Beginning the Dreaded Sit Up!

Easy Like Sunday Morning...

Last Week

I gave you a cracked-out animation of what happens when I quietly and curiously use my Inner Sherlock. When I asked students what they sensed within themselves, the responses ranged from “WTF? I’m not sure I sense ANYTHING!” to “I’ve got a light pink zone in one shoulder and the rest of me is a blank white.”. It’s not that I expect someone to have that sensation each and every time they lie down, but it does go some way towards getting your imagination to engage with the here and now.

This Week

I’d like to get back into the groove of my head/neck series of articles.

So far I’ve posted:

• A description of the major landmarks of your helicopter and how to allow the neck to free (part 1 / part 2 / part 3)

• A little game on how to steer the head about (left/right/small circles) while your head is on the book.

• A description of how to lift the head while lying on your stomach.

Now I’d like to share a video on how you can do a sit up. I am absolutely NOT interested in you getting that buff core strength. Many people do sit ups incorrectly and feel their stomach muscles engaging.

What I’m interested in is you learning how to lift the head from the book without the neck muscles seizing up into a vice grip. If you can prevent this seizure in the neck, you are further along the road to understanding head lead/body follow. You will also probably find it more pleasurable to look down at your shoes¹.

Without further ado, I’ve made a video for you where I talk you through what you must prevent and what you might want to imagine instead. Check it out!

I’m hoping this video summed it all up for you! In case this isn’t clear, or you feel pressed for time you can check out the following drawings:

In the drawing above, you can see that the book height is supporting the relationship between the head, the neck, and the upper back. This height in this particular drawing should give the neck the best chance of releasing IF we’re able to really have a nice old fashioned STOP.

The RED ARROW shows the direction of movement of the head. I would call this movement linearly up. You can in fact make this movement, but I am willing to bet that you will feel a boat load of neck strain if you do.²

PLEASE BE INTELLIGENT AND DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A NECK INJURY

When you move your head linearly up like this, the mass of the head is trying to go in a direction that the torso cannot follow (unless you know how to levitate). As a result, you will feel the muscles of the neck grip up as they try to reconcile the head’s desire to move up and the torso’s need to either stay glued to the table or curl towards the knees (a la a crunch).

So what can we do instead?

The GREEN ARROW shows a flight path for the head that involves a slight pitch down. This pitching generates a shift in the weight of the head that invites the rest of the neck to follow in an arc. You should feel that there is significantly less strain in the neck overall if you can prevent the linear movement of the head.

What exactly is the ‘right’ amount of pitch and arc? Honestly, I don’t know. We are fairly mobile creatures and there are many ways for this head and neck to pitch and roll with happiness. If you have muscle pulls or strains in the neck or the back (anywhere really) this will alter which flight paths feel best.

As long as you very slowly explore, you will discover something that is comfortable and interesting.

Why Am I Doing This?

Oftentimes I find that students (*ahem* me) will daydream and start to revert to the habit of stiffening the neck and allowing the head to drop forward. Typically, folks will catch themselves in the drop and then try to get out of it by immediately pitching the head up. This reaction is used because we honestly forget that there are other movement possibilities.

By taking the time to do these 2 games (lying on your stomach / back), you will have a little movement laboratory to try out very subtle variations of direction. When you start to find the pathways that tend to feel nicer, you will have a better sense of how you can react to stuff AND things when you’re walking about. If you’re walking slowly, you should feel a slightly new sense of mobility in the whole back.

Remember, we’re not looking for perfection with any of this; just gradual discovery.

Get In Touch

If you’re in NYC, you may learn more about my private teaching practice at johndalto.com.

If you’d like to book any lesson time with me, you can find my booking link here.

1. I’m genuinely hoping you take pleasure and interest in looking at your shoes without the neck seizing up!

2. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A BULGING DISC IN YOUR NECK OR ANY INJURY WITHOUT CONSULTING A PROFESSIONAL