Position of mechanical advantage aka monkey. Bring it on! Over and over and over again in many of its permutations. Monkey with hands on table palms up, palms down, monkey with back against a wall, monkey facing a wall, monkey with hands on back of chair, squats, monkey, monkey, monkey… Some instructions for yours truly include… “Knees forward and up.” “Lengthen from your thoracic spine.” “Lengthen as you go down.” “Need that elasticity when folding/unfolding those legs.” “Lead with your knees not with your hips.” “Lengthen and widen that back.” “After all, we want to keep that integrity of the lengthening and widening as we go about doing our daily activities.”
Monkey going into monkey…
“Don’t grip don’t grip don’t grip don’t grip.” Gripping is my specialty. A huge light bulb went off for me a few days ago. When I went into monkey, when I went up and down from a chair, when I started to do all sorts of movements…well…I sort of held my breath. I was gripping in this particular way. So what if it took me over three years of lessons and one plus semesters of teacher training to finally figure out that I’ve been doing this? Whatever. At least I figured it out. So then of course I did the opposite…and intentionally started over breathing or something. “Don’t force your breathing!”
Going into monkey with fluidity and elasticity, while keeping all my directions going, is challenging. It’s getting better but when will it be really organic with me??? “Oh! There is more movement happening throughout your ribs!” “Your breathing is different.” “Yes!!! That’s good Rena!!!” “Did you feel the difference?” And so we practice monkey over and over and over again in Alexander Technique teacher training. Je suis crevée, moi! I am wiped out! This stuff takes lots of mental and physical energy, yes it does! But I happen to be feeling really fine these days. I am more “up” than I used to be. Big smile here!
Robert Rickover (@BodyLearning)
How can you tell if a monkey is going into monkey or going out of monkey??
Rena Anya Devéza
Hmmm Robert…that is the question! Actually it seemed to me that this particular monkey was wanting to put hands on imaginary table…while going into a monkey!
Rena Anya Devéza
But…as long as he is lengthening and widening…and keeping those oppositional directions going…doesn’t matter if he is going into or out of! Right? 😀
VickyStanham
Rena, I remember absolutely loathing monkeys during my first year of training… and probably part time through my second year too. I also held my breath and gripped in all sorts of places (and could make neither heads nor tails of the directions to go into monkey!). It finally all comes together.
Rena Anya Devéza
Vicky! Thank you! When it happens with all my directions going well I am thrilled…but then the next time…hmmm…sigh…it doesn’t happen. So…onward and upward!