What did one Christmas light say to the other Christmas light?
You light me up!
Why do mummies like Christmas so much?
Because of all the wrapping!
How do Chihuahuas say Merry Christmas?
Fleas Navidog!
I am known for being very bad with jokes. I often find them too silly to laugh at or simply don’t get them. My husband doesn’t think my brain is wired that way. He has given up on showing me cartoons because as he says, “it’s a wonder you have any fun at all!”
A few years ago I asked clients and friends to help me add a few jokes to my repertoire. Some of the jokes were too complicated and my eyes glazed over before they could even get to the punch line. I can truly forget even a simple joke in a matter of minutes. Others I didn’t get. But a couple were just right.
I have held onto to those couple and that is what I trot out when I need a joke to tell. Of course, there is a key difference right there. I don’t say when I want to tell a joke. There are some of you who seem to enjoy entertaining in this way on a regular basis. What is up with that?
No, I feel a need. Anyhoo, with those couple of faithful jokes, I can almost manage the punchlines consistently. Still, they have to come forward in my mind without pressure. Otherwise, I freeze and can’t remember key aspects. Oh well, we are all good at different things. It is good brain exercise for me.
A current joke I have been using with a couple of clients who have memory/dementia challenges is
Knock-knock.
Who’s there?
Lena.
Lena who?
Lena a little closer and I tell you.
And I do enjoy telling it!
Bones for Life: because there is no pill for posture
0 Comments Published November 26th, 2011 in Bones for Life.by Cynthia M. Allen (first published at Integrative Learning Center; used by permission)
This has become a favorite phrase in the Bones for Life community. And why not? Look at the apparent ease with which the woman at left carries her load.Of course, it isn’t easy, yet studies show Luo and Kikuyu women are supremely well organized, even outperforming male U.S. soldiers with loaded rucksacks. She can carry up to 20% of her body weight on her head before she begins to need more oxygen or burn additional calories.
Carrying a Load for Free. Just to put this in context, if you weigh 150 pounds, this means you would be carrying 30 pounds. Can you imagine balancing even 20 pounds on your head and, say, walking around the block? Much less without gasping for additional air? Scientists call the capacity to carry this weight without needing more air “carrying for free.” In fact, she may add to her load up to 50% or more of her body weight and head into town. While her “free energy” zone has been passed, she will still carry her load at a lower metabolic cost to herself than to you or even to our beloved Army guys and gals.
Walk Like an Upside-Down Pendulum. In the 1990s gait researchers mapped the movement of the human center of mass in space and discovered the trajectory is like that of an
upside-down pendulum swinging. Instead?? of a curve down, it curves upward with the crest being at the point when you are completely balanced on one foot and the other foot has lifted away from the ground and is swinging forward.
Rhythm Matters. In the change over between steps, most of us will lose height faster than we gain speed with a few millisecond lurch. But loaded African women pause less in the middle of the step and in fact some women do not pause at all. Another way to say it might be that the rhythm of the walk is uninterrupted.
Unfortunately we don’t have access to any video to include in this newsletter. But the grace and ease of the live motion is truly stunning to see. The beauty of such an efficient load bearing walk caught the attention of Ruthy Alon some years ago along with two other factoids of the time: West African women had low fracture rates (statistics still support the low fracture rates–see table below) and low bone densities (these studies need to be validated).
2004 Report from the World Health Organization Estimated percentage of osteoporotic fractures,in men and women aged 50 years or older, by region:
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Region
|
Percentage
|
|
Africa
|
.8
|
|
Americas
|
15.7
|
|
Southeast Asia
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17.4
|
|
Europe
|
34.8
|
|
Eastern Mediterranean
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2.9
|
|
Western Pacific
|
28.6
|
The reason Africans have significantly lower fracture rates than Americans is likely multi-variant. Climate, diet, genes, bone geometry, daily movement requirements and movement patterns are all possible, even likely,contributors. In Bones for Life® we take the position that it sure couldn’t hurt to be more active in our daily life and to move in the direction of a free energy gait pattern. Alon studied the alignment and the gait of Africanwomen, and created movement exercises in her Bones for Life® program that allow us to incorporate aspects of this unique organization as our bodies find it useful. When skeletal alignment, stability and flexibility in the curves of spine, and rhythm improve, there is less loss of energy between steps. That is, the peak moment of rest in the pendulum swing is more fully converted back into energy. You are no longer falling as you walk but remaining tall and balanced.
A Bones for Life® class is for anyone. Take it to walk with elegance and ease. Take it to improve bones and joint health. Take it Because There is No Pill for Posture.
