Author: Ray

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How to Make Your Running Fun, Efficient, and Easy…

Runners: Ever said one (or more) of these things to yourself?

  • “I love running, but it’s hurting my knees/back/feet/…”
  • “I haven’t PR’d in years.”
  • “I’m not working hard enough at my running. I just need more discipline.”
  • “I’m too weak/tight. I just need to strengthen/stretch more.”
  • “I’m following all the running cues and form tips I’ve heard, but running still doesn’t feel easy or natural.”
  • “I don’t know who or what to believe or trust when it comes to running well.”

Or the worst one of all…

Running is no fun anymore.

You shouldn’t settle for less than a rewarding running experience.

Running is a fundamental human movement. We evolved to do it, and to do it pretty darn well.

But for too many runners, training injuries seem like a feature rather than a bug. According to one systematic review, between 19 and 79 percent (79 percent!) of distance runners develop lower-leg injuries at some point.

So why do things go so wrong for so many, turning experienced racers against the sport they love and prompting would-be runners to slog it out and give up after just a month or two?

Is it sitting? Too much time indoors and not enough outside playing? The information overload of multiple competing theories about the best way to run? Overcushioned $130 shoes?

These things all play a role. But if you’re a runner finding yourself in the injury hole, or the “running is too hard/no fun” hole, you’re probably less interested in how you got there than what you can do to get out of it.

Running should be fun. It should be easy. And it can be.

A Feldenkrais® Approach to Better Running

When it comes to developing a running technique that’s easy, efficient, natural, and pleasurable—and less likely to injure you—you’ll enjoy much more progress when you work from the inside out.

When you’re running, you can’t see yourself, so you can’t observe your “form” in any meaningful way. But you can feel yourself. Your ability to sense what you’re doing, and make changes based on that information is your superpower, one you can use to take your running to the next level.

You see, our brains are always changing, adapting based on external and internal stimuli. At our core, we are learners.

Try this easy 15-minute movement exploration to improve the connection between your shoulders and hips for smoother running form.

And research is showing that we can direct this power of adaptation, at any age. This is the concept of neuroplasticity, and it’s at the core of the Feldenkrais Method®, a form of movement education that works with the nervous system to help us better understand our movement habits and safely, easily develop new, more efficient ones.

Feldenkrais® lessons aim at building your ability to “self-sense”—to know where you are and what you’re doing as you move—as well as helping you learn how to reduce unnecessary muscular effort and distribute it appropriately throughout the whole body.

A Workshop to Unlock Your Inner Runner

What does this mean for you as a runner? Feldenkrais® provides some powerful tools and concepts to understand how the whole body works together to produce easy, fluid, efficient running mechanics.

In the Feldenkrais® Runner’s Workshop, hosted by certified Feldenkrais practitioner Ray Sylvester, you’ll gain a true “inside-out” understanding of what it takes to run well. The workshop will take a deep dive into the key concepts of whole-body movement that lead to efficient running form. You’ll then get a chance to apply those concepts in several gentle Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement lessons.

You’ll gain clarity on three key things:

  • how your ability to sense your body and know what you’re doing is your most powerful tool to improve your running
  • how letting go of unnecessary tension and muscular effort can make your running feel more fluid and natural
  • how to access your own ideal running form every time you run

You’ll also come away with a better understanding of:

  • why the “spring” action of efficient running makes your running orthotics obsolete
  • how your breathing pattern relates to your running form, and how to use the power of your breath to improve your running
  • what to do about plantar fasciitis and IT band syndrome
  • a few easy-to-remember form guidelines that will make a positive difference in your running

We’ll also take breaks so you can test your running and feel the effects of what you’re learning on your form. As a result, you’ll be able to feel for yourself what easy, efficient running is, gain more trust in your running abilities, and rekindle your love of that most human of activities: running.

All Runners Welcome

The Feldenkrais® Runner’s Workshop is for runners of all stripes—whether you’re thinking about starting a couch-to-10K, an experienced mega-miler, or someone in between. No special skill is necessary to benefit, other than curiosity and the desire to learn something about yourself.

Want to join the next workshop and unlock your inner runner?

