http://alexandertechnique.com/constructiverest/constructiverest.pdf
When is a good time to take constructive rest? 2-3 times daily. In the morning when you wake up, before you go to sleep and at some point during the day when you're tired or stressed.
Release tension, relax whole body.
Topics from literature:
Importance of rest, mindfulness - taking time for yourself to ease stress. Self-reflection.
Questions arisen: As a dancer when is it best to take rest time throughout the day? Perhaps before a show of before ballet class. Probably not mid-show or mid-class and you don't want your muscles to completely relax when you need them to be fired up and working hard.
Somantic therapy is something that I looked at in module 2 and was originally an area I was very interested in pursuing further. However, since my initial thoughts my ideas changed and I decided to focus more on supplementary training in general rather than just a more specific topic. Howver, when reading some scholarly articles about rest I followed a link to an article titled 'Somantic studies and dance'.
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/resource_papers/somatic_studies.pdf
The pieces of writing in bold are extracts from this article that I found particularly interesting and relevant to my studies.
Mind-body techniques loosely called somatic studies now a common word in dance and dance education.
Somatic studies also have been referred to as body therapies,
bodywork, body-mind integration, body-mind disciplines,
movement awareness, and movement (re) education.6
-
Eddy MH. Dance and somatic inquiry in studios and community dance programs. J Dance Ed. 2002; 2:119-127.
Two main avenues of physical practice
evolved: one more ‘receptive’ (e.g., massage, craniosacral
therapy, and somato-emotional release), and one more active,
calling for the conscious cooperation of the person through
movement awareness or imagination as catalysts for
changing motor/movement behavior (e.g., Ideokinesis,
Alexander Technique, and The Feldenkrais Method®).
Somatic education differs first from traditional dance
pedagogy in its philosophical basis – that of dismembering
mind-body dualism in pursuit of personal autonomy
Below are some extracts from three sections in this article about the three different key elements of somatic therapy. They explain more about the philosophical basis of difference between somatic practices and dance.
Novel Learning Context
Somatic learning contexts usually remove dancers from the typical space-time-effort constraints and psychological demands of a dance class. A somatic learning environment often begins by quieting the mind-body “chatter” in order to focus attention on the body’s sensory stimuli (from breath, muscle tension, contact of the body with the floor, etc.). The general tenor of the somatic learning environment is one of personal exploration, self-acceptance (i.e., absence of self- correcting strategies such as muscularly “fixing” what seems wrong), and non-competitiveness. Instead of striving to perform the "right” or “correct” movement, the dancer learns to move from an embodied source – fully receptive and responsive to the moment of movement. Such training is designed to free the dancer from rigid holding patterns or other constraints that bind thought, feeling, and action.
Somatic learning contexts usually remove dancers from the typical space-time-effort constraints and psychological demands of a dance class. A somatic learning environment often begins by quieting the mind-body “chatter” in order to focus attention on the body’s sensory stimuli (from breath, muscle tension, contact of the body with the floor, etc.). The general tenor of the somatic learning environment is one of personal exploration, self-acceptance (i.e., absence of self- correcting strategies such as muscularly “fixing” what seems wrong), and non-competitiveness. Instead of striving to perform the "right” or “correct” movement, the dancer learns to move from an embodied source – fully receptive and responsive to the moment of movement. Such training is designed to free the dancer from rigid holding patterns or other constraints that bind thought, feeling, and action.
Sensory Attunement
Somatic approaches emphasize sensory awareness (paying attention to sensing) over motor action (“doing”). In the somatic learning context, how one moves is more important than what the movement is.
Somatic approaches emphasize sensory awareness (paying attention to sensing) over motor action (“doing”). In the somatic learning context, how one moves is more important than what the movement is.