Cynthia Allen (left) demonstrating Gait Wild Human Potential
“My experiences with Cynthia include being a client and a student. Cynthia’s passion for Feldenkrais is clearly demonstrated in her demonstration and explanation of Feldenkrais and Bones for Life (BFL) techniques, applications, and Integral Human Gait (IHG). Her vision is demonstrated by her clarity of purpose and evidenced in the organization and focus of her BFL and IHG classes. Her leadership of the Integrative Learning Center is another extension of her passion. She continues to build interest in collaboration within the organization and the discipline. ~Mark Essex
“Cynthia is professional in every way. She makes me feel comfortable and leaves no doubt that her intentions are directed to helping me accomplish my goals. She is a friend who puts her clients needs first.” ~Roy Riley
“Cynthia is incredibly intuitive as she works the body. She senses in a holistic manner and works directly at the source leaving you completely whole. The greatest thing is that the pain is completely gone and I feel stronger. Every time the session has ended my body feels aligned and ready for anything.” ~Yamilca Rodriguez
“Being a dancer and a massage therapist, I have sought out hands- on work from Cynthia several times. I recommend her to my own clients. She is perceptive and knowledgeable about the body in motion.” ~Gloria Esenwein
Searching for God in 2011?
0 Comments Published January 3rd, 2011 in Integral Practice/Ken Wilber, Spirituality.Could there be a better way to open 2011 than by looking for the “God particle?”
At first thought, I felt rather giddy, as if the only answer to that question could be, “Wow. Of course it is the perfect way to open this year.”
On second reflection I have a variation on that idea.
The name of the so-called “God particle” is the Higgs boson. (No offense, but that name does not sound nearly as cool.) Theoretical physicist Peter Higgs proposed that such a particle exists, and that if it is identified and observed, scientists will be able to understand the Big Bang and the birth of the universe (1). Apparently this particle can answer the question you and I ponder each day: why do some particles possess mass and others do not? This story is starting to sound like one nearly all of us can relate to when making New Year’s resolutions. Why do some of us possess more mass than others? Or why do some areas of my body collect more fat cells than other? Okay, perhaps it’s not all that related, but for a moment it seemed like it.
Anyhow…these scientists are looking for a gigantic piece of the puzzle of creation in dots so small it is impossible for me to fathom. And THAT does seem WAY COOL to me.
Down the Toilet?
Still, just when I thought this should be taken very seriously, I ran across a lesser known name for this sought after building block of creation. The Higgs has also been called the “toilet” by Sheldon Glashow, winner of a Nobel Prize in physics. (2)
If you are still with me, and I hope you are, this musing is amusing, but with some seriousness and life application. What strikes me most about all of the above is how absolutely fantastically wild the universe and our search for God are. There is an absurd quality to it all, and yet we almost have no choice but to keep searching.
For most of us, the place of discovery is in basic activities like sitting on a cushion, reading poetry, joining our voices with others in praise on Sunday morning, watching nature, or witnessing birth and death. These are the particles which create our own individual big bangs. If life circumstances serve us well, we will have many deaths and births as we make new meaning of our lives and create God afresh. Sitting on the meditation cushion there are thoughts of toilets, but really, if we didn’t have a toilet system or indoor plumbing, we would still be sitting in our own s*-@ at this point in human development.
Seriously
I know, I keep looping back and forth from the mundane or comical to the big G and it might be throwing you a little off center. But whether the topic is waste products or angels on high, it is all part of the same experience, and I believe all part of God–whatever that he/she/it/us is. Being thrown off center from time to time is fundamental to shifts in development so maybe I have been useful in giving you a tiny destabilizing push.
I suspect that it is wired into our humanity to make meaning out of our lives and the universe by discovering God. Thus it may be a foregone conclusion that this is how we will all spend 2011. Yet there may be something to making the desire explicit, for having a plan. It may also be valuable not to take any of it too seriously.
Join me in a toast to creation?
Cynthia Allen, Feldenkrais Practitioner and Bones for Life Trainer which has nothing to do with the above topic….or does it?
P.S. If you want to read the article that created this writing impulse in me: Scientists Narrow Search for the ‘God Particle’
P.S.S Your comments and thoughts are really welcome.
