"Be strong, ride softly" seems to be the catch phrase for this workout video, but what does "be strong" mean? Often times I think we confuse tension with strength, and in this video I see movement originating from a place of contraction and effort (tension) as opposed to connection and alignment. The result is movement that lacks balance, suppleness, range and ease of motion. Look at the cervical spine in these exercises, for example (I'm picking one part of the body to focus on to make things simple). There is a lot of extraneous holding in the cervical spine (actually in the whole spine, but let's stick to one spot). In other words (to put it into "horse" terminology), I see a "brace" in the cervical spine which impairs the quality of movement throughout the whole body, giving it a sort of clunky, stiff feel. Imagine if these exercises were done with soft, supple spines and joints from a place of balance, using only the muscles necessary to complete the motion... it would be a very different picture, and would develop a more diverse, supple sort of muscle and strength.
Question: what sort of "strength" allows for "soft riding"? If we are braced in our bodies, will our horses be braced in their bodies? What makes a listening body?
My answer to the question you posed Tess, if we are braced are our horses going to be braced? Most likely. A listening body has lots of feel, lots of sensory tracks open to receiving in the brain. Listening bodies are relaxed and supple. Listening is a state of mind and body.
The still shot of the video really lets you see all the tension in the front neck muscles. Instead of a brief moment of strength with longer periods of release, the muscles are tight most of time. I think this is interesting since it has the opposite effect: the muscles never get a chance to rest and that sets them up for injury-- causing weakness. Something to think about in most things that we do.
3 comments:
"Be strong, ride softly" seems to be the catch phrase for this workout video, but what does "be strong" mean? Often times I think we confuse tension with strength, and in this video I see movement originating from a place of contraction and effort (tension) as opposed to connection and alignment. The result is movement that lacks balance, suppleness, range and ease of motion. Look at the cervical spine in these exercises, for example (I'm picking one part of the body to focus on to make things simple). There is a lot of extraneous holding in the cervical spine (actually in the whole spine, but let's stick to one spot). In other words (to put it into "horse" terminology), I see a "brace" in the cervical spine which impairs the quality of movement throughout the whole body, giving it a sort of clunky, stiff feel. Imagine if these exercises were done with soft, supple spines and joints from a place of balance, using only the muscles necessary to complete the motion... it would be a very different picture, and would develop a more diverse, supple sort of muscle and strength.
Question: what sort of "strength" allows for "soft riding"? If we are braced in our bodies, will our horses be braced in their bodies? What makes a listening body?
My neck hurt to watch the workout video.
My answer to the question you posed Tess, if we are braced are our horses going to be braced? Most likely.
A listening body has lots of feel, lots of sensory tracks open to receiving in the brain. Listening bodies are relaxed and supple. Listening is a state of mind and body.
The still shot of the video really lets you see all the tension in the front neck muscles. Instead of a brief moment of strength with longer periods of release, the muscles are tight most of time. I think this is interesting since it has the opposite effect: the muscles never get a chance to rest and that sets them up for injury-- causing weakness. Something to think about in most things that we do.
Post a Comment