The goal of this week is to start off easy (while still accomplishing a lot!). We’ll check in on where our body is currently at. How much awareness do we have of different parts of our body? Where are we carrying extra tone or tension? How is this affecting our alignment? How much can we change just by adding some proprioception to the mix?

Each day we’ll do some constructive rest and some tapping. Feel free to switch up the order. Tapping before may increase awareness for constructive rest. Tapping after may benefit from the results of constructive rest.

Constructive Rest Drawing

Constructive rest position is lying on your back, knees tucked up and feet lying flat on the floor (alternatively with feet/lower legs propped up on the seat of a chair, or with feet against a wall). Elbows on the floor, palms of hands on your abdomen (or wherever is comfy). Possibly with a few books or a folded towel under your head to keep the spine better aligned through the cervical vertebrae. In this position, let your body relax into the floor. This is a good position for finding release throughout the body, working on various images without interference of muscle tone used to maintain a standing or sitting position, and letting your body rest and integrate new information. (Dynamic Alignment through Imagery chapter 6 contains a description of the position. In Chapter 1, the position’s use/naming is credited to Mabel Todd.)

To get up from constructive rest, first roll over onto your side, then to sitting. Imagine yourself in a folded up position and gradually unfold your various joints until you are standing up (rather than heaving yourself up).

Tapping (using hands, palms, fists, balls, etc. to more or less gently tap or sweep other parts of the body) is a way to wake up the nervous system and provide vibration throughout the body which increases our body’s proprioception - its ability to know where it is. Because of our body’s “natural desire” (for lack of better terms) to be in an effortless, aligned position, sometimes just tapping is enough to improve our awareness and alignment. Most often we will tap in a standing position, for ease of access to all parts of the body.

Day 1

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. Do 14 if you can (do more if you want, you overachiever!). Keep your eyes open and try to keep your mind in the here and now. Don’t worry about “fixing” anything, however strong the temptation (I hate the nagging feeling of asymmetry with a fiery passion). Just notice your body and how it is doing.

To get up from constructive rest, first roll over onto your side, then to sitting. Imagine yourself in a folded up position and gradually unfold until you are standing up (rather than heaving yourself up).

Tapping. In a standing position, gently tap, covering as much of your body as possible (arms, head, neck, shoulders, torso, back, legs, feet - to the extent you can reach - pelvic area, legs, feet). Don’t forget each limb has four sides (or at the very least, more than 2).

Day 2

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. Do 14 if you can. Give your body a once over. Compare your anatomical knowledge with your body awareness. Where do you have crystal clarity? Where is foggy? Where do you have anatomical holes (if you know the bones, do you know the muscles) ? Where do you have body awareness holes (I know there are 26 bones in my foot, but all I feel is a foot)?

Tapping. Gently tap, covering as much of your body as possible (arms, head, neck, shoulders, torso, back (to the extent you can reach), pelvis, legs, feet). Pay special attention to areas that you found to be particularly foggy during constructive rest.

Day 3

Lets start with tapping. Pay special attention to areas that you found to be foggy during constructive rest yesterday.

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. Do 14 if you can. Give your body a once over. Has any fog receded? What movement happens if you add or release tone in the foggy areas. Which directions shorten, which directions lengthen? Which areas of your body are particularly carrying tone or tension? Tell those areas that it’s ok for them to carry tone and tension. No seriously, say it out loud! “It’s OK, shoulders. You have good reasons to be in this state. I’m going to work on not giving you so many reasons.”

(Being all “I hate you, shoulders, for always carrying so much tension” is no way to be in a relationship with your shoulders.)

Now imagine that the tension zone is a piece of butter, straight from the fridge. Imagine you are lying on a piece of warm toasted bread. Let the butter gradually spread out and melt into the bread. Imagine the smell, imagine the taste. Mmmmh, toast!

Day 4

Let’s start with tapping again. Pay special attention to foggy areas, and areas where you found excess tone or tension yesterday.

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. Do 14 if you can. Give your body a once over, paying attention to areas with low tone and areas that don’t feel too foggy. Let them relax even further. Imagine the different parts of your body are molecules of gas (metaphorical ones, not literal ones) that can expand away from each other.

Focus on your breath. How does it affect the parts of your back that touch the floor? Can you breathe into different parts of your body to help the molecules of gas move away?

Extend first one leg down flat, relax in that position for a while, then raise it again, imagining your leg is raised by a string pulling on your knees. Do the same with the other leg. Imagine your legs are resting on a coat hanger.

Coat hanger image Image from DATI(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamic-Alignment-Through-Imagery-Franklin/dp/0736067892/), Introduction

Day 5

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. After giving your body the usual once over, imagine that you are resting on a flying carpet. Watch the carpet slowly lift you off the ground, supporting every part of your body equally. As the carpet floats back to the ground, see the body segments—head, torso, and pelvis—arrive at the same time. (DATI, chapter 17)

Tapping. Gently tap, pay attention to the feeling of separation and connectedness between different parts of your body (head, torso, pelvis, limbs). Sweep your whole body (I included sweeping as part of tapping, but thought I should explicitly remind you).

Day 6

Start with tapping and sweeping your whole body. Again think about dissociation and connection.

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes. Notice which parts of your body touch and do not touch the ground. Feel the pull of gravity and the comfort of knowing that the floor will catch you and that you can safely let each part of your body release into the floor.

One at a time, visualize the pelvis, torso, and head as individual spheres. Allow the three spheres to line up on top of each other. Visualize the center point of each sphere from pelvis to head. Imagine a line connecting them. Begin by connecting only two spheres at a time: Connect the center of the pelvic sphere to the center of the thoracic sphere. Then connect the center of the thoracic sphere to the center of the head sphere. Finally, connect all three spheres. Watch them float off and settle on the ground while you maintain the connection among them. (DATI chapter 17)

Day 7

Lie in constructive rest for at least 7 minutes (if you haven’t done 14 minutes yet, today would be a good day to see how much more release 14mn gives you). Reflect on how different your body feels compared to day 1. Do you have more clarity? Has your body changed?

Imagine a plane cutting you in two, front and back. Which of the following are in front or behind this plane? earlobes, acromion (shoulder tip), greater trochanter (outside of femur near hip), maleoli (knobbly bits at the ankle)? Is the plane parallel to the floor? Now imagine a plane cutting you in two left and right. Does it pass through the centers of the nose, chin, breastbone, navel, and pubic symphysis? Which of these landmarks are to the left of the plane, and which are to the right? Now imagine both these planes at the same time. Locate the line where the two planes meet. This is your central axis. Is your central axis parallel to the floor? Can you visualize the entire length of the axis, or are some parts easier to see than others? (DATI chapter 17).

Tapping. Tap and sweep your whole body. When tapping, make aaaaaaaaaaaaah sounds and imagine the combined vibration of sound and tapping vibrating through to your central axis.

If you haven’t posted yet this week, tell us your impression of week 1. Were you able to stay present through over 49mn of constructive rest? Have your body or perception altered? Did any images work surprisingly well or poorly?

Every week, we’ll do at least a day of imagery in constructive rest. See you next week for some sitting and standing. Until then, may your spheres always be aligned.