, as most of them would be around their 70s.
Studying his articles on posture, weight placement and style, I started practicing some of it, and found a strange disconnect between my torso and my hips (which I first started noticing when trying to improve my ochos). But now I realised that I can’t do a lot of things because of the disconnect! It’s still hard to balance myself, I can’t feel my leader’s legs, and I followed badly.
So I spend many hours, pushing my pelvis forward, finding that hip-torso connection, perfecting my walk, and finding a new muscle, my illiop psoas. I must say that finding this group of muscles was life changing to me, (or at least my posture). These muscles has been so weak and so underutilized, no wonder my body keeps compensating by tightening other muscles.
In the process of realignment, I also found and tightened my pelvic floor muscles and truly understood the meaning of “zipping up my core muscles.”
The realignment of my pelvis was a wonderful experience for me. I felt, for the first time, like I had a physical enlightenment, I was so thankful, so joyful, and dancing felt so different and wonderful! For the first time, my arms felt so free and long, like it can reach out to the world! I was also starting to feel more flexible, more balanced, and when I went back to tango, I was having the time of my life! I no longer need to worry about balance, or fearing what my leader is expecting me to do. I was just gliding along the dance floor, all the way…
Warning!:
1. The realignment procedure will demand much greater core strength than when you are maligned – because your muscles have been trained to be wrong for so long.
2. When we correct one problem area, other related problems that have been able to hide will tend to surface itself. So if you did realign or is consider realigning your posture, and if a different problem surfaces,:
a. Check to see if you are doing it right
- Some muscles might need to tighten, but stiffening yourself up is not the right way either. Remember, our body is meant to be relaxed, lengthened, firm and flexible, not stiff and rigid.
- Learn to ask your body questions – What is right? What is natural? What do you need to do? What is the right way to do this? Learn to be an observer and let your body answer you this.
b. If you’re doing it right, you don’t have to worry. Just focus on correcting the new problem instead. It might be strengthening or releasing certain muscles, or healing old injuries. If you can learn how to allow your body to do it right for you, then you should know what feels right and what doesn’t.
Until next time,
Happy dancing!
Jennifer
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Core strengthening
Recently, I offered one of my girl some guidance to correct her posture and use of muscles. This girl takes ballet classes outside of school. I was choreographing a dance which she was the main character in, and I decided to include her doing some pirouettes in the dance. However, I noticed much stiffness in her shoulders while she was turning. She also habitually strains her neck muscles in pulling it long.
I saw that her strain stems from a weak core and pelvic floor. I guided her in a few floor exercises to strengthen these areas as well as activate her psoas muscles, all the while guiding her with words like lengthening and ask you body what to do. She responded well to these cues. When we tested fondus and grand battemands on the barre, the light on her face was the most satisfying expression of all... She was so happy that it all felt so different. I was moved.
Later, I instructed her to stand in first position and to squeeze in her pelvic floor muscles and zip up her abdomens, her neck and shoulders starts releasing in the way that she had never felt before! It was so amazing and I am so happy for her.
Her pirouette still needs work, and I'm confident that we will get to that soon.
But the philosophy?
Strenghten your core and your tensions will be relieved.
Dance is meant to be enjoyable, relaxing and stress free, but doing so requires you having a strong core. Keep your head and your sense of direction too.
Cheers...
I saw that her strain stems from a weak core and pelvic floor. I guided her in a few floor exercises to strengthen these areas as well as activate her psoas muscles, all the while guiding her with words like lengthening and ask you body what to do. She responded well to these cues. When we tested fondus and grand battemands on the barre, the light on her face was the most satisfying expression of all... She was so happy that it all felt so different. I was moved.
Later, I instructed her to stand in first position and to squeeze in her pelvic floor muscles and zip up her abdomens, her neck and shoulders starts releasing in the way that she had never felt before! It was so amazing and I am so happy for her.
Her pirouette still needs work, and I'm confident that we will get to that soon.
But the philosophy?
Strenghten your core and your tensions will be relieved.
Dance is meant to be enjoyable, relaxing and stress free, but doing so requires you having a strong core. Keep your head and your sense of direction too.
Cheers...
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