Esophagus Spiraling

There have been some questions in regards to a workshop I taught on digestion:

Which way does the food go when we swallow?

In the workshop I discuss a sensation of food/water spiraling to the right as we swallow.  Please take a moment here and drink a glass of water. Picture the water spiraling to the left when you swallow.  How was this? Now take another sip and picture the water spiraling to the right. How was this? There seems to be a more relaxed sensation when there is an image of water spiraling to the right. Why is this though?

One could imagine a toilet bowl when flushed to help with the spiraling image. The water does not simply go straight down the tube, but it has a spiraling motion. Some might say this is based on Coriolis Force.  Direction of the water when flushed is based on the water jets in the toilet, not Coriolis Force. Since toilet bowl jets typically spiral water clockwise towards the right this image can be useful when imagining your food/water substances making their way down your esophagus towards your stomach.

Anatomically one could look at the embryonic development of the stomach to describe this sensation. The following link depicts a slide show where you can see the development of the stomach:

Stomach Slide Show

Pay particular interest to the seventh week.  What do you notice here?  There seems to be a rotation to the right of the stomach from the back towards the left. This motion places the large curvature of the stomach towards the left.  Can you imagine what this motion on the seventh week would have on the esophagus? See the effects this image has on your esophagus and try swallowing some water again.

©2011 Matthew Deal Movement

Matthew Deal Movement: Liberate your Shoulder

Think back to the 80's when it was fashionable for women to walk around looking like line backers.  What were we thinking?   This area is designed to hang off us, not emulate shoulder pads. 

The shoulder girdle is an area of tension for many people.  Just notice right now if you are actually letting your shoulders hang, or are they tensed "up."  Tension easily encroaches on this area, and can lead to neck discomfort.  Let's see how we can efficiently move this area of our body within the Pilates Mat repertoire.  Before I start I am going to look in mirror and notice/feel my shoulders and neck.  It's nice to sometimes have a place to measure progress from. Let's liberate our shoulders, and therefore relax our neck!  

My goal is not to teach the Pilates Mat Repertoire, but to offer some insight as to what I see when I complete them in my own personal practice. This is a series of postings so please look back at the previous posts to follow along.

1)  "The 100"

Goal: Come into flexion without creating tension in our shoulder girdle or neck


I will first come up into the hundreds position. As I go through this exercise, I'll notice how my neck and shoulders feel.  They don't feel tense so much, as I feel them having to work quite hard.  I'm going to visualize some bones to help me with this movement.


My humerus is the bone of my upper arm.  As I come forward I will imagine this bone to turn inward.  This is coupled by a counter motion of the scapula in the back, which I will imagine to go outward. The more I come forward imagining the humerus turning in, the more I will imagine the scapula going outward. Another bone I can imagine is my clavicle.  As I come forward I will feel a counter motion of the clavicle coming inward.  As I complete the hundred imaging the motions of these three bones I feel my shoulder/neck relax, and I can easily stay in a flexed position with the work now drawn towards my center.  

2) "The Roll Up"

Goal: Keep the movement fluid, without tensing "up" my shoulders.  


I will complete this exercise a few times focusing on the choreography of the roll up.  As I am doing this I will check in with my shoulders and how they are reacting to the movements.  I could work to hold them in one place, but this feel tense and makes the exercise more challenging than I feel it should be.


I now will focus on the bones mentioned earlier and see how imagining their movements within the exercise might help relax my shoulder girdle.  As I come forward I imagine the humerus to roll in, the scapula to equally roll out.  As I come forward I will also imagine the clavicle rolling in like a wave equal to my movement forward.  The moment I start to lengthen my back, whether it be at the top or bottom of the rollup, I will imagine the humerus rolling back to where it came from equal to the scapula going back to where it came from.  The clavicle will roll like a wave outward as my back comes into a neutral position. As I flow in and out of this exercise I now feel a fluid motion in the choreography without any tension sneaking into my shoulder girdle to cause neck discomfort.  

3)  "Roll Over"

Goal: Keep my arms connected to the mat throughout the choreography, without tensing "up" my shoulder girdle or neck. 


I will complete this exercise a few times going through the choreography.  One thing I notice is my shoulders tense and want to come up, as does my head, when I bring my spine back down onto the mat after taking my legs over the head.  I work to pull my shoulders down and keep my head down. This is only completed by tensing these areas up, forcing the action to happen.  