References and Credits:
1) Scientists Narrow Search for the ‘God Particle” by Live Science staff; posted: 26 July 2010 05:51 pm ET; http://www.livescience.com/technology/higgs-boson-mass-100726.html
2) Greatest Mysteries: What Causes Gravity By Dave Mosher, LiveScience Staff Writer; posted: 10 August 2007 09:20 am ET
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/070810_gm_gravity.html
The Kissing Contest Answer
1 Comment Published April 27th, 2010 in Bones for Life, Feldenkrais Method.
“A kiss is just a kiss, a smile is just a smile, sigh is just a sigh…”
When is a kiss not just a kiss? In February’s Weight Training for the Brain, we asked, “How can kissing one’s forearm make the action of getting up from the challenging position of a squat easier?” To see winners and their answers, jump now. Continue reading for my own answer.
The mouth is one of over 40 ring muscles. While only three of these are called sphincters, the mouth is in fact part of the sphincter network. These primitive anatomical structures were some of the first means of locomotion in one-celled organisms. When I see jelly fish rhythmically moving about, I also think of sphincters. In the human, the sphincters are in constant communication with each other creating a network.
We commonly think of these button-hole like structures for keeping contents where they belong. Sphincters allow us to swallow down the right tube, to keep stomach acid in the stomach, to keep our urine and feces in their assigned places until such moment that we are ready to void and then the sphincter opens.
The Anti-Gravity Network
The rich interaction with the abdominal and buttock muscles and the domes or diaphragms of the body which particularly interests me.
Try this experiment, sitting wherever you are now, bring your body to an upright position. Strongly contract your anal sphincter and release. As you contract, perhaps you notice that the sitting bones narrow, the heels lightly increase their contact with the ground and you get taller. If you don’t notice these details—not to worry. It is still likely happening.
Now play with slower rhythmic contractions and shift your attention to the sensation in any of the following places:
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Sphincters such as the mouth and eyes (both the eyeballs in the socket change position but you may also be able to notice a change in the pupil—it might help if your eyes are closed).
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The diaphragms (domes) under the ribs, arch of the feet or the roof of the mouth.
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The musculature throughout the belly and buttocks.
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A rather fun one is to feel what bones change position such as the base of the skull narrowing, the lower jaw relaxing or the lower ribs both narrowing and dropping.
Are You Saying a Tight A#% is a Good Thing?
It might sound like I am suggesting that walking around with a tight anal sphincter is a good thing. Actually, the brain should communicate with all the sphincters for continually changing tone. When a tight a#% is present 24/7 there is a likely asymmetry in the way in which the muscle is contracted which will lead to digestive, sexual, back and joint challenges.
We started this contest with the mouth and then slid way down. Try kissing your forearm now and I believe you will notice that your anal sphincter is responding.
Nice Party Trick, But What’s the Point?
By working with the sphincter muscles there are a whole host of physical functions and ailments that can be improved. Bowel, bladder and sexual are the obvious ones. But posture, power, metabolism, neck tension, TMJ and general spine health can also be improved.
This just in…Moshe Feldenkrais recently appeared at a Feldenkrais® training program, shocking the 
somatic world. Dr. Feldenkrais died in 1984, according to all accounts.
He walked in with a wry grin on his face exclaiming, “Oy vey! I started doing Bell Hand in my imagination for a few hours and the next thing I knew I had been declared dead and buried. How can you be so unaware that you could not even tell when a man is just doing a lesson in his imagination?!”
A masterful storyteller, Feldenkrais took several hours to let his story unfold but the short version is encapsulated in this statement, “It took me 35 years of slow movement to get myself out of that predicament.”
Before revealing himself to his surprised students, Feldenkrais spent a year enjoying his newfound freedom and looking for a replacement studio for the famed place on Alexander Yanai Street where he did his original work. He also revealed that the time in internment allowed him the opportunity to create 1000 new lessons that are vital to human potential.
“I certainly never dreamed I would meet the old man,” mused recent trainee Jimmy Jenks.
Moshe, as his students always call him, says this event is important proof that his Method is great and everyone should be doing it.
As of this edition, we have been unable to reach Dr. Feldenkrais directly but we will certainly keep trying.
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This post from our Future Life Now monthly e-newsletter special edition for April Fools Day. Enjoy!
From Susan…
0 Comments Published February 14th, 2010 in Bones for Life, Feldenkrais Method, Your Experiences/Thoughts.“Each time I’m with Cynthia I am amazed at what I learn about my body. It is as if I was divorced from it for all these years and am now just learning step-by-step to really be in this body.
The results from my last session were astounding. My feet changed so much that I really feel grounded and for the first time in ages I don’t have to struggle to maintain balance (even on uneven ground). Fear of falling is not nearly so present in my mind. As someone who recently suffered from a fall and fractured pelvis, this is a tremendous relief.
I am so grateful. I am actually making friends with my body!”
