Muscles do not become tight on their own. Tight muscles and stiff joints are a result of faulty alignment of our skeletal structure. Poor posture, prolonged sitting, static standing, working at a computer, or sedentary lifestyle interferes with the natural forces of gravity going through our skeleton. As a result, our normal muscle balance and tone is interrupted, resulting in some muscles becoming short and tight. If you do not correct your faulty structure, you will not be able to release your tight muscles.
Muscle fibers are inherently elastic and flexible, with a rich blood supply to nourish them and help them heal when injured. Muscle tissue transitions into connective tissue of tendons and ligaments as they attach to our bones and joints. These fibers are less flexible as muscle tissue, and have a limited blood supply. However, they are rich with nerve endings whose primary function is to protect our joints. Abnormal strain or pull on these tissues cause these nerve fibers to send signals back to our brain that the joint is in danger of being injured. Our brain interprets these signals and reports back to the muscles to tighten up even more to protect the joint, resulting in even tighter muscles and impaired joint function.
Unlike traditional movement therapies, Feldenkrais®, does not focus on stretching or strengthening muscles. Feldenkrais® lessons focus on improving the organization of our structure instead. Through the exploration of different movement patterns, we learn how to move from our skeleton, rather than pushing with our muscles. We do not force our joints beyond their physiological limit; we move in a small, easy and comfortable range of motion instead. Through these movement lessons, our structural alignment begins to improve while abnormal stress and strain is removed from our joints and surrounding tissues. Muscles begin to soften and lengthen, joint function and range of motion improves, and a new sense of strength and flexibility develops as ideal function is restored.
You could spend a lot of time stretching your muscles with no end in sight. Or you can improve your flexibility the Feldenkrais® way, with much better, faster, and long-lasting results. You may even be amazed at how easy it is. Feldenkrais®….making the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy effortless!