I will now use the bones I have been discussing to see if I can image their movements to assist with the goal.  As my legs go over my head I feel my back come into flexion.  I'll use an image from my last blog where I pictured the rollup, but reversed from the other end. As my pelvis comes over my head and my low back comes into flexion I will imagine my humerus come in equal to my scapula going out.  My clavicle I'll imagine rolling out equal to the rounding of my  of my spine like a wave cresting towards my pelvis.  To achieve the goal I'll imagine the opposite as my back comes onto the mat.  As my back begins to come into a neutral position on the mat I will imagine the reverse. My humerus will roll back to where it came equal to the scapula coming back to where it came from. My clavicle I will imagine rolling inward like a wave towards my neck.  My shoulders are not completely relaxed, but because I brought more attention to this area in my body I feel them not having to work nearly as hard as when my attention earlier had them moving as one whole part.  

4) "The One Leg Circle"

Goal:  Use my shoulder to counter the leg movement, so my pelvis can remain neutral.


I will go through this exercise a few times seeing how the movement of my leg affects my pelvis. As I complete the circles I feel the pelvis want to move around.  To keep this from happening I work to hold the pelvis in place as the leg moves, but this seems to tighten up my quads. Not only does my pelvis feel tight now, but the shoulders have started to tense "up" as well.  


I'll see how I might could use the shoulder girdle to help stabilize this movement without causing any tension to sneak in.  As my left leg goes outward to the left I will now imagine my right shoulder girdle getting heavier. As my left leg goes inward I will imagine the left shoulder girdle getting heavier.  This seems to help, but there is still some tension in the movement.  


I will now try and see what happens to the bones of the shoulder girdle as I get heavier on their perspective sides.  When I allow my shoulder girdle to become heavier on one side to counter balance the leg movement I will imagine an outward movement of the upper arm (humerus,) equal inward movement of the scapula, with the clavicle rolling in like a wave cresting into my neck.  If I focus well enough on these movements and see this happening as I go through the leg circles slowly, I can not only keep my pelvis relaxed in a neutral position, but also keep my shoulder relaxed as it helps to counterbalance the movement of the leg.  


5) "Rolling Back"


Goal:  Articulate my back keeping my shoulder girdle relaxed throughout the choreography.


I will first complete the exercise working to simply articulate my spine in a c-curve flexed position. The articulation of my back does not seem to be a problem, but as I do this exercise I feel my shoulders slowly want to creep "up" with tension.  


This time I will imagine the shoulder girdle as I am completing the exercise. I will picture the bones of the shoulder girdle as I roll. Since I am in a flexed position I will imagine my humerus in, equal to my scapula out as well as my clavicle rolling in like a wave cresting into my neck.  This helps, but since I am holding them in this position I still feel tension wanting to creep into my shoulders and neck.  


Now I will try and find a way to move these bones in the exercise, so they are not stuck in one spot throughout.  I will imagine my humerus rolling in more equal to my scapula coming out more as I go over my mid back. This allows me to swing my scapula out more and my back to come into better contact with the mat. Another image I decided to play with was the clavicle as a wave crashing.  As I rolled back I imagined my clavicle as a wave coming into my neck and as I came forward I imagined my clavicle of a wave coming forward with the motion of the exercise.  


When I focus well enough and picture these movements not only do my shoulders and neck relax, but the exercise actually is completed with more precision.  My back receives much more articulation from the newfound awareness in my shoulder girdle.  

Conclusion:


I take a moment standing to feel my shoulder girdle and neck.  I look in the mirror and notice their position on my body.  My shoulders feel and look more relaxed now than when I started this session.  Movement is life.  When I inhibit movement in my shoulder girdle within the Pilates Mat Repertoire, I instantly feel tension arrive. Even if I don't want an outward appearance of movement in the shoulder girdle, by simply imagining some type of movement I was able to discover liberated shoulders and a relaxed neck. 

©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates

Matthew Deal Movement: The Powerful Pelvis

What are some functions of your pelvis? The pelvis is the base of our spine, area of birth for women and some consider the center of your body. Our cranium houses our brain, while the pelvis is home to our vital reproductive organs.  This bone is crucial to posture and movement. In short this is an important area of our body we should bring some awareness to within our Pilates Mat repertoire. 

My goal is not to teach the Pilates Mat Repertoire, but to offer some insight as to what I see when I complete them in my own personal practice. This is a series of postings so please look back at the previous posts to follow along.

1)  "The 100"


Goal: Create a "C" curve in our spine to allow for deep flexion throughout the exercise, without creating tension in our neck.  


