Wrist Circles
Hands rotate at wrist - shoulders should be
relaxed and there should be no movement above the elbow. Practice with both wrists to right, both to left, both to outside
and both to inside.
Elbows
Move the lower arms at the elbow joint. No movement in shoulders
or wrists. Practice in circular motion or like windshield wipers.
Shoulder Slides
Use
muscles attaching shoulder to spine to push shoulders forward. Imagine that there is a steel bar from one shoulder to another
so that one moves back as the other goes forward. Shoulders should stay flat and not round down in front as you go forward.
Arms and hands should not move with shoulders.
Head Slides
First do "chicken head"
- sliding the head forward and back (the back part of this is good for neck muscles). Then try to get the same sliding sensation
going side to side. It helps to put your thumbs on your shoulders with your fingers extended upward (close to your head)and
then try to touch your fingers with your ears
Rib Slides
Lift the rib cage up slightly then imagine 2 strings tied to the sternum with someone pulling
on the right string, then someone else pulling to the left. Shoulders should stay level - if shoulders go up side to side
then imagine it as a tiny arc with the high point at center and dropping just slightly to each side. This should not extend
down to the hip - it should involve the muscles in front and back around the lower part of the rib cage.
Hip
Lift
Keep the feet close together. Tighten the oblique muscle on the side at the waist to pull
the hip straight up - it should not go out to the side at all. The knee should be relaxed to "follow" the movement
- don't use the knee to generate the motion. The foot may be either flat or demi-toe, but the heel should stay in one
position and not move up and down. Shoulders should stay in one position - the body should not "bounce" with the
hip movement.
Hip Drop
Lengthen the
oblique muscle on the side at the waist to lower the hip - the knee will bend as the hip lowers, but should not generate the
motion. Shoulders should stay level - body should not "bounce" with the hip movement.
Shoulder
Circles
One shoulder
is up when the other is down, back when the other is forward. Make sure these are round circles, extending the same amount
in all four directions. Work toward keeping the hands from following the shoulders - as though they were flat on a table.
Horizontal Rib Circle
Extend the rib cage forward (flexing the spine forward) then slide to the side, arch the spine
back, then slide to the other side. Make sure to extend the same amount in all four directions to make a round circle.
Hip Circle
Feet should be close together - circle hips with upper body and feet staying in position. There
should be no pelvic flex as you make the circle, pelvis should stay locked in one position - it helps to move your weight
over your toes, the sides of your feet, your heels, and the other sides. As with all circles, make sure you extend the same
amount in all four directions
One-hip Circle
Turn the knee inward (you can hurt your knee if you turn it out)then imagine there is a pencil on the side of your hip
pointing at the floor and make a circle around your foot. The hip should stay flat. The neutral position is the outside of
the circle - so the movement comes inward from that point. Practice in both directions on each hip.
Vertical
Rib Circle
Using the muscles
in the lower part of the rib cage, lift the rib cage up, then slide to the side, drop down, then slide to the other side.
Make sure that you extend the same amount in all four directions to make it a true circle.
Vertical Hip
Circle
Stand
demi toe with the foot under the hip you are working with. Lift the hip up - push it forward - drop down, then pull
back and lift again. Think of a steam engine. The hip should not move out and in at all - the movement should
only be in a vertical line.
Inside 8
Twist the hips - the push the back hip further back. While the hip is still extended, twist
it forward on the side - then move directly back (like one side of an X) across the center. This is like drawing an 8 (sideways)
with your hips
Outside 8
Twist so that one hip faces forward. Push the hip out to the front, put your weight on the foot under the extended hip
and twist around 180 degrees, keeping the hip extended while you turn. Repeat on the other side.
