Status Updates From Dance Imagery for Technique...

"[F]or any improvement in alignment to be permanent, the changes need to become part of your body image. The new alignment pattern needs to become part of your identity, or you will always slip back into old habits." Yes, true; not just in terms of alignment.

"[T]he way to achieve lightness is perhaps counterintuitive. To be lighter, you need to appreciate your weight, to explore how the limbs lever against the ground to move the body's weight and use the ground reaction force. This requires practice because body weight and limbs are not commonly experienced as levers for movement."

"A simple way to visualise the functioning of the humeroscapular rhythm is to think of it as a barrier at a train crossing. The barrier (arm) goes up as the heavy counterweight (scapula) arcs down and forward, saving a lot of mechanical energy."

"If you abduct the arm while it is straight to the side, the greater tubercle of the humeral head will impinge on the acromion unless you externally rotate the arm, which you will do instinctively. [...] This is called the Codman paradox. [...] If you [...] try to maintain them in the same position or even internally rotate them, you will notice that your shoulder girdle will lift upward with your arms."

Cool stuff about the TLF and muscle slings. "The TLF is a relay station where forces from the lower body are transferred to the upper body and vice versa, and forces can transfer diagonally from one side of the body to the other. The TLF is the hub of the wheel that balances, relieves, and mediates forces through the posterior body." Also, the "tensing slings" exercise (p. 290) - perfect streamline spin imagery.

When you're looking for a piece of the puzzle you're working on, and then you find it. :) "Maintaining the leg in alignment w/ a positional image as reflected in the cue 'keep your knees over the 2nd toe' does not reflect the oscillatory nature of leg movement. [...] Coercing the knee over the 2nd toe may create the outer appearance of good alignment, but only from a static point of view." Thank you, Eric Franklin!

Getting to the good stuff. It's not an easy read; I find myself re-reading whole pages, but it's so good. "When you bend your legs, the ilia inflare and the pelvic halves rotate inward, and the femur rotates laterally. As you stretch your legs, the ilia outflare (externally rotate), whereas the femur rotates medially." Also, "Pelvic halves as springs: Imagine the pelvic halves to be coiled springs...," at p. 178.

Exrx. the Bones. 1. "Place all your weight on your bones by thinking of them as a clothes hanger that the rest of your body can hang on like a well-pressed suit. It is easy for the bones to perform this; they remain light and buoyant as the body casually drapes over them." A lovely feeling; do this often! Also, "Think of the bones as arms w/in sleeves made of muscles. Imagine they move independently." Great feeling!

"[...] dynamic alignment will work best if your feedback is in place - in other words, if you are good at noticing whether your posture is ideal for any given movement or situation. [...] What counts is your ability to deal with a disturbance and return to your original posture rapidly." Exactly; the only stability possible is stability in motion (http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/...).

Reading about the third law of motion. "Reaction forces in the form of pulls and pushes are what create balance in partnering [...] and are the spice of contact improvisation." A perfect balance of push and pull makes for a happy partnership. Applicable anywhere and everywhere. Thinking about applying reaction force imagery in my swim practice today.

Note: Due at library May 14