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Some Feldenkrais-ian Thoughts on Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) Mobility…

My joint mobility and overall flexibility have always been on the low end. I swam a lot in my early teens, but I hated backstroke because I couldn’t get my left arm back behind me easily. My left hip area has been tight for so long I’d just accepted it as a thing

Then early last year my running habit got sidelined due to low back issues (disc degeneration at L5-S1).

Yeah, no thanks to that. I started looking hard at where and how I needed to get stronger/more mobile/more flexible.

[Side note: disc degeneration is surprisingly normal. More than a third of **20-year-olds** have some disc degeneration. And some people with disc degeneration experience pain, while others don’t. The technical explanation for this is that the body is weird.]

Enter CARs

One of the practices that’s been especially helpful is Functional Range Conditioning (#FRC) controlled articular rotation mobility drills, or CARs.

In a nutshell, CARs are about taking each joint through its available range of motion in a controlled way and slowly unlocking more mobility by testing the limits of that range. With CARs, you’re isolating each joint as you move through it, which requires a level of bracing/tension in the rest of the body to prevent movement elsewhere.

When I started the drills, I was especially hopeful that better *hip mobility* could take some of the strain off my lumbar discs.

Four Feldenkrais-ian Observations on CARs

After a couple weeks of doing a daily CAR sequence, I have a few Feldenkrais-in observations on these drills.

1. CARs have been a great opportunity to play with the question of what to do at the end range or edge of what’s easy and controllable. In Feldenkrais, there’s admittedly a de-emphasis on pushing through tension or tightness. But is there value in playing on the “edge” in a safe way for the nervous system, staying out of pain and always maintaining control? Heck yeah. The mobility gains after 2 weeks of practice have been slow but noticeable and appreciated.

2. As I’m moving through each joint, I’m inevitably going to find spots where thing are especially tight or sticky. Instead of pushing through a full 360-degree circle, I’ll sometimes hang out and go back and forth within these mini-ranges for a bit. If you’ve ever done a Feldenkrais “pelvic clock” lesson, you’ll know what I’m talking about. (And if you haven’t, look it up. It’s a fantastic one.)

3. Maybe my favorite “lens” to train on the CAR drills is to mix in variations in the amounts and types of movement happening in the rest of my body as I move each joint. Basically, I’m doing it “wrong” in various ways in order to get the nervous system a little more involved and execute the drills more intelligently. Essentially, do it multiple ways, so you can do it better. A sequence for one joint could look like:

a. “Right”: Classic CARs, with full joint isolation. The way the doctor ordered. 

b. “Medium Wrong”: Inviting a little bit of rest-of-body involvement.

c. “Full Wrong”: Full spinal mobility; no holds barred.

d. “Right” one more time.

You could play with other nuances here, like turning on or off one plane of movement in the rest of your body as you perform the drill (e.g., try the hip CARs on all fours while allowing flexion/extension but no side bending or rotation).

I’ll do something similar with clients who come in with exercises their PT gave them: have them do the movements more slowly, or only do a small part of the movement, or notice what’s happening somewhere in their body away from the center of focus of the movement, or some other variation that occurs spontaneously to us.

Probably the biggest meta-point here: Don’t be afraid to deconstruct your regimen. Take the movements apart then put them back together. Novelty can be a wonderful thing, and the effect can be additive if you go about it in a way that simultaneously respects the intention of the movements/drills and the well-being of your nervous system.

9 Keys to Better Movement Uncategorized

Parts Are Overrated, So Move with Your Whole Self

This post is adapted from one of the chapters in 9 Keys to Better Movement, a part manifesto and part self-inquiry guide that will challenge the way you think and the way you move. Grab it here.

What does a squat have to do with a pushup, a toe curl with a nod, or a yawn with a punch?

They’re all whole-body movements. (Wait, even the toe curl?)

There’s nothing you can do that doesn’t involve all of you.

It’s so blissfully simple, and so elusive.

Part of the problem is we tend to have a skewed idea of how the body works biomechanically.

We think of it as a series of parts stacked on top of each other. We imagine muscles hanging off bones, waiting to be called upon to move them. We perceive an amalgamation of “lower” and “upper” halves, of “right” and “left” or “front” and “back” sides.

(And yes, of “mind” and “body,” but we’ll get to that a different day.)

These conceptions lurk, deluding us into a false idea of how the body actually functions. They con us into believing there’s a separation of components or functions.

But there is no separation.

So What . . . Is the Body?

