From sit to stand, standing, and walking

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This short sequence is excellent for improving how the leg swings from the middle of the trunk. Sitting with one sit bone hanging of a chair, you lower it and lift it again, feeling the whole spine bend. Then, you push the knee forward and back many times, pivoting on the weight-bearing sit bone. Feel how this twisting informs the side bending. Then, walk around and feel how the leg connects to the torso.

For the lesson on this, see 351, 352 Drop sit bone, tilt head, bend spine

This is a wonderful sequence to clarify how the leg connects into the trunk. Lying on your side, you lift the foot of the top leg but keep the knees together. How does the leg turn? What else moves in your hip, pelvis, back, belly, ribs, or head? Then, bring the knee toward the ceiling and stand the foot on the ankle. Notice again what moves. How does your belly move? What happens in your spine?

This sequence is vital for an easy swinging of the legs in walking and running. Note how the leg integrates into your center, your mass, and how it can be more and more congruent with the movement of the leg. We want connection in this process so that all your muscle contractions move a bone and you’re not wasting energy.

For the full lesson, see 95 Integrate the leg into the spine.

I tell all my clients about the giant “X” painted diagonally across their back from the right shoulder to the left hip and the left shoulder to the right hip. Then, imagine you are swinging the legs from the center of that X.

Think about it, no one walks from the hip joints. Try it: don’t move your trunk and walk only from the hips. It’s not so elegant, is it.

Let your torso swing on the diagonal and use the X as a motor imagery tool. I do this all the time when I’m hiking and feeling tired!

For a whole lesson on finding the center with X’s, see 420 Lines crossing and balancing the center.

This is a quick, easy way to feel more grounded.

1. Without shoes on, simply lift both heels a couple inches away from the floor and let them drop. Really let the weight drop down and feel the reverberation to your head. Do this a number of times. Clarifying your connection to the ground like this will help you be more skeletal and stop hiking up your shoulders up as well.

2. Then, get a folded bath towel and walk around with it on your head for a few minutes. Swing your shoulders underneath the base of your neck. This will help you orient your head in space and give excellent feedback for your balance.

3. Lastly, take the towel off your head and walk around feeling both your head and your feet.

This is an extraordinarily useful sequence to help you bring your mass over your base as you come to stand. There are efficient and inefficient ways to come to stand and it’s best if you learn the efficient way now. Otherwise, you’ll be “uumphing” for the rest of your life.

Here is the full lesson: 433 Sit to stand, tilting like a stick

This is another short sequence to bring your mass over your base in standing. For humans, the plumb line of our weight goes into the front of the heels. That is where we are our tallest, the most perpendicular to the floor. I've included a number of cues for sensing this spot. 

It's good to have this in your sensorimotor repertoire. Don't expect yourself to always be here, it's just a touchstone that you can come back to time and time again for maximum support through the bones.

For a longer lesson on this, see 418 Oscillations in standing.  

This sequence presses fingers and toes by linking the digits with the toes. This uses the brain’s map of the fingers to enhance the articulation and differentiation of the toes. This is excellent for people with neuropathy, people recovering from stroke, even surfers. It’s good for all of us who want to improve rolling over the feet.

For a longer lesson on meeting the toes, see:
28 Amazing toes, supple feet
375 Foot through the gap

This is a short version of lifting four points. With your hands leaning on a chair or some other firm surface, you lift one hand, one foot, then the opposite foot and hand, practicing weight shifts on the diagonal. It's very effective for organizing the back in walking, almost like you could be quadrupedal. Getting good at shifting the weight like this helps you move off center and back with confidence.

For the full lesson like this, see 1 Four points personal, hands and feet.

Balancing the head on top of the spine is critical for upright sitting. This short sequence helps you find that balance point by rounding and arching in the spine and opposing the head and eyes in various ways.

For the full lesson like this, see 483 Round, arch and scoop in sitting.

This short sequence will help you find that spot through the leg bones that gives you maximum support from the ground. As you challenge the balance with one leg crossed over, the system calibrates again and again to find stability. Try walking after that and feel how you roll over the feet and connect to the ground.

For the full lesson like this, see 36 A flexible spine connects to the feet