Augmented Rest
A third key concept in somatic studies that distinguishes it from traditional dance training is augmented rest.20 Practice (repetition for reinforcement) is a powerful training tool in dance, but is rarely counterbalanced with rest. Somatic studies commonly embed resting intervals between phases of physical activity. This high rest-to-activity ratio is designed to allow the nervous system time for processing and integration and physiological systems time to recover. The rest can be very brief (Alexander Technique’s pausing and inhibiting), brief (the typical 2 to 3 minute rest between repetition and variation in Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement), fairly long (20 minutes or more of Ideokinetic Constructive Rest), or longer (a full night’s sleep). Somatic resting phases not only are employed as a strategy for physical recovery, however, but also for motor programming.21 Rest periods help consolidate memory (you’ll remember what you learned) and improve motor recall (you’ll more readily call it forth when you need it), as well as actual performance (you’ll do better next time).21
Constructive rest is a well-known practice of motor learning first described by Lulu Sweigard (Ideokinesis).22 The basic hook-lying position reduces the effect of gravity on the body and minimizes extraneous muscular effort and joint loading involved in habitual postural support. In this environment, dancers can visualize “lines of movement”22 that enhance neuromuscular coordination without additional physical effort. A minimum of a 10-20 minute constructive rest period is recommended to recuperate from a day of dancing, replenish physiological processes and restore energy depleted by physical activity while programming appropriate neuromuscular patterns within the brain.22 While repetition is essential in motor skill learning, mentally practicing (visualizing) motor patterns at rest – when combined with physical practice – is a more powerful combination in enhancing motor skill learning and performance, than just physical practice alone.23
A third key concept in somatic studies that distinguishes it from traditional dance training is augmented rest.20 Practice (repetition for reinforcement) is a powerful training tool in dance, but is rarely counterbalanced with rest. Somatic studies commonly embed resting intervals between phases of physical activity. This high rest-to-activity ratio is designed to allow the nervous system time for processing and integration and physiological systems time to recover. The rest can be very brief (Alexander Technique’s pausing and inhibiting), brief (the typical 2 to 3 minute rest between repetition and variation in Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement), fairly long (20 minutes or more of Ideokinetic Constructive Rest), or longer (a full night’s sleep). Somatic resting phases not only are employed as a strategy for physical recovery, however, but also for motor programming.21 Rest periods help consolidate memory (you’ll remember what you learned) and improve motor recall (you’ll more readily call it forth when you need it), as well as actual performance (you’ll do better next time).21
Constructive rest is a well-known practice of motor learning first described by Lulu Sweigard (Ideokinesis).22 The basic hook-lying position reduces the effect of gravity on the body and minimizes extraneous muscular effort and joint loading involved in habitual postural support. In this environment, dancers can visualize “lines of movement”22 that enhance neuromuscular coordination without additional physical effort. A minimum of a 10-20 minute constructive rest period is recommended to recuperate from a day of dancing, replenish physiological processes and restore energy depleted by physical activity while programming appropriate neuromuscular patterns within the brain.22 While repetition is essential in motor skill learning, mentally practicing (visualizing) motor patterns at rest – when combined with physical practice – is a more powerful combination in enhancing motor skill learning and performance, than just physical practice alone.23
The area I was most interested in was about augmented rest which is a the topic that lead me onto research somatic therapies in the first place.
Somatic Practices in Dance Technique
Somatic practices that have been integrated readily into dance curricula include Ideokinesis, The Feldenkrais Method, the Alexander Technique, and Body-Mind Centering.* All these methods share common goals in their approaches to re-education: (1) Process over goal-oriented product, that is, enhancing kinaesthetic awareness in a non- judgmental and non-competitive non-doing environment; (2) Using sensory awareness to modulate (i.e., constrain) movement range and effort to uncover the potential for new mobility, and (3) Rest – resting phases in which the dancer is given time to listen to the body, to clarify what sensations have arrived and differentiate wanted from unwanted stimuli, and to consolidate motor learning.
Somatic practices that have been integrated readily into dance curricula include Ideokinesis, The Feldenkrais Method, the Alexander Technique, and Body-Mind Centering.* All these methods share common goals in their approaches to re-education: (1) Process over goal-oriented product, that is, enhancing kinaesthetic awareness in a non- judgmental and non-competitive non-doing environment; (2) Using sensory awareness to modulate (i.e., constrain) movement range and effort to uncover the potential for new mobility, and (3) Rest – resting phases in which the dancer is given time to listen to the body, to clarify what sensations have arrived and differentiate wanted from unwanted stimuli, and to consolidate motor learning.
Interesting vocab:
Individual autonomy is an idea that is generally understood to refer to the capacity to be one's own person, to live one's life according to reasons and motives that are taken as one's own and not the product of manipulative or distorting external forces.
pedagogy
ˈpɛdəɡɒdʒi,ˈpɛdəɡɒɡi/
noun
the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept."the relationship between applied linguistics and language pedagogy"
Women somatic therapist Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with extra information? It is extremely helpful for me.
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