As this weekend’s Vancouver Sun pointed out gardening season is upon us. In order to prevent injury or lower back strain from bending down for a long time and repeating the same movements we need to learn how to take care of ourselves. The article has some great tips on managing how to use your body and also confirms something we talk about in Feldenkrais classes: that focusing more on the outcome rather than the process leads us to mechanically repeat what we are doing without awareness and enjoyment.
Having flexible hip joints helps ease the stress on the back. Vary your position frequently, for example, from bending to kneeling to sitting on the ground. Every so often change your activity; weed for awhile, then plant new plants and then water them. Return to weeding and then after a few minutes prune. Each change in activity requires a change in position as well!
Spend a few minutes doing this short movement sequence before you garden or do any activity involving sitting, walking, standing, dancing, to enhance flexibility of your hip joints:
- Lie on the floor or on your bed, your legs long and relaxed and your arms alongside your body.
- Slowly and gently turn your right leg out to the right, letting your right knee bend and feel the outside edge of your foot sliding upward toward your trunk. Then slide the edge of your foot back along the same path. Repeat several times. Do the movements slowly and decrease the effort.
- After a few movements stop, lengthen your legs and observe any changes in how your right and left leg rest on the floor.
- Repeat with your left leg.
- Then turn both your legs open, knees hanging apart and slide the outside edges of both your feet upward at the same time. As you go up and down feel what your back and pelvis do to help.
- Slowly get up and walk around. Notice how your legs feel and how you are walking.
