These days, my teaching, work and practice focus as much on movement and the body as it does on how it is we think. As we improve the adaptability and responsiveness of our nervous system; as we change our habitual patterns of thought, our posture and position improve also.
The principles behind this incorporate the following:
Every thought that we have, every story that we tell ourselves manifests in a physical shape and pattern that expresses in our body. In other words, our thoughts affect our structure and have the power to affect neurological functioning.
Patterns of posture, movement, and alignment are all directed and coordinated by our nervous system. Consequently, if we are looking to change any of them, we must also change our neurological activity. We have to address the nervous system. If this is not happening, then all we are doing is altering the aesthetic of the body to match it to a preconceived ideal and causing a fundamental imbalance in how the body itself is able to move in space, both independently, and on horseback.
The posture of the body for the most part is non-consciously governed. Many of us try to change it by making changes to the musculature of the body.
This side is stronger, and this side is weaker, we might say. Therefore, we need to strengthen this and lengthen that.
And then as we do that, we notice another part that needs attention; that is feeling strained and needs support. So, we pay attention to that and so it continues.
We attempt to affect muscles and structure without considering why the brain has chosen this for the body in the first place.
The structure of the body changes depending on where we are sitting in our nervous system. The body powers movement differently when we are in our survival nervous system to when we are not. If we are in a position when we are living from our survival nervous system, then our movement patterns are going to reflect this.
For the body to be truly fluid and adaptive, and to allow it to find a posture that is centralized over all its parts, we must look to our neurology, not so much our muscles.
After all, they are just at the bidding of the nervous system.
Onwards.
❤️ Jane