I have learned many modalities over the last three decades in my attempt to be helpful to my clients. The result of this combination of learning is a perspective on structure and movement that I use to help people move more efficiently.
An example of this is that when I attempt to help someone stand up from a sitting position, I coach them with cues on their movement.
First, as they begin to rise, I remind them to bring their feet closer together. Then I ask them to not turn the foot away from the direction they are trying to go into. I ask them to press feet strongly into the ground and hook their hands into mine as I do a tai chi stance, stabilizing myself so they can pull on their muscles to stand up. I remind them to slowly get into the chair or stand up in order to not use momentum, thus preserving their strength and preventing falls.
It is part of what I call intrinsic connections. I help them find the intrinsic muscles and use them. When one has health issues or injuries, they may lose the connections to their deep muscles that help postural integrity. It is important they remember how to use their body in a way to wake their muscles and remind it of its natural function.
Our bodies are absolutely wonderful. When one set of muscles is damaged in any way, it lets us compensate for that injury and keep moving. Because of that, when past injuries have re-arranged the movement of muscles in order to keep moving. Unfortunately, in order not to do further damage, those compensated methods of moving need to be erased. That requires specific attention to movement and correction of form to replace the injury pattern.
Most of the time, if a person has not had my years of experience, they don’t even know they are doing something that will hurt them. They are just trying to keep moving. But moving the wrong way, using the wrong body of muscles for things will eventually cause more pain and more things to stop working properly.
For more information about this, feel free to book a session with me, Valentina Boonstra.