- Susan Yurchuck -
NOTE: Susan participants in a combination of private sessions and classes in the Feldenkrais Method and Bones for Life at Feldenkrais Within according to what she feels she needs.
Classes are a wonderful and cost effective way for many, many people to heal from injury or invest in their health. If you would like help deciding which class to take–either Bones for Life or Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement–please don’t hesitate to ask.
February’s Weight Training for the Brain Contest
You do not need to register to comment. Comment and include your name and email so we can credit your creativity and put you in the drawing. After we check for spam, your contribution will appear.
feel the effort. Now, pucker up. That’s right. Show yourself some love and kiss your forearm with a series of smack-er-roos. After a pause, squat and come back up and feel the decrease in effort.
Let’s turn this into a Kissing Contest. Post your answer. Its painless and if you aren’t used to blog posting, will give your neurons something new to play with. Alternately, email your answer to support@futurelifenow.com. We will post it for you. A $20 certificate will be rewarded to the winning answer. In the event that there is an avalange of correct submissions (and we hope there is), we will draw among the correct answers.
In the past few years, I have had an increase in clients who are seeking to keep their mind sharp. Some simply express the desire to improve their memory and cognition while others have been diagnosed with dementia.
In current literature the brain is often described as a muscle. There may be a tendency to think of our brain as something we are born with and that’s that. Nothing could be further from the truth. The brain is a complex, organic process which can be enhanced with intentional engagement – or diminished – just like a muscle.
There are two excellent videos on the web from The Mind and Its Potential Conference; I think we would all benefit from listening to them.
The first is: Changing the Brain: Mind Over Matter
This panel discussion amongst diverse scientists is very interesting and extremely accessible. There is excellent information for parents and/or teachers of small children, as well as for aging adults seeking to keep their relationships with others and their minds on a healthy plane.
The second, from the same conference, is: Neuroplasticity: The ‘Use it or Lose it’ Brain.
In this talk, neuroscientist, Michael Valenzuela explains neuroplasticity and how neural pathways work. He goes on to tell us how we can make the most of our brain. Valenzuela won the prestigious Eureka Prize for Medical Research for one of the great scientific breakthroughs of our time: proving that mental exercise reduces the risk of dementia and how that works.
Of particular interest to me – besides his great explanation – are the three most powerful keys for keeping the brain healthy for as long as possible:
Cognitive challenge: something enjoyable but complex such as learning another language.
Social: the challenges of engaging in human relations are vital but should also generally involve some physical activity.
Physical exercise: a general “tonic” for the brain that also decelerates the rate of cognitive decline.
Valenzuela’s own person favorite activity that incorportates all three is Salsa dancing.
In my view, a somatic education approach – such as the Feldenkrais Method or Bones for Life – is an excellent way to engage with the issues (although certainly not the only way).
In any movement, we are feeding the physical self, but by engaging in unique, brain-challenging movements we are activating or building the ‘brain muscle.’ I regularly hear from accomplished athletes or dancers that they are quite challenged by our sessions. This exact same sentiment can be expressed by someone age 70 who is struggling to maintain daily functions. What is perhaps unique about a somatic approach is that the content of sessions can be different for different people, but not always. In a class, participants fit into a wide continuum of functional capacity and yet sometimes the most challenged person in the room is the athlete.
An analogy I often use is that participating in a Feldenkrais Method class is like learning another language and perhaps even another culture. In reality it is learning about yourself which can surprising feel like a foreign land. To what end? To the end of increasing your brain muscle which in turn can help you physically, spiritually and emotionally.
The world of who you are is a vast uncharted territory, but as your awareness grows its impact is amazing. I will wrap up with a quote from Einstein which I have used before and that is also used by Valenzuela in his talk. It is worth repeating:
”The most beautiful thing that we can experience is the mysterious.It is the source of all true art and all science.
He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
Oh yes, consider taking some time to watch the videos. I believe you will be pleased.
Cynthia Allen, January 8, 2010
From Edith
0 Comments Published October 3rd, 2009 in Bones for Life, Feldenkrais Method, Your Experiences/Thoughts.“I have been taking classes and occasional private sessions with Cynthia for the past 2 years. I started a Bones for Life class soon after I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I knew I needed to start to do something that would help strengthen my bones and my back or at least learn how to avoid making anything worse. Bones for Life sounded promising and I was ready to try anything.
I enjoyed the classes and noticed small things that helped me feel better during or right after class, but it was months before anything really started registering on a deeper level. I don’t know if that’s typical but that was my experience.
One of my first break-throughs was when I finally understood how to Continue reading ‘From Edith’