{"id":18061,"date":"2024-08-12T08:03:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T14:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somaticmovementcenter.com\/?p=18061"},"modified":"2024-08-12T13:47:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T19:47:15","slug":"qa-6-standing-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somaticmovementcenter.com\/qa-6-standing-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A 6: Why is it so important to practice Standing Awareness?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q&A Video #6: Why is it so important to practice Standing Awareness?<\/h1>\n

Transcript of video:<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi guys! Today I’m answering a question that a lot of new students wonder about, which is: Why is it so important to practice Standing Awareness?<\/p>\n

If you’re enrolled in my program, you know that I guide you through Standing Awareness before and after each new exercise, and at the beginning and end of each Daily Practice Class. Standing Awareness is an internal scan of your body that you practice with your eyes closed. It allows you to focus completely on the sensations that you’re feeling in all parts of your body.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might notice that you feel tension or pain in certain areas. You might notice relaxation in other areas. You might notice that you feel misaligned, like one hip or shoulder is higher than the other. You might even notice a lack of sensation in certain areas of your body.<\/p>\n

The purpose of Standing Awareness is simply for you to notice these sensations<\/strong>, not for you to try to fix them in that moment. Noticing how your body feels internally before, and then after each practice is an essential part of the learning process.<\/p>\n

First, it allows you to become consciously aware of any changes<\/strong> that have occurred during your practice. This is very important when you’re learning each new exercise. If you take the time to notice how each individual exercise affects your muscle tension and posture, then each exercise becomes a tool in your toolbox that you can use whenever you feel tension, pain, or misalignment.<\/p>\n

Second, taking the time to notice how you feel at the end of your practice allows you to start integrating those changes into your posture and movemen<\/strong>t as you go back into your daily life. If you take the time to notice, for example, that your lower back muscles feel more relaxed and long, and that your pelvis feels better aligned, it will become easier for you to voluntarily relax your lower back and come into that proper alignment throughout your day.<\/p>\n

Lastly, practicing Standing Awareness on a regular basis allows you to improve your sensorimotor awareness.<\/strong> This is your ability to sense how your muscles and body position feel internally. If you have finely tuned sensorimotor awareness, you’ll be much better able to sense and correct your posture and movement as you move through your daily life, and be much better able to prevent pain and injuries.<\/p>\n

If you feel frustrated with Standing Awareness at first because you feel like you aren’t noticing anything or you can’t sense anything, don’t worry. It gets much easier with practice. Your sensorimotor awareness can improve very quickly<\/strong> if you just practice it for a few minutes every day.<\/p>\n

And even after you’ve been practicing Clinical Somatics for a while, I encourage you to continue to practice Standing Awareness. Your sensorimotor awareness can be improved indefinitely as long as you keep practicing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re ever having trouble sensing the effects of a particular movement<\/strong>, or if you’re having trouble just sensing your body in general, you can try this experiment. Do the Standing Awareness, then lie down on the floor and do a short practice with just one side of your body. For example, you could do the Side Curl and the Iliopsoas Release with just your right side. Then, stand back up and notice how imbalanced you feel because you’ve released muscles on your right side but not your left. You can do this experiment with any of the exercises that can be practiced one side at a time.<\/p>\n

If you have difficulty balancing with your eyes closed<\/strong> during Standing Awareness, you can practice it with your eyes open, but it is a little harder to focus on your internal sensations when your eyes are open. This is because your brain is processing all of the visual information that your eyes are taking in. It would be preferable to rest your hands on the back of a chair in front of you so that you feel safe and supported, and try to practice it with your eyes closed.<\/p>\n

And if you are not able to stand<\/strong> to practice Standing Awareness, you can feel free to practice it sitting in a chair, or lying on the floor. Just be sure to practice it in the same position before and after your practice, so that you can accurately notice the changes that have occurred.<\/p>\n

So, I hope that was helpful. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Recommended reading:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Pain Relief Secret: How to Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Sarah Warren, CSE<\/p>\n

Somatics: Reawakening the Mind\u2019s Control of Movement, Flexibility and Health<\/strong><\/em><\/a> by Thomas Hanna<\/p>\n<\/div>

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