Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 53
A New Movement Vocabulary
some, and allow the fascial feedback to inform the practice.
But at the same time when we just follow the movement
habit that may “feel right” we may be repeating an injurious
movement pattern that holds us restricted.
The traditional focus on “perfect” alignment also goes out
the window- if we always align the posture in the same way,
we lose something of the diversity of movement that fascial
health requires. We also lose the opportunity to “adapt” to
increasing load and build more robust tissues if we always
create the same shapes. Recent studies show that “nocioception” or negative messaging from the brain to the body, “be
careful, you are going to hurt your…. doing that” type thinking, has an impact on how we feel, and may lead to more
injury or more pain. These messages are carried through the
fascia. Conversely if we offer ourselves positive messages this
supports the adaptability of the body. Contemporary movement science has failed to identify “bad form” that decisively
leads to injury whether by computer modelling or the naked
eye. So some of the “cues” we are in the habit of giving students far from being helpful, may be conveying a vulnerability that I reality does not exist- unless we believe it to. So
many of our cues now need revising, or, let’s face it- chucking out altogether.
Traditional asana tends to work at the “end range” of
movement, where a joint has moved to its fullest, or a muscle
has been lengthened to its maximum. For fascial health we
would explore the full range of motion of joints and associated muscles, moving in and out of a posture. Any trembling,
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AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 51
