Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery

449 Pages·2012·52.22 MB·English

by  Eric Franklin

Second Edition
Dynamic Alignment
Through Imagery
Eric Franklin
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Franklin, Eric N.
Dynamic alignment through imagery / Eric Franklin. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6789-8 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-6789-2 (soft cover)
1. Dance--Physiological aspects. 2. Posture. 3. Body image. 4. Mind and body. I. Title.
RC1220.D35F73 2012
615.8’5155--dc23
2011037066
ISBN-10: 0-7360-6789-2 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6789-8 (print)
Copyright © 2012 by Eric Franklin
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction How I Came to Use Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Reinforcing What You Want. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Purpose and Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x
Using Imagery for Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Using the Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Part I Posture and Dynamic Alignment . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1 Roots of Imagery for Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
In Search of Ideal Posture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Somatic Disciplines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 2 Postural Models and Dynamic Alignment . . . . . . . . . 15
What Your Posture Reveals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Postural Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Rich Sources for Dynamic Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 3 Foundations of Mental Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Brain as the Basis for Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Brain and Consciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Nervous System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Neuroplasticity and Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Developing Mind: The Role of Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 4 Change Through Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Four Steps for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Body Image as Basic Feedback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Developmental Patterns and Mental Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Wrong Habits That Feel Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Retaining Your Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Motivation and Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 5 Beneits and Types of Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Beneits: What Imagery Can Do for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Types of Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Styles of Imagery Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Self-Talk: The Internal Monologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
iii
iv Contents
Chapter 6 General Guidelines Before Using Imagery. . . . . . . . . 75
Factors That Inluence Successful Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Guidelines for Using Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Training Your Ability to Use Imagery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Concentration and Attention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Stages of Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Positions for Anatomical Imagery Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Using Imagery When in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Image Narrative, Image Bundles, and Relational Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Part II Biomechanical and Anatomical
Principles and Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Chapter 7 Finding Your Center and Befriending Gravity. . . . . . . 93
Planes for Direction and Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Central Axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Body Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Joint Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Matter and Mass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter 8 Laws of Motion and Force Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Newton’s Laws of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Force Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Lever Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Energy Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Ability of Materials to Resist Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Dynamic Stability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 9 Joint and Muscle Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Joint Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Bones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Connective Tissue and Fascia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Muscles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Part III Exercises for Anatomical Imagery . . . . . .147
Chapter 10 Pelvis, Hip Joint, and Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Pelvic Arches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Balancing the Pelvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Motion of the Pelvic Halves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Contents v
Counterrotation and Three-Dimensional Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Pelvic Powerhouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Hip Joint and Femur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Iliopsoas and Piriformis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Chapter 11 Knee, Lower Leg, and Foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Knee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Tibia, Fibula, and Ankle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Chapter 12 Spine and Body Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Functioning Spine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Pelvis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Vertebrae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Facet Joints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Discs, Spine, and Psychology of Pain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Spinal Ligaments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
Musculature of the Abdomen and Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277
Abdominal Wall and Fascia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Abdominal Muscles and the Concept of Core Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Chapter 13 Shoulders, Arms, and Hands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Suspension of the Shoulder Girdle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Glenohumeral Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Humeroscapular Rhythm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Elbow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Wrist and Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Chapter 14 Head and Neck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Atlas and Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Skull. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Suboccipitals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Mandible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Hyoid and Tongue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Nose and Mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Chapter 15 Rib Cage, Breath, and Organs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
Rib Cage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Breath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373
Support for Abdominal Organs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Skin as an Organ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
vi Contents
Part IV Returning to Holistic Alignment. . . . . . . . 389
Chapter 16 Deinitions of Dynamic Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Plumb Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Median Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Deining Ideal Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Dynamic Versus Static Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Dynamic and Static Stability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Pulling Up and Ideal Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Chapter 17 Integrating Dynamic Alignment Exercises . . . . . . . . 401
Alignment in Supine Positions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Alignment in Sitting Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Standing and Walking Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Releasing Excess Tension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Continuing Imagery Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411
Bibliography 413 n Index 419 n About the Author 429
Acknowledgments
I
would like to thank my teachers Zvi Gotheiner, Martha Myers, Bonnie Cohen,
Cathy Ward, the late André Bernard, and many others who have inspired me over
the last 30 years of working with dynamic alignment and imagery.
I would also like to thank my editors at Human Kinetics, Gayle Kassing and Ray
Vallese, for their excellent work on this book. They were always responsive to my
questions and generously offered their expert guidance.
The book’s copious illustrations would not have come into being without the help
of the gifted artist Sonja Burger with whom I was able to create many of the drawings.
Several drawings were also designed by Katharina Hartmann.
vii

Introduction: How I Came
to Use Imagery
A
t the Gymnasium Freudenberg (Mountain of Joy), the Swiss Latin preparatory
school in Zurich that I attended for six and a half years, I learned many valuable
things. My back, however, acquired the skill of stooping over Latin verse for hours
on end. The school’s rigorous class schedule, which started at 7:10 a.m., was hardly
what you might expect in a gymnasium, a place where physical activity takes place.
At the Gymnasium Freudenberg, little emphasis was placed on sports: There was
no football team, no track team—or any team for that matter. But I loved to dance,
and in the evenings I danced and exercised in the cellar at home, alone or with my
brother. When I graduated from school, therefore, my posture was not as bad as it
might have been, although it took years to reverse the “Latin-verse effect.”
When the school put on its irst theatrical production, to my surprise I was selected
to play the lead. I knew nothing about auditioning, but I had apparently struck the
right note. I remember being told that I didn’t have to do much to be funny. I wasn’t
sure what the director meant by this statement until I rolled onto the stage for the irst
time. We were producing Molière’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, and I played a rather
simple-minded, rich bourgeois trying to learn to dance. As I bounced about the stage
with great enthusiasm during rehearsal, the fellow playing the dance teacher was very
perturbed. His dancing was, of course, supposed to look totally superior to mine.
Finally, I learned to look clumsy. I believe my trick in achieving this awkwardness
was to imagine my legs wiggling like rubber and my neck stiff as an oak. (You are
welcome to try it.)
When I irst attended a ballet class, the teacher told me that my back was crooked
as a banana. This correction was given in the strict Swiss manner of teaching: First
teachers told you how sorry you looked and then they yanked you into the right shape.
The remark was delivered with an undertone of “How dare you show up in class
with that kind of back!” I can still see the outraged look on the teacher’s face, which
naturally made me feel sad and self-conscious. I wondered how to straighten my back.
I was taught the pulling-up method, which seemed to be the standard procedure.
My navel was supposed to stick to my lumbar spine, my buttocks needed to “tuck
under” somehow, and my chin had to recede. The question was how anyone could
enjoy dancing in this position. Breathing seemed out of the question. My back didn’t
actually feel like a banana, so I kept trying to imagine what the teacher was seeing. I
tried to imagine my back in a position that would justify such a cry of indignation.
But this didn’t bring me closer to solving the problem.
REINFORCING WHAT YOU WANT
I now know that I was actually reinforcing the opposite of what I wanted. If you
don’t want your back to look crooked, you shouldn’t focus on it not being crooked as
a banana. Instead you need to replace the image of a banana with that of something
straight yet lexible—a waterspout, for example. Put simply, your mind is a large screen
ix