Movement Education

 

Wellness in Motion

Someone may tell you it's all in your head. Yet you know it's not, because you're feeling it, in excruciating detail, in your body. Movement education pioneers agree that it may have started in your mind--way back when your body and your brain were learning together how to crawl, stand, and walk--but it didn't end there. Movement education theorizes that when the body establishes responses to its emotional or physical environment, those responses are carried forward long after the original stimulus is gone. In other words, that pain in the neck, back, or head may just be the latest chapter in a story that began long ago.


Learning New Patterns

Movement education--an umbrella term also known as re-education movement, somatic movement education, repatterning, and movement therapy--employs the philosophy that one's body structure and movements get stuck in habitual, unhealthy patterns. Movement approaches unwind the patterns and teach the body, as well as the mind, anew. This is done through a series of sessions where practitioners may use hands-on manipulation to teach the student different ways to move, sit, stand, reach, bend, lift, and walk. This type of bodywork is especially beneficial for people suffering from chronic difficulties, but also for anyone trying to achieve higher levels of physical and mental wellness. Athletes, dancers, and musicians have credited movement therapy for enhanced performance. There are many variations of movement modalities, including the ones featured here. Similar in their goals. they offer subtle differences in technique and philosophy.


Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique was created by F. Matthias Alexander (1869-1955), a Shakespearean orator who began losing his voice while on stage. In trying to alleviate his chronic laryngitis, he realized that reducing neck tension eased head compression, which in turn eased spine compression. By using his entire body to initiate an action, his movements became more unified and efficient.

Today, Alexander Technique therapists certified by the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT), the major certifying body, must have completed 1,600 hours of training over a minimum of three years to be certified. During a typical session, lasting 30 to 60 minutes, the client wears comfortable clothes and receives instruction on conducting everyday movements. The instructor may lightly touch the student while she moves to determine how much tension the muscles are involved in and redirect the movement. Through gentle, physical and verbal guidance, the therapist teaches the student to release maladaptive behaviors.


Feldenkrais Method

The Feldenkrais Method was developed by Russian-born Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984). Living primarily in Israel, Feldenkrais's career in movement education evolved when an old soccer-derived knee injury vastly improved after he injured his other knee. He began researching and proposed that nearly our entire spectrum of movement is learned during our first few years of life. By communicating with the central nervous system via the skeletal system, old patterns can be replaced with new ones that lead to improved physical, mental, and emotional functioning.

Feldenkrais education has two components: group sessions, in which the teacher guides students through movement sequences, and one-on-one sessions, lasting 45 to 60 minutes, in which the student is fully clothed. The teacher uses gentle touch and movement to help the student become aware of existing patterns and new, more functional possibilities.


Hellerwork

Joseph Heller determined that movement education and deep-tissue bodywork emphasizing vertical realignment of the body can release chronic stress and tension. Hellerwork involves eleven sessions: in each session, one hour is devoted to bodywork and thirty minutes to movement therapy. The therapist also uses verbal dialogue to explore emotional factors that may be causing tension. As a preventative technique, the goal of Hellerwork is to produce permanent, corrective change in alignment and movement.


Trager Approach

The Trager Approach originated with Milton Trager (1908-1997), who was born with a congenital spinal deformity. After receiving bodywork, he discovered he had a knack for healing touch.

Three elements make up Trager, including tablework, Mentastics -- Trager's term for "mental gymnastics" -- and recall. During tablework, the client lays on a massage table in a warm room wearing either loose-fitting clothes or underwear. The practitioner uses gentle, rhythmic touches to free the body from restrictive movement. The session lasts from 60 to 90 minutes.

After tablework, the student receives instructions in Mentastics, which teach how to recreate the freedom and pleasurable sensory state experienced during the tablework, encouraging positive tissue response. Each time Mentastics are practiced, the changes become more permanent. The third component, recall, promotes relaxation by learning how to remember the feeling you had during tablework.


Are You Aware?

Movement education is proving to be an empowering form of healthcare available to anyone interested in self-improvement. By teaching awareness, movement education has the potential to not only make a person's body feel better but also raise consciousness about other aspects of one's life.

Healthy Grilling Tips

Summertime and grills go together like a hot dog and mustard. But could that hot dog actually be doing you harm? Alice Bender a registered dietician at the American Institute for Cancer, says that diets high in beef, pork, and lamb, as well as processed meats like hot dogs, are linked to an increased risk of colon cancer.

She suggests that sticking with chicken and fish can "make this summer's backyard grilling both healthier and more flavorful." Use herbs and spices to amp up flavor, and try marinating for 30 minutes before you grill, which can reduce the amount of heterocyclic amines--the potentially cancer-causing compounds formed when grilling.

