E=Motion is a bimonthly newsletter about The Feldenkrais Method® and movement education, including posture, gesture and its relation to health. Presented by Lavinia Plonka, certified Feldenkrais teacher and author of What Are You Afraid Of? E=Motion is distributed by subscription only. To subscribe, use the sign up box below. To unsubscribe please scroll to the end. Feel free to forward this newsletter!

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Did you miss the last "E=Motion" Newsletter? September 2003
October 2003

• Opening the Trunk
  
• Upcoming Workshops

"In short, my son, note her every action and movement. If you report to me faithfully all these things, I shall be able to make out the hidden secret of her heart and discover how she feels with regard to my love; for I may tell you, Sancho, if you do not know it already, that among lovers exterior signs of this sort are the most reliable couriers that there are, bringing news of what goes on inside the heart." -- Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote, 1605:566)

Opening The Trunk

In theater there is a saying, "The chest does not lie." This statement infers that your emotional state is reflected in the carriage of your chest. Unconsciously, we are both communicating as well as reading others' emotions in sometimes subtle, sometimes large shifts in the chest. Your heart, located in the chest is considered by many to be the seat of the emotions. Whatever you feel goes right to the heart and immediately affects the chest. But what of those who believe that the heart is just a big pump, circulating our blood, oxygenating the system and keeping us alive? Can the position of the chest have any relevance to how you feel?

Let's look at a few interesting pieces of physiological information. Each person is born with more or less the same skeleton. In this very sophisticated design system, the rib cage balances the shoulder girdle so that the arms can move freely, getting maximum support from the back. The neck (cervical spine) extends up to support the head in a way that the head can freely respond to what is taking place below. The minute the chest changes its orientation, it affects both the upper and lower body.

If the chest is pushed forward, often the shoulder blades get pinched back. This makes it difficult to move anywhere but forward. Try throwing your chest out, pinching back your shoulder blades and see what it's like to turn, or walk backward. When we look at someone who's "puffing out the chest", we generally get an impression of someone aggressive, excited. Certainly this person is not relaxed, and when you stand next to someone like this, you tend to get tense as well. Holding this position for any length of time will also stiffen the back, putting a great deal of pressure on the lower spine. Ow.

If the chest is rounded, the ribs are literally compressing the vital organs they were designed to protect. Try taking a deep breath with your chest rounded over, your shoulders forward. At the same time, when the chest is rounded in this fashion, it eventually becomes difficult to hold the head up. People with rounded shoulders or collapsed chests tend to give the impression of weakness, exhaustion, vulnerability. If you spent all your time taking shallow breaths and struggling to hold your head up, you'd be tired as well. At the same time, a person might feel safer talking to someone rounded rather than someone with a protruding chest. A rounded chest gives the impression that this person is milder, less aggressive. Truth is, this harks back to our own animal instinct - a rounded over person is less liable to be successful in an attack than someone with chest forward, so we feel safer in a very primitive way.

The breath originates in the chest area. As mentioned before, the breath is affected by the position of the chest. But the function of the breath affects the emotional state as well. Something of exquisite beauty can literally "take your breath away." Perhaps one of the biggest hidden culprits in contemporary culture is the constant need to hold the breath. Everyone is waiting "for the other shoe to drop." Holding the breath is another primitive instinct - a self protective mechanism to hide from the predator. We are so anxiety driven that we hold our breath while passing another car, while pouring hot water, while waiting for our child to get off the bus, when the phone rings. All this breath holding affects the physiology and the psychology of the individual.

There is a new branch of medicine called neuro-cardiology. In short, it proposes that the heart is another brain, that it gauges the intelligence of the emotions. Experiments reveal a constant flow of neurons between the heart and the brain. When someone tells you shocking news, often the unconscious response is to put the hand to the heart. We put our hands on our hearts to pledge to the flag. Why? Your hand has a huge number of sensory receptors. Is there some sort of electrical/neural link between hand, heart and brain? Try it yourself and notice - when you do it, does your chest want to collapse or expand?

Developing awareness of your body's signals takes practice, but it is infinitely rewarding. The more you know about yourself and your reactions, the more choices you will have in responding to situations in daily life. Just simply beginning to experience your chest: either how you breathe, how you stand, or the rhythm of your heart is a powerful first step in developing your kinesthetic intelligence.

For some fun definitions of the language of love visit: http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/lovesig4.htm.

Upcoming Workshops that Explore E=Motion

All of the following workshops employ a unique blend of Feldenkrais®, creative dialogue and theater play. They are for anyone interested in better self-understanding and more effective communication. Performers, somatic teachers, psychotherapists and the general public will all benefit.

Courageous Living: Body/Mind Tools For Anxious Times
(DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHOP - http://www.laviniaplonka.com/Courageous.html)
Saturday, April 3, 10 AM - 5 PM through Sunday 10 AM - 3 PM
Chapel Hill, NC.
Coming to Sarasota, FL in May (exact date and time to follow)

Beyond Words : How unconscious gestures and posture affect the personality.
(DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHOP http://www.laviniaplonka.com/Beyond%20Words.html)
April 10th and 11th, 10 AM - 6 PM
Sign up for one or both days
FREE LECTURE, April in New York City (exact date and time to follow)

Call 828-255-5789 or E-mail Lavinia for registration and information

Would you like to sponsor a workshop in your city? Email: laviniap@att.net

Pre-order What Are You Afraid of? A Body/Mind Guide to Courageous Living. Available on April 8 from Amazon.com, and April 12 nationally.

Want to know more about The Feldenkrais Method®? Visit http://www.laviniaplonka.com/Method.html or http://www.feldenkrais.com

For tapes and CDs that explore the body/mind connection, visit http://www.laviniaplonka.com

Feedback and submissions are always welcome.