Commentary on: Finding your Stuck Body Webinar

The second magazine I wrote for was Glamour. It was on “the Mysterious Ribcage”. No one ever cares too much about the ribs. They don’t get fat. No one says my ribs are putting on weight like they do the buttocks, belly, or face. But the ribs, torso, have always been one of my favorite areas. As I learned the Method, I discovered it was forgotten territory.  Also, I was never someone who breathed easily, my ribs were a big part of regaining a true sense of freedom of movement without pain, and simply enjoying what I had missed for so many years.

As I looked around the ZOOM ROOM, all the different angles of bodies sitting, you could see the great divide between the upper body trying to posture with neck and shoulders stiff, and the lower body, pelvis and leg joints, somewhat disconnected from the rest. If you have a three-layer cake, think of the ribs as the middle layer. Then picture the middle layer sliding forward, down, or back from the top and bottom layer. Some of us artificially use our shoulders to puff up the chest. That looks like good posture, but if we are straining one part to hold up another, it will be exhausting. It can also be a source of chronic pain in other parts of the body.

The rib cage is half your spine. It is connected to the back muscles in a wonderful way, and at the same time allows for the movement of air in and out of the body. The arms and legs beautifully connect to this area of the body. All parts of the body coordinate movement. There is not an important part, and others that don’t matter. The muscles around the ribs can sometimes feel like a tight ace bandage wrapped around your skeleton making it difficult to move or connect to other parts. The tighter our muscles are, the less we are able to feel them. Our body uses the physical discomforts, stiffness, backaches, tight neck and shoulders as a way to help you improve.

What we don’t feel I would argue, is more important than what we do feel. We all want to focus on our challenged areas. The areas that hurt. I did too. But our bodies don’t work that way. They work as integrated parts, affected by our thoughts, and our quality of movement is dependent on our breathing.

Back to the Webinar, I could see people moving and discovering more parts. I wanted to reach through the computer screen and put my hands around your waist and lift you up. Explore this amazing area of the body. It is as easy as simply noticing what you do feel. Then observe the spaces in between the areas that you know are there, but you are not quite sure how to move them. Don’t force or fight with your body. Let it reveal itself to you over time.

Breathing was my way into my body. I have discovered it’s not that people have trouble breathing, they hold their breath. They hold the exact muscles that would allow them to breathe easily throughout their day. As I allowed my body to feel how I was breathing, not how I hoped to breathe, your body changes. That is the phenomenon few explore, and it is at your fingertips with specific instructions and attention to details. It is not hard to do, just different. Do it Different, Don’t fix it Feel It.

It is through this truth. I believe your body is one of the simplest and most honest places to explore because it doesn’t lie. It gives you information. When doing the Method avoid trying to work hard at telling yourself what you “should do” or imagining how to move. Know the difference between thinking about your body and feeling it.

Simply follow the easy direction. Make sure you give some time for feedback. You may not get a lot at first, because we are trained to continue in the directions we have developed. But as you make the sss sound, or feel the weight of your body, that will produce the feedback I am speaking of.

No two bodies are the same. Enjoy this amazing instrument. Go to miracleballmethod.com for more information, free videos, join classes and do it different. Discover what you may have thought impossible.