Our Little Dips explore a theme of Feldenkrais learning, then illustrate it with one or more lessons. They always include at least one free lesson. Most Little Dips are first published in our newsletter.
“Use your glutes!”
…say the fitness and wellness pros. “The pelvis is your power center.” “The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body.” “Use your butt, not your back!”
We’ve all heard it before, but simply flexing your buttocks more vigorously doesn’t always help the movement and postural problems its supposed to. And we often forget about them the moment we stop trying to use them consciously.
Between the size and power of the buttocks, and our cultural-social-sexual issues around them, it’s almost like we stereotype them as big dumb engines for the body…at best. At worst we actively ignore them, or even feel ashamed of them.
Fantastic benefits await when you get to know your buttocks better! You’ll see in listener comments that Felden-fans have used our free buttocks lesson below to
- ease pain and tension in their back, hips, and psoas muscles
- differentiate their hamstrings and back extensors from their buttocks
- discover easier walking and hiking
- find a sense of strength, courage, and even emotional release
My Feldenkrais colleague Alfons Grabher sums up the value of this lesson in his own listener comment. The emphasis is mine:
Certainly one of the most important lessons I came across so far. I teach it in every beginners class (at least parts of it). It’s such a great gift to discover the power of the big buttocks muscles, their asymmetries, and how to get aware of how to use them.
Too many people use the back to do tasks the buttocks are meant for, and therefore develop back pain and hip pains, to the point they need surgery and hip replacement. This lesson certainly has the power to change that (if used as complementary treatment). 🙂
As usual with lasting improvements, it’s not how strong you get or how many reps you do. It’s about becoming more curious, sensitive, and skillful in HOW you use your buttocks – not just in one action, not just at the gym or PT’s office, but in life!
So how about a lighthearted learning goal? Check out our featured lessons below, and get to know your buttocks better, in a whole-self context! Let us know what you discover in the comments.
Have fun with this one! You’ll get to do some very silly things. Then you’ll feel what they do for you.
– Nick
Featured Free Lesson
The Buttocks
Lying on the back and front, and various kneeling and standing positions. Exploring and improving the use and awareness of the buttocks in relationship to the pelvis, legs, feet, belly, and spine.
Tips:
- Don’t miss the rich learning discussion below the audio player in this lesson’s comments.
- If it’s too challenging, start from the beginning of our collection called Lessons for Better Posture, Walking, and Running.
For Members and Patrons
Lifting Up & Through 3:
Buttocks and Buoyancy
This exploration is especially tuned to improve standing and walking. It complements lessons you may have explored called Lifting Up and Through and Lifting Up and Through 2: Organizing Your Feet.
If you haven’t done the others, you can still drive right in with Buttocks and Buoyancy. These three closely-related lessons are designed to be explored and reviewed in any order. They may seem different on the surface, but they all point to global patterns of lifting ourselves into effective action through clarified connections with the earth.
Related Patrons Lesson
Buttocks Organizing the Spine
Exploring and integrating contractions of the buttocks with different movements and configurations of the axis (pelvis, spine, and head).