The body is in fact a “tensegrity” structure (short for “tensional integrity”), in which the bones are held in place by tension from the muscles and fascia.

In the tensegrity model, physical stresses are distributed evenly throughout the entire structure. The whole system supports the load, even if it’s small, or concentrated in one part of the system (like a bicep curl).

Pull or push on one part of the system and the entire thing responds. There’s a balance of tension across the entire structure that lends it superb integrity.

We’re whole-body creatures, and therefore we’re whole- body movers. All of you is involved in every movement you do.

Different movements call upon different parts of the structure in different ways, but there is no isolation of components. All movement is systemic.

Take the bicep curl (yes, again). It’s natural to focus on the arm when it’s the key point of exertion. We reflexively attend to the area of effort.

But doing so means we miss the opportunity to notice and refine what the rest of the system is doing to support that bicep curl. Your glutes aren’t exactly out to lunch, yo.

A Little Practice Makes You Whole

Try it for yourself. Pay attention to what the rest of you is doing in any given movement.

Let’s try a bicep curl (yep, again). What’s happening in your opposite foot as you curl the dumbell? Where are your eyes moving? Are you holding your belly? What other parts of you are coming into your attention naturally as you perform the movement?

What’s your experience of your whole self with each repetition?

Use each repetition to find that whole self and invite it to participate.

Framing all of your movement in this way–by understanding yourself as a single, holistic, participatory movement system–will open the door to something vital.

Yes, even if it’s just a bicep curl.

Want the rest of the keys? Grab 9 Keys to Better Movement by entering your email address below.

feldenkrais

Organ-Eyes-Ation: Use the Eyes to Free the Head &…

Got a stiff or tight neck? Quit stretching, straining, or massaging it!

Instead, try this simple, gentle series of Feldenkrais-inspired movements to see how powerful the eyes can be in organizing—and freeing—the movement of the head and the neck.

This quick lesson is great for driving (before, not during!), you’ve been staring at a computer screen for too long, or you just need to quickly see what your four-year-old is doing behind you.

I recommend watching the video first, then reading the steps below and trying it for yourself.

You can do this in standing or sitting.

Do each movement variation 2 or 3 times. (In the video, I do each one twice.)

Go *slowly*, and keep breathing throughout! Don’t push into any strain or tension; keep it light, easy, and comfortable.

  1. First, turn your head and eyes to the right and let your eyes do what they naturally do. This is the “reference movement.” You’ll return to it several times throughout the lesson.
  2. Rest, then turn your head to the right and keep the eyes straight ahead.
  3. Rest, then turn your head right as you turn the eyes to the left.
  4. Rest, then do the reference movement.
  5. Repeat the entire sequence on the other side.
  6. Finally, turn your head to the right and left, letting your eyes move naturally, and see if you have more range and ease in each direction.
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What’s Stopping You?

What’s one thing you could do to make your life better?

Last week I had a realization.

I had been avoiding getting outside and moving in the woods during the day—one of my favorite activities—because I thought it was going to distract me from getting my work done.

I’d be losing time!

But I decided to start getting up early and going out anyway, and when I did, what I realized was this: I was more focused when I was back at the computer. I wasn’t checking Facebook or my email as often.

Whatever time I “lost” moving out there was easily offset by my productivity gains.

And of course, that time wasn’t “lost” at all. Moving in the woods is a freaking blast. I feel great—calm, focused, energized—for the rest of the day whenever I get out there.

On Tuesday, I went out twice. The second time, in a rainstorm. I got all my work done in a focused and productive way. I checked Facebook… twice, for maybe 15 minutes total?

I was taking a risk by choosing to spend more time in the woods instead of at the computer—at least, that’s how it felt.

That (perceived) risk was the possibility that going out would just suck even more time out of my day—time I didn’t think I could spare, because I was already feeling unproductive every time I sat down at the computer.

The worst case was that this perceived risk would come true. I would have wasted time I could have spent trying to work. I would have been just as unproductive as I worried I might be when I did get back to the computer.

The best case? I would feel great, and I’d be more focused when I did get back to work.

Thankfully, the best case is what happened.

the gym
the gym

I could go on about the benefits of moving outdoors, and there are plenty, but instead I’ll just pose you a question:

What’s one thing you could do right now that would make your life better? Make it easier, simpler, more enjoyable?