Lie on your back with your knees in the table top position.  As you exhale take your spine forward keeping your pelvis neutral (unmoving.)  Lets put an image with the pelvis to help us image what is going to happen. Let's imagine our pelvis to be a bowl of water  and as we come forward we don't want the water to be disturbed.  Notice how much flexion you get and also your neck. Is there tension in your neck?


Now I'd like for you to come forward in table top allowing your pelvic bowl of water to lean towards the sternum, which is equally coming towards the bowl. The water will drip down your low back area, which is now flattened on the mat.  Notice your flexion here, and also the tension in your neck. Which image/movement created the most flexion, without creating tension in the neck? 


For me I find I can come out of a neutral pelvis to allow my spine to come into more flexion, release tension in my neck by keep the work more in my center.   Lengthen your legs out at an angle and go right into the 100 with the image of pulling your pubic bone towards your sternum equal to your sternum coming towards your pubic bone.  


2) "The Roll Up"


Goal:  Fluid articulation of the entire spine, without creating tension.


Let's lie on the mat and visualize the pelvis. Our pelvic bowl is filled with water and this water is level, still and unmoving.  We are on our back with legs lengthened on the ground, unmoving in preparation for the roll up.  The moment we start moving things might begin to change...


Let's first come up and down in this exercise keeping our pelvis in a neutral position.  As you come forward don't allow the water to be disturbed in the pelvic bowl, as well as when you come down.  How did this feel in your body? Were you able to fluidly articulate the entire spine and not create tension?  


For me as I do this exercise I picture the pelvis tip posteriorly as I come forward to allow me to articulate through my low back. Otherwise I feel I tense up attempting to articulate the low back keeping the pelvis neutral.  As I sit up tall I feel my pelvis come back into the neutral position.  As I go down I feel the pelvis lead the motion back posteriorly so I can articulate through my low back, but as I lengthen out long on the mat my pelvis returns back to neutral. When I am not moving I feel my pelvis in a neutral postion. But, the moment the exercise becomes dynamic I feel my pelvis adapt so as to not create tension when articulating the entire spine.   


3)  "Roll Over"


Goal: Fluid articulation of the entire spine, without creating tension.


A good image for this exercise that works well for me is visualizing it as the same as a roll up, you are just going to initiate from the other end.  In a roll up we articulate our spine from the head to the pelvis and then pelvis to the head.  Well, lets now try and articulate from the pelvis to the head, then head to the pelvis.


Let's take this image and just go through this exercise a few times visualizing a neutral pelvis, and not allow any movement of the pelvis as you articulate the legs over your head and then back down to the mat.  How was this? Were you able to fluidly articulate the Entire spine, without creating tension? 


Let's now try and take the image above and see how this might change the pelvis when the exercise becomes dynamic.  As I begin to take my legs over my head I imagine the movement initiating from a posterior tilt of the pelvis, the bowl of water to spill out in the direction of my low back. This allows me to articulate through my low back.  I use the image mentioned earlier of the pubic bone searching for the sternum.  I continue articulating through the spine till I'm all the way up in the exercise. As I go down I'll want to continue with the Image of the pubic bone searching for the sternum, but the more my spine articulates down the more my pelvis will come back to a neutral position so I can articulate through the low back ending back in a neutral position. In this way, as in the roll up, I can articulate my spine from the opposite end fluidly without creating tension. 


4) "The One Leg Circle"


Goal: Tension free movement maintaining a neutral pelvis.


This exercise is a great one for some movement in our hip joint. From an outward perspective we should not see the pelvis rocking around though right?  If our back and pelvis remain on the Matt throughout this exercise? When I complete the "One Leg Circle" I aim to achieve this goal. Therefore I can remain in a neutral spine, and because of this a neutral pelvis.  The execution of getting to the neutral pelvis is what I find a challenging.


As I complete my leg circle I work to keep my pelvis completely neutral, and in doing so activate a variety of muscles to hold my pelvis solid to the ground...unmoving.  This does not achieve the goal of a tension free movement for me though. I feel my pelvis get very tense as well as my quads working.


I'm going to imagine a few things now to achieve the outward goal of a neutral pelvis.  I picture my leg going over to the side and then into the center as I complete this exercise. My leg will displace my weight over to the side or the center as it moves.  I need to balance out my weight distribution and therefore should find an image to allow me to do this.  


First I'm going to find a bony landmark to assist me with this.  I'm going to use my ASIS (Anterior Superior Iliac Spine.) These bony landmarks are found at the front of your pelvis. As my leg goes to the outside I will imagine I can pull my ASIS of that side in the opposite direction...Vice versa as the leg goes inward. As I do this I feel my pelvis and quads relax due to an image of counterbalancing.  