Here are some other tips to help reduce health risks associated with the grill:

Trim the Fat

Fat can increase smoke, which may contain carcinogens, so choose leaner meats and trim excess fat.

Don't Burn It

Charred, well-done meat can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a study from the University of Minnesota.

But Cook It Through

Make sure that you hit the USDA recommendations for internal temperature, which can be found at www.foodsafety.gov.

More Veggies!

Grilling vegetables does not create the same heterocyclic amines as grilling meats. Plus, veggies have less fat and cholesterol in general.

Keep it Clean

Don't let a charred mess build up on your grill, because it will eventually find it's way onto your food.
 

Spotting Skin Conditions

Being aware of the first signs of skin conditions will help you know when it's time to visit a doctor. Here is a short refresher on five of the most important signs you might see.

1. Butterfly Rash

This is a facial rash characterized by its shape: the middle part of the butterfly is on the bridge of the nose, with "wings" extending onto the cheeks. "It can signify a range of diseases, from milder conditions like rosacea, significant acne, eczema, and psoriasis, all the way to serious autoimmune connective tissue disorders such as lupus," says Joseph Jorizzo, MD, professor and founding chair of the dermatology department at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Salem, North Carolina.

2. Infections

"Look for any sign of infection, such as a cold sore, which is characterized by a painful bump or blister on the face or nose," says Jill Weinstein, MD, clinical instructor of dermatology at Northwestern University in Chicago. "This may be caused by herpes simplex." Both viral and bacterial infections may appear as pustules or tender lesions. They can sometimes look like acne, but may also be bigger or more isolated than a pimple, Weinstein says.

3. Patchy Hair

Be alert for round, patchy areas of hair loss, which can be a sign of an autoimmune disease called alopecia areata, Jorizzo says. "Alopecia is associated with thyroid disease, but it can also be upsetting to the patient in and of itself," Jorizzo explains. "Prognosis is very good if there is just one little circle, but if they lose their eyebrows or eyelashes, or if it goes around the bottom of the scalp, the condition is likely to be more chronic."

4. Symptoms on the Nails

Nails may also offer evidence of a medical condition. "Signs on the nails include a condition called clubbing, where there's a body under the cuticle that changes the angle of the nail so that it's like an upside-down V," Jorizzo says. Clubbing is sometimes accompanied by edema, and the cuticle area may feel wet. It can be a symptom of several lung conditions, ranging from chronic bronchitis to lung cancer.

Pits in the nails can be a sign of arthritis or psoriasis. Pits resemble a mere dent, perhaps 1 millimeter across. Jorizzo explains, "In psoriasis, the outer layers of skin turn over very quickly, and when they come from under the cuticle, little patches fall off, so you get a pit."

Finally, a single dark black streak in the nail that comes up onto the cuticle can be a sign of melanoma.

5. Skin Cancer

The most common source of skin cancer deaths is melanoma, which may be identified using the ABCDE criteria:

• Asymmetry. The mole is an unusual shape, not round.

• Border Irregularity. The edges of the mole may be jagged, scalloped, or wavy, or very sharp in one area.

• Color. The mole shows variation in color from one area to another. There may be multiple shades of tan, brown, black, white, blue, or red.

• Diameter. The mole is greater than 6 millimeters in diameter.

• Evolving. The mole is new, or an existing mole has changed in size, shape, or color.

A more informal method of spotting a suspicious mole is called the Ugly Duckling Test: when a mole just seems to catch your attention for some reason. "The classic example is when someone has one thing on them that just doesn't look like any other spot on their body," explains Elizabeth Quigley, MD, a physician in the dermatology service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey. "Let's say they have many black moles, but one brown mole. Or most of their moles are round and small, but they have one that is big and a different shape. That should be evaluated by a physician."

The most common form of skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma. There are also some less common varieties that have different symptoms. "Basal cell carcinoma often presents in the form of shiny or pearly bumps, which patients think are pimples," says Quigley. If the lesion has been there for six months, and sometimes bleeds, that's a warning sign that it is not a pimple.

Squamous cell carcinoma, responsible for about 20 percent of all skin cancer deaths, has symptoms that are quite different from those of melanoma. "Squamous cell carcinoma can present as firm bumps, scaly patches, or ulcers that don't get better. The skin is red and the scale is the kind that doesn't go away with moisturizer," Quigley says. "It's different from just dry skin, and the scale is usually thicker." She says squamous cells don't rub off like normal-dry skin, and the scaly patch may bleed if it is removed by pulling or picking.

Keep in mind that these are only guidelines, and you should have any concerns checked out by a qualified healthcare professional. Knowing the warning signs can be valuable, but nothing replaces a doctor's expertise.