And what’s stopping you from making that change?

Often, the catalysts to powerful change are hiding in plain sight. They’re hiding behind our fear, or a sense of guilt or denial about what might be possible if we’re willing to shake up our routine, get out of our comfort zones, and question our assumptions.

Okay. Let’s revisit the two questions I posed a moment ago, and expand our line of inquiry a little bit.

Now that you’ve had a chance to chew on the concept a little, go ahead and ask yourself these three questions:

  • What’s one thing I could change to make my life more enjoyable—less busy, less stressful, less complicated?
  • What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen if I were to implement that change?
  • How likely is that worst-case scenario to actually happen?

Here’s where the magic starts to happen. Because chances are good that:

i) The worst case isn’t that bad.

ii) The worst case is pretty unlikely.

If your worst case isn’t that bad, and it’s also unlikely, then making that one change is probably worth the risk, right?

Now ask yourself one final question:

  • What’s blocking me from making this change?

Here’s where we get into the meat of things, so be really honest with yourself on this one.

Often the things we *think* are blockers aren’t really blockers—they’re fake blockers, excuses that are obscuring the true blockers.

(By the way, the biggest fake blocker? “I don’t have the time for that.”)

What was blocking me from going out into the woods was guilt and fear. Guilt about the possibility that I’d be “getting away with” a) taking time away from work to enjoy myself and b) still being even more productive at work! Who deserves a win-win like that?

We all do.

The problem with this kind of thinking—the guilty sense that you’re getting away with something in a scenario like this—is that there’s absolutely no one else who’s being negatively affected. All that guilt is going right back to… you.

And the fear? That’s fear that the worst case is going to come to pass, the one that probably isn’t as bad or as likely as you think.

This simple process can help you demystify what’s blocking you, and perhaps make some breakthroughs that will have you scratching your head, wondering why you didn’t make them earlier.

You know what they say: If you don’t feel like you have 10 minutes to meditate/read a book/run in the woods, you need to spend 1 hour meditating/reading a book/running in the woods…

Want to get unblocked? Let’s talk.

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You’re Doing a Terrible Job. Keep It Up.

What’s your job?

Is it your day job? Your role as a family member? Is it your place in your community, or your cover band, or your co-ed bowling team?

You probably have many jobs, and I bet they’re for the most part good, productive, salutary things to do with your time.

But your primary job? Your primary job is to take care of yourself.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re thinking. But hold up. I don’t mean “taking care of yourself” in some Ayn Rand, screw-everyone-else kind of way.

“Your primary job is to take care of yourself” doesn’t mean working on things other than yourself is unimportant. Of course not. There must be a balance between inner and outer work, between optimizing your inner life and serving your community and your sphere of influence.

But let’s assume for a moment that your primary job is to do the work of becoming a functional, aware, human person.

This is not a revolutionary idea: get to know yourself, integrate yourself, get your own shit together so that you can be of service to the world.

And there are many, many ways to carry out that work, many tools and strategies at your disposal, whether it’s meditation, or poetry, or a movement practice, or raw macrobiotic smoothie making.

Frankly, life’s just better when you’re getting it together. Embrace that role.

Okay, so, your job is to work on yourself. If you’re still with me on this point, then let’s pose a second question:

What’s the job of the world?

I’ll tell you. The job of the world is to do the other 23,091,284,013,203,948,320 things that aren’t you working on yourself. So of course the world is going to judge you harshly for doing your job.

Because the world is composed of an insanely large number of things that aren’t you working on yourself, naturally the world is going to be at odds with this thing that is you working on yourself.

As a result, it shouldn’t surprise you that at just about every turn, the world presents you with reasons, implicit or explicit, that you’re not doing a good job. Or that you’re doing the wrong job. Or both.

So yes, you’re doing a terrible job at all those things the world is telling you you should be doing—the expectations, the pressures, expectations, ideals—all the things that make it through the lens and filter through which you see the world and make sense of it.

Please, adjust that lens so you can more clearly see and process what the world is asking of you. And use that filter the best you can to stem the flow of demands the world’s placing on you.

Then, make a good effort to answer some of the world’s expectations and match some of its ideals.

But at some point you have to accept something:

The world will never be satisfied with your work.

