Mastery Seminar 3 - The Spinal Column: Straightness, Positions & Turns
Spinal Column
 | diagram from anatomy book |
Straightness - not crooked, not wilting, not sagging, not tilted
What we do:
| building blocks; stack of plates/compasses/lazy Susan's (find neutral back
relationship between pelvis & chest)
 | align edges; segregate - correct crookedness
 | left on left/right on right |
| front in front/back in back |
|
| aim - correct arching/roaching
| north to north; front to front |
| cat stretches/wave on all 4's, on back |
| using a table top for feedback, find no-pushing-no-pulling |
| walk w/ roached back; walk w/ arched back; walk w/ neutral back |
| walk w/ tucked-in tail; walked w/ 'duck butt', walk w/ neutral
tail (pink ball/belly ball) |
| lay down on floor to engage psoas; 'light' to turn on psoas in
upright position. |
| during pulse, check on whole back softness/pliability |
|
| correct tilts
| center on center |
| even between |
| lean forward/lean back |
|
| pulse along 3 lines of alignment - spine and 2 lines on either side, evenly spaced, from center outward |
| Alexander -- "get behind everything" |
| roly-poly |
| stepping up through the sheets of muscle |
| 'tornado'/V shape |
| Align the 'T's to point to the center of each other, so there is an 'I' |
|
What rider uses for feedback to know they're doing the effective thing:
| evenness of weight and movement in sit bones and legs |
| freedom of movement in spine and legs and hands; teeter-totter really free |
| 3 lines stay evenly spaced |
What the horse does:
| Left side of horse is on left side of horse |
| Right side of horse is on right side of horse |
| Pulsing of movement occurs evenly along the spine, and alternately on each
side |
| this occurs in all movements, whether in position or not, whether going
straight ahead or sideways. |
Positions, Bends, and Shape
Nomenclature:
| The Shape of the horse is referred to as Position. |
| 3 Positions
|
What we do:
| Swivel/Twist/Tornado |
| Tai Chi -- 'Part the Wild Horse's Mane' |
| spiral ivy vine, barber shop pole |
| point head lights |
| spin Tai Chi Ball |
| Serve Tea |
| Lazy Susan's -- bottom (hips) spin/swivel/twist to outside & up, top (shoulders) to
inside & up |
| observe bending orange arrow |
| fish |
| book opens |
| outside water wheel gets stronger and overpowers the instide water wheel, so horse covers more ground on the outside of it's body and turns to the inside |
| inside ping pong balls go high and a little forward, outside ping pong balls go low and way far forward |
What rider uses for feedback to know they're doing the effective thing:
| inside sit bone, thigh, & foot are up and forward, feel lifted |
| outside sit bone, thigh, and foot are down and back, feel dropped and
weighted |
| inside ribcage, shoulder feel back |
| outside ribcage, shoulder feel forward |
| sternum & tailbone 'point' spin/swivel/twist to inside, nose points between horse's ears |
What the horse does:
| Orange Arrow bends evenly along horses spine, which is now bent |
| Nose & tail come to inside; middle goes to outside |
| Inside shoulder, belly, are high, so hind leg can step under |
| Outside shoulder is ahead and lower, outside hind is behind and lower |
| Forehand rotated up and out from center, hind end rotated up and back |
| each vertebra is rotated slightly, creating the 'bend,' similar to the bend created in a twisted washcloth or lock of hair |
Turns
What rider does:
- Prepare with Satori Sequence
- Change Position to position Left/Right
- Change Direction to turn Left/Right
- Keep 'Go'
ie Head, Chest, Belly, Pulse, Spin, Aim, Go
What rider uses for feedback to know they're doing the effective thing:
- Alignment & Awareness from Satori Sequence
- Change in Position
- Change in Direction
- Movements of 'Go'
What the horse does:
- Rebalance
- Change Position
- Change Direction
- Keep 'Go'
3 Levels of Turns
- Opening Rein
| When positioning the horse, the inside rein is used (in addition to
the swivel to position the horse) to place the horse's nose to the
inside with a 'serving tea' gesture. The legs have to stay active. |
Even Reins
| When positioning the horse, an even amount of rein contact is used
(in addition to the swivel to position the horse) throughout the
turn. The legs have to stay active. |
'Neck' Rein / Inside-leg-outside-rein
| When positioning the horse, an even amount of rein contact is used at
the start of the positioning. One step later, because the rider's
inside leg is active and has encouraged the horse to lift the inside
belly and step under itself, these is a brief moment of
'collection.' This occurs about 1/2 through the turn. As
soon as the horse comes up in this manner, the inside rein can be
released to allow the horse freedom to 'stretch into the outside
rein.' The rider's inside leg has got to support this with an
upward, inward intent. As soon as the horse stretches and starts
to come out of the turn, the outside rein can also be released to give
the horse a moment of freedom. After the turn, both reins
are again taken up evenly.
- before the turn - prepare, swivel
- 1st half of turn - even contact
- 2nd half of turn - with the support of the inside leg, release
inside rein
- 1st step after turn - release outside rein and give the horse a
moment of freedom
- 2nd step after turn - take up contact again
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