Conclusion:


Movement is life and our pelvis has the ability to move, whether it is imaginative or actual.  When we are working dynamically, holding my pelvis tension creates tension in my body. But, when I imagine my pelvis as dynamic within the movement I can achieve a fluid movement without the tension.  


©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates

The Earth's Rotation

Was watching a movie tonight about the earth's rotation. An image came to me...Circular motions happening within our body (Spirals you might say,) but within these circular motions are also rotations. This requires two dimensions of movement housed in one outward expression. 

What if I were to imagine a third dimension of movement being counter rotation? Within a circular motion one could picture a rotation, but to anchor the motion one imagines a counter rotation of the rotation within the circular motion.  

Apply this image to say a movement of the femur in the hip joint? It's a beautiful image when one imagines all this happening at once to create a single outward expression.

©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates

Franklin Method for Tai Chi

Great day yesterday!! Had a client who's goal is to enjoy her Tai Chi class more. We talked about what is holding her back from this goal. Her frustrations stem from her inability to connect with her body. Through some Franklin work she was able to see her tibia, calcaneus, and femur within movement. At the end of the session she was on her femur heads for the first time in hip flexion. Even better she realized this herself! I am intrigued to see how this new awareness will affect her ability to connect with Tai Chi.

©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates

Lifting from our Esophagus

Take a moment and look at the esophagus relative to the erector muscles.  Which one would you say is more centrally located?

The esophagus is a muscular tube through which food can pass from our pharynx to the stomach.  The tube is approximately 10-12 inches long and has diameter of 16mm! This is smaller than the size of dime (18mm.)  Think about this during your next meal.

The esophagus passes through the diaphragm around T10 (Thoracic Vertebrae #10.) When we inhale will our diaphragm go down, or up?  The diaphragm moves downward on an inhalation.  Take a moment to feel this, and think about what the esophagus does on an inhalation versus exhalation.  Try moving the esophagus with the diaphragm versus against it on an inhalation.  

The esophagus will move slightly downward with the diaphragm on an inhalation, and slightly upward on an exhalation.  The esophagus moves with the diaphragm.

Now back to the original question of what is more centrally located.  After careful examination of the image provided above you will see the esophagus is located right in the center, while the erector muscles are located posteriorly (back.)

Let's lift our spine from our erector muscles on an inhale. Let's now lift our spine from our esophagus on an exhale.  When it comes to lifting our spine do you prefer lifting from the back or lifting from the center?

©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates

How has the Franklin Method® Affected Me?

The Franklin Method® has been an amazing journey of self discovery.  I have used imagery to take a dance through bones, slippery slide through muscles and an underwater sea adventure through organs.  This method has given me the tools to look inside myself and address a deeply rooted fear, the fear of consciously working through the loss of a loved one.   

My mother passed six months ago from cancer, and up till now I have not dealt with the loss.  The six week battle was a blur.  The drugs, the hospital, the emotional toll on my family all seemed so distant.  It was like a horrible nightmare I just could not wake from. At the funeral I remember looking at my sister and thinking, "Is this real?" Afterwards I immediately returned home to work. Helping others through movement was a way for me to take my mind off myself.  Tears were building up inside, but they just never seemed to find a way out.  Looking inside myself was scary, the scariest thing I have ever done. My mind would race from one project to another, avoiding the pain swelling up within.  It was hard to focus because I had trained my mind to wander, and as much as I tried I could not pull back the dark curtain housing the nightmare within. My sympathetic nervous system was in complete control of my body. 

About a month ago during a Franklin Method® self practice I began to actually see the organs we had been studying so extensively.  I hesitated, but the allure of this new insight was just too much.  Immediately my mind honed in on the image of my heart. The lungs were stuck to it like a sticky goo I wanted to release, but just did not know how.  I imaged my heart shining like a bright light and the goo began to melt.  My breath was deep and my heart burst forth as a giant light from within.  The fear of looking in began to dissipate.  I took the deepest breath of my life, and as I imaged my lungs filling up and my heart coming forth I began to cry.  The images of my organs was so powerful my sypathtic system came to a screeching halt. My parasympathetic kicked in and endorphins began to flow.  Images of my mother's smile burst forth and the tears that followed were not tears of pain, but tears of joy....the joy of seeing someone I had not been able to image for over five months.

The Franklin Method® transformed me.  Eric Franklin and Morten Dithmer I thank you for the tools you have given me to discover myself, and love what see!!  As a Franklin Method Educator I have the privilege of assisting you on a journey into yourself as well.  

©2011 Matthew Deal Pilates