Spiraling into Alignment
Join Anatomy Trains author Tom Myers for a unique course on developmental movement for bodyworkers and peri-natal teachers, from our movements in the womb to the adult expression of our ‘embryology’.
See how we humans master our unique manner of moving in a totally understandable way. Learn assessments and movement-based treatments you can put to use immediately on Monday morning.
This course is relevant for all movement teachers and manual therapists, and anyone who teaches for the childbearing year. The skills taught here are designed to assist parents in connecting with their child’s movement, and how they literally handle the little body in their care. All the same skills can be used to assess and unravel missing developmental movement stages in the adult client as well.
Baby massage is great – this is about ‘handling skills’, which parents are not taught. How do you move with your baby? How was your client handled when they were an infant? What got super tight, and what got missed? You can learn to see those missing pieces.
You will learn:
• The anatomy a parent needs to know, and that your clients need – simple and compelling
• The minimum developmental spiral sequence from lying to standing – supine, prone, sitting, crawling, kneeling, walking, and finally standing.
You will practice:
• Self-guidance through the complete sequence
• Assessing segmental rotation through the spine and hips
• Principles for clear kinesthetic guidance.
• Guiding others through the spirals
• Assessing where movement is ‘missing’
• Accommodations for the differently-abled
Based on Tom’s 50-year study, this course combines principles from Aikido, Feldenkrais, Touch-in-Parenting, and 40+ years of watching babies. This packed 4-day program will guide you (and help you guide your clients) through assessment, sequencing options, effective cueing, technique demonstrations, and sound biomechanics, all with the intention of bringing greater ease and alignment to the body through movement to everyone. The course includes modifications and special cases, such as pregnancy.
This course from Anatomy Trains and Tom Myers explores developmental movement with keynote lecture and guided movement sequence:
Day One:
- Development: Movement & meaning
- Spiraling into Alignment movement sequence self-practice, guided movement sequencing
- The oculomotor reflex: Recovering the eye-neck-spine connection and proper use of the suboccipitals
Day Two:
- Modifications for spiraling into alignment sequences
- Assessments: Trust exercise with client, both standing
- Technique demonstration: extension, rotation, translation
- Sequencing options with clients – what to look for
- Top down movements, bottom up movements
Day Three:
- Effective cueing for moving bodies – demonstration
- Effective cueing from the floor, or from a seat
- Effective cueing with client – Push vs. Pull
Day Four:
- Biomechanics: hinge, rotate, hinge, rotate – How to effectively cue spirals
- Effective biomechanics from sitting – demonstration of special cases: pregnancy, disability, aging
- Moving from sitting to standing – dealing effectively with ‘sitting disorder’ in our clients.
- Effective biomechanics moving clients from a massage table or bed
- Review and Summary
