Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE

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How are your armpits?

Our armpits are not areas we may wish to explore too intimately in this warm weather, but they do hold a little key to unlock many tensions that can affect how we feel and use our arms. They are certainly worth looking at a little more closely than at first we may feel inclined.

As I practice my violin I discover more little unnecessary tensions that need to release within my shoulders and upper arms if I am ever going to get a really smooth, free vibrato. Working on the technique of playing the instrument rather than playing specific pieces of music is demanding in different ways, as I blogged last week. It is demanding in patience, observation, experimentation and being prepared to do something that does not feel 'right', but given that my own sense of 'right' is based on my experience of not being able to play the instrument too well, then what feels 'wrong' may possibly help me progress. Our postural habits always feel 'right' even when they are unhelpful or indeed positively harmful. Anything new can feel strange at first, just as a new pair of shoes bought to replace our comfortable but very old and worn-out pair.

Releasing the shoulders and upper arms is an interesting situation, as it's such a complex arrangement of muscles and bones. The shoulder girdle comprising the collarbone and shoulder blade which join together and straddle the ribcage, attached only by an elastic joint where the collarbone connects to the sternum in the chest. The shoulder blades are then free to slide across the back of the ribcage depending on where we are reaching with our arms. When we are not doing anything, of course, our arms will just hang by our sides and the shoulder blades will rest passively, supported but not 'held' against our back. At least this is how it should be.

Freeing up our shoulders requires many different conditions and it's worthwhile thinking about this for some time. Lessons in the Alexander Technique show us how to think in the right way and with this we begin to free our neck, release our head so it can be released forwards and upwards, our back can begin to lengthen and we broaden out across our back, chest and shoulders. As tension always has a contracting effect drawing one part of us towards another, then the release of unnecessary tension allows the de-contraction or release within the muscle so it actually lengthens. This allows our bony framework to expand, given the spring loading within our joints by means of cartilage and the muscular arrangement surrounding them. We can become free and expansive once again as we were as children, and it's done by thinking.

In overall terms, we need to be in as good balance as possible, with our weight going down through our ankles, our neck free so our head can 'teeter' on top of our spine (it won't fall off!). We need to be freeing up throughout, and encouraging this lengthening and widening. But there is also another ingredient that can be so often missed, and that is the release within the armpit under the shoulder.

The armpits, despite getting a bit hot and 'humid' in this warm weather, also have the ability to get quite tight, clamping our shoulder and upper arm in beside our body. The release of our upper arms and shoulders therefore requires a release of tension within the armpit. If we are able to find a little bit of release of tension in this location, our arms will feel looser and freer, our shoulders will widen more and it will help our lower back to release too, our pelvis to be level containing our gut better so our tummy doesn't 'spill' forwards and stick out and it will also help our legs and feet. Tension under the armpit can cause us to tighten our lower back and upset our whole posture; it also works the other way around, and overall tensions and imbalance in our poise also causes the area around our upper arms and particularly our armpits to get tight.

So in my endeavours to have freer arms to achieve vibrato, I am working hard on gaining even more release under my armpits. There are a number of different ways that we can encourage this and some may be covered within the normal Alexander Technique lesson, but may be a little over complex for me to describe adequately here, but rather simple when demonstrated in the one-to-one situation.

However, it may be helpful to think of creating a little space under the armpit. In order to create this small space, it's necessary for muscles to release tensions that are contracting and pulling your shoulder inwards. Can you imagine putting a fragile birds egg under your armpit and holding it there without cracking it? Your arm should hang by your side so it's not sticking out like an aeroplane, but see if you can release under your armpit to create a little space. If you put a baby chick under your armpit to keep it warm (!), you would not want to crush it; again, allow your arm to hang freely, and release to widen under your arms to make a larger space. There is no effort required for this; indeed there is a reduction of tension and not more tension required.

Freeing up under your armpits and the top of your ribcage is really helpful for any activity that involves the use of your arms, from swinging a golf club or tennis racket, to playing the piano or in my case the violin. With a little practice it becomes easier and normalises into a way of life.

Posted by Noël on June 19, 2007 6:51 AM | Permalink