MOVE HAPPY Body Mapping

Getting in the Oscars spirit with my nomination for Most Mind Blowing Anatomy Video: a live mri of the movements of breathing. Check out the incredible rib movement, expanding in all directions in coordination with the movement of the diaphragm.

New blog post is up! On the dangers of 'good posture' and three things I've learned after seven years of postural exploration.

Great news, pianists! The next Association for Body Mapping Education webinar is FREE and OPEN to the public! Join the incredible Lisa Marsh for the lowdown on improving your movement at the piano for more comfort and greater facility. The webinar is Saturday, January 23 @ 3 pm, and all you have to do is register at this link: https://abme.wildapricot.org/event-4032376

Cool study by Dr. Rajal Cohen, an Alexander Technique teacher and researcher who heads the Mind in Movement Laboratory at the University of Idaho! "The most common ways of thinking about posture suggest that we are weak and need to 'engage our core' or tighten abdominal muscles to pull up into length," said Rajal Cohen, lead researcher and associate professor in U of I's Department of Psychology and Communication Studies. "But we found that thinking of upright posture as inherently effortful may actually make balance worse." Learning to 'lighten up' lets you take advantage of your body's built-in support structures (your bones and automatic postural muscles), rather than 'holding' yourself up with unnecessary muscular effort and 'strength'.

New blog post alert!! How does BM help you feel and play better? By guiding you through the process of refining your kinesthesia, or the sense of your body in movement. Refining kinesthesia directly improves performance because all music-making is, at the end of the day, just movement! Learn more about how training your kinesthesia can transform your music-making in the first installment of the MOVE HAPPY Blog: 3 ways refining kinesthesia refines your music-making... https://www.movehappybodymapping.ca//3-ways-that-refining-

Two things I love about Dr. Ryan DeBell and his channel Movement Fix: 1) He discusses natural anatomical variation--nobody's body really looks like an anatomical model or image in a textbook, and only you can sort out what movement works best for your individual construction. AND... 2) He doesn't just teach stretching and strengthening, he also emphasizes simple movement as an important practice in its own right! In this video, he illustrates a simple sequence you can do to move every joint in your body in every direction it can, every day. Moving your joints in novel ways = increased kinesthetic awareness (bonus points for moving mindfully) and lubrication for the articulating surfaces between your bones. Not a bad deal considering it only takes about 8 minutes! Try it on a practice break and let me know how it goes :D

This little beauty came in the mail last week, serendipitously on the same day our fantastic organization launched its gorgeous new website! Check out https://www.bodymap.org/ for the low down on important questions like: What is Body Mapping? How can it help me feel AND play better?... Body Mapping sounds awesome, where the heck can I find a teacher?? Joining this family of musicians, educators, and anatomy nerds three years ago definitely ranks in my top five list of best ever life choices, and I feel really lucky that I get to start sharing this empowering modality with all of you. More to come!