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Three Choices - The Hip 

This morning as I was riding around, being attentive to my body, I realized my right hip was 'twisted' forward on top in relation to my sit bone, creating a kink in the column of the right side of my body.

Hmmm....  well, *that* explains a lot.  

What to do?

When something has 'deviated from the ideal' (it's in quotes, because, really, how can anything ever deviate from the ideal...) I tend to use one of three approaches to find a greater sense of comfort, coherence, and harmony.  

The pay off for this is I feel better and my horse moves better.  Win-win!

And the funny part - the 'doing' has to do with changing how I think and paying attention.  

To begin: set up an agreement with the physical body

This is a conversation with the body which takes place by setting up an agreement on how to communicate.  I like to use blocks for the hips.  There's the real bones and muscles and such, and then for the pelvis I chunk it down to two blocks sitting next to each other:

Keeping track of two blocks is easier.

 

The first approach: emphasize the pattern

With this approach, which is based on Ortho-bionomy, you find the pattern and make it more so.  In this case, more so would mean making the top of my right hip more forward - the right side of my pelvis more 'twisted' - the top more in front of the column.   

In my minds eye, I am aware of what is actually happening and I 'superimpose' an exaggerated version of that by holding the new image and start counting to 60.  Usually before 60 the pattern will release and the blocks will shift back to 'the ideal' alignment of their own accord.  If not, I can do it again.  I can't think of a time it didn't get better in any event.

I see this: I imagine this while counting to 60: Usually I get this:

 

The second approach: contrast the pattern

With this approach, which is based on Feldenkrais technique, you find the pattern and slowly move from it to an 'opposite' pattern, back and forth, staying within comfort, to give the body more options, more choice, more information, about how to be.     This is done slowly so that the body can register what happens when it is behaving differently.   

I say so that 'the body can register' because what's happening is that the proprioceptors are getting different information and responding to that.  It's not about figuring it out in the head and making the body hold a different position.  It's about changing the feed that's going into the feedback loop so that the nervous system can do something different.

In this case, I pretended to twist the right side of my pelvis in the opposite direction so the top was behind the sit bone and behind the column.    I moved between the two extreme images maybe three or four times and then paused to see where the body went of its own choice.  This is all done mentally, although you could do it physically as well.  

I see this: I move into and out of  This: Then I pause and let the body find it's comfort.  Usually it will be what I 'wanted.'  ie 
<-->

The third approach: superimpose 'the ideal' / compare and contrast

With this approach, which is based on Alexander technique, you find the pattern and hold it up to 'the ideal.'  In this case, two even blocks are the ideal.  

In watching this all unfold, the other thing I'm on the look out for is what triggers me to twist my hip like that.  

To begin with, there's an awful lot of catching it after the fact. 

In this case, I'm riding and I realize, 'yup, it's twisted again...'   So I do the compare and contrast for about half a circle and it sorts out and then I get distracted and maybe think about my horse and what it's doing and then realize, 'O look, it's twisted again....'

And thinking back to this morning, what triggers my right hip to twist is the thought 'I need to turn right.'  Which, yeah, since I'm tracking right, I'm turning right.  But what's happening is ever time I think that particular thought, a little gremlin jumps behind the wheel and twists my hip!!!  

So part of the solution here is to self monitor my language - for instance, 'I'm aware of the back of my head and the twirl through the length of my spine and how I travel along the arc ....'  (and yeah, there's this sing song hypnotic quality going on, too) so that I don't jump into an old, old, habitual pattern of tying myself into a knot.  

I see this: I move into and out of  This: Until I get: 
<-->

 

Sometime ...

What I'll do sometime is 'rewire' my reaction to the thought 'I need to turn right.'  For that, I might use Resonance Repatterning or Reiki or Psych-K.  or Tapping.

Until then, I'm checking in with my hip throughout the day.

 

Have you got anything like this going on in your riding or in your body?  

I can provide insight about what is happening in your body along with approaches for increasing your comfort and ability.  

 

'til next time,

L

Copyright © 06/20/15 Lynn S. Larson

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