Finding the top of the hip

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Introduction

Holding yourself vertical is different from standing.

In this series you are asked to identify the tippy-top of the hip joint, which is not an easy task. It took me quite a few years, but then I am a slow learner.

I recommend alternating this series with another one, like rhythmical breathing, pelvic clock, or the leg swing and footprint lessons, so that you are not standing all the time.

Most of us don’t have a clue what it means to be supported through the leg bones. Give your nervous system a chance to learn. If you feel discomfort in the hip, take lots of breaks.

In this lesson, you are asked to make many adjustments to balance in standing. As you tilt to the side, you bring one leg further out and perch on the toe, making a line from the head to the toe.

The standing leg is your new center. As you bring the hip joint of the standing leg a little in and out, you refine the sensory information about where the weight drops through the bones to the foot.

By moving the hip a little in and out, forward and back, you feel more and more where the place of poise is, the balance at the top of the hip.

These lessons can be a challenge, but finding new skeletal support is very, very worth the exploration.

Tip: Take lots of rests out of this position, especially if the muscles of your hips are used to overworking. Sensing—and then trusting—new support takes time.

AY284 part A

These lessons have a lot of repetition, giving your nervous system many opportunities to sense the relationship of the counterbalance on top of the hip. This lesson continues the balancing over the hip, moving the right foot out to the right, perching on the toe and clarifying the left leg as the standing leg.

You will also play with putting the foot a little in front and behind, tilting the torso forward and back as you do. It’s a cool move, feeling the swivel of the pelvis and trunk over the standing leg.

AY284 part B

This lesson starts to get interesting. You will play with dropping the arm and leg while tilted, then lots of rotation and leaning backwards over the hip to feel the non-standing leg lighten. The second half of this lesson has you place one foot in front of the other and find the top of the hip from heel to heel as you move forward and back, using the arms as a lever.

Yes, these lessons bring in lots of new data for you to start sifting to find balance. Think of each iteration as an approximation of balance rather than an exact performance. It is always a process.

AY289 part A

This lesson continues the rotation around the top of the hip with variations in the arms: gluing then to the side like a stick, then bringing them out at shoulder height.

Keep going through this series even if the feedback is unclear at this moment in time. The improvements can be profound as you continue to ask questions of your nervous system.

AY289 part B

AY290

AY291

AY297