Reaching Distinctions: Flexion or Extension? (Patrons)
Prerequisite: Familiarity with either the short or full-length Long Belly, Strong Back lesson is helpful for this lesson.
The classic "Arms Like a Skeleton" lesson is the framework for a quiet exploration of functional options hidden in everyday actions. When you reach into the world, do you fold or arch (flex or extend)? How do the two sides of your body participate differently? What do you do with your neck? The answers depend on the situation, and a more supple thoracic area expands the possibilities. Eventually your Long Belly, Strong Back learning comes clearly into play.
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Got a question for Nick, or a thought about this lesson?
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This lesson was transformational for me – thank you.
I have Ehlers Danlos and in an effort to find stability my ribs and thorax have been stuck in a state of braced flexion whenever I am vertical. At times the flexion can be so severe it can be hard to take a full breath. No matter how much ‘breathwork’ I try, it only seems to exacerbate it. But by leaning into the coordinated flexion and exhalation here, it allowed a subsequent passive expansion and softening of the ribs I haven’t felt in about 15 years. It really did unlock something deep in my brain! Thank you.
Fantastic! You may have seen in the Curiosities tab above that another person reported a related kind of change with “saying yes to flexion.” It’s one of the secrets of Feldenkrais: we’re not afraid of our patterns. We look into them deeply, and through sensitivity, kindness, and patient process we learn more control, and the ability to find other options of organization and ways of being.
So valuable. I can get back pain ( iliac crest area) from unintentionally “hyperextending” my back when doing some strengthening exercises (the term hyperextending my back is now confusing to me because it is really more of a contraction of my lower back muscles and isn’t that really a kind of flexion?!)… anyway distributing that arch to include my upper back takes the pressure off my lower back. This helped me visualize that better– how to arch back in a healthier way
Amen to distributing functions (like arching) throughout our whole spines and selves! It is always a helpful strategy. Your question about what is extension and what is flexion is great! I think you mean “contraction” when you’re talking about flexing the muscles of your lower back, which are extensor muscles.
Here’s one way to think about it. Since muscles can only contract and decontract, I think of flexion in terms of folding and unfolding the body, and extension in terms of muscles that support or lift the body, and can also rest from that. It’s a slightly more sophisticated and functional way to think about the constant balancing our brains are doing between our flexors and extensors, instead of the more simplistic agonist/antagonist model of flexion and extension.
Perfect. Thanks. For the info and the great lessons.