Because even if you cross off a handful of the world’s demands, there’s still going to be roughly 23,091,284,013,203,948,315 demands left.

So don’t be so hard on yourself.

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The Tyranny of Words

Inside’s a heart of summer soul
Don’t let them throw it away
‘Cause inside’s something solid gold
so don’t let them throw it away
Words they mean nothing
so you can’t hurt me
I said words they mean nothing
So you can’t stop me

—Doves, “Words”

Words. We’re surrounded by them. You’re reading some right now.

Words and language are the foundation of story. They are a key element in constructing our reality and our shared human experience.

But they can also get in the way. They can overload us, and lead us astray.

Today, I invite you to get away from words a little. To step away from story, from evaluation and analysis, and move toward being in your body and the parts of your brain not occupied by language. To make some time and space where you can be word-free.

Today, I invite you to embrace wordlessness.

To push the words aside a little bit, and give in to sensing and feeling, to appreciating sounds and shapes and sensory inputs and outputs without ascribing a language meaning to them.

So try one or more of these things today, and see what emerges:

  • For an hour, as you go about your day, resist the urge to read anything, whether it’s on a device or in a magazine or book. Notice how hard it is to avoid words!
  • Use your body’s word-producing abilities to create non-word, non-language sounds. Hum, babble, whatever, as long as you’re not trying to form a coherent, recognizable language.
  • Be with someone you love and decide you won’t speak for a little while—maybe just 10 minutes to start.
  • Find a quiet spot where you can sit or lie comfortably, and close your eyes. Meditate, and notice when your thoughts start to take the form of words. Then notice what parts of your body are engaged as you form these word-thoughts. You may find that your soft palate and tongue in particular are involved. Intentionally relax these parts of your mouth. Every thought is accompanied by some sort of action in the body, and this is true with language too: when you form words in your mind, even if you don’t speak them out loud, your body is participating as well—even if it’s in the most subtle way.
  • Finally, introduce wordlessness even more deliberately into your existing practices, whether meditation, or a movement practice of some kind, or just doing the dishes. You can use some of the ideas above to help with this.

Go find the words. Go find the crevices in your life where they’re hiding. Weed them out, give them some air, then nudge them to the side.

Don’t fight the words when they try to stick around—they will—but just create some space, some opportunity, for wordlessness to also take part.

Then see what fills that space you create, even if it’s a small one.

You might be pleasantly surprised once you make it clear to The Words that they don’t rule your day, or your body, or your mind.

Want to explore more ways to get back to your sensing, moving, feeling self? Get in touch.

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How to Make Friends with the Floor Again

how to get up from the floor more easily with less pain and strain

Getting up from the floor.

Maybe you want to be able to spend more time sitting on the floor to play with your kids or grandkids, but you’re worried

Maybe it’s been so long since you sat on the floor that you’ve forgotten how to even get there in the first place, or how to get back up!

Getting up from the floor is simple in theory, but in practice… sometimes not so straightforward.

But hang on. Maybe even in theory it’s not so simple.

Getting up from and back down to the floor is, after all, a skill. And it’s a skill that’s easy to lose when we don’t practice it, and instead sit all day in chairs.

I’d like to extend a friendly getting-up-from-the-floor challenge to you right now.

Take a moment now to get down on the floor, then notice how it feels to get up.

Was it pretty effortless? Were you breathing freely and easily?

Or did you have to “muscle up” a little (or a lot), while you held your breath and gritted your teeth, and your knees and hips croaked and creaked at you?

Or did you not even try, out of fear that you wouldn’t be able to get back up easily or comfortably, without lots of effort, pain, or strain in your joints and muscles?

A little creativity can go a long way…

…in eliminating the struggle of getting up from the floor.

That’s what the video below is all about.

In this video, I give you three strategies you can use to get up from the floor, in whatever starting position you find yourself in, whether it’s cross-legged, side-lying, or kneeling.

We’ll explore some ways you can make getting up from the floor easier and more fluid, with less effort and stress on your joints.

This video is for you if you find it difficult to get up from the floor, if it’s painful or requires a lot of effort—or if you’re not even sure how you would get up if you found yourself down there.

By the way, these strategies also work for getting up from a chair, a rock, or anywhere else you might find yourself planted.

But the floor is just more fun, so I hope this video helps you make friends with it again.

Check it out, and let me know how you do.