Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1492048
warrior, the thighs that involve us in acts of love and the issuing of new life—these forms speak to us in the language of life. It is an unending story told not in words but in authentic, articulate connection through time as if between one life and another. These joints connect us and let movement happen, from one person to another, from birth to death, from one time to another time, stretching out until our last long walks take us as far as we can go. EMBODIMENT—HIP AND LEG As mentioned earlier, joints that do not naturally have much movement tend to lose that movement before other, more freely moving joints do. For example, the pubic symphysis almost always loses its motion before the sacroiliac joints, and the sacroiliac joints tend to lose their motion before the lumbosacral joint does. This results in widespread shortening of muscles and fascia that cross these joints, as the brain and nervous system valiantly attempt to correct these restrictions. The hip joint—the conf luence of the acetabulum and head of the femur—is clearly a freely moving joint. However, because of how much we sit, hip extension occurs less often than f lexion and internal and external rotation. This can eventually cause hip problems. Let's look at movements that can deter that. Lie prone on a yoga mat or soft carpet. Keeping your knee locked, gently lift one leg. Notice how that feels. How easily and how far can you extend that hip? Repeat on the other side. What follows is a combination of a proprioceptive and interoceptive exercise. Turn onto your back to lie faceup. You will press one leg, with the knee locked again, into the f loor. And because the brain thrives on and improves with novel, safe input, we'll take it slowly. First, notice what your hip joint feels like. Extend your awareness to the shaft of the femur. You may want to move the thigh slightly or touch the bones with one hand. For 3 seconds, press your lower extremity into the f loor without straining. Take another 3 seconds to release the contraction. Place your mind into the hip joint and notice what sensations present themselves to your awareness. Repeat this; then repeat these steps with the other leg. Turn over into the prone position and extend the legs again. What do you notice now? BEYOND THE BONE The femur, like each bone in our body, bears a message, a unique form of wisdom. Bones embody lessons from eons—how to support us in the gravitational field, how to channel energy and force through us. Each bone can tell us so much about its role in our lives and in the countless lives through which it has evolved. Each bone speaks to us. And it is in many ways as important that we listen to our living bones as much as to the voice in our heads. Try as much as possible to let these bones speak. David Lauterstein, LMT, is co-owner of the Lauterstein-Conway Massage School in Austin, Texas, founder of Deep Massage: The Lauterstein Method, and a Zero Balancing faculty member. He is the author of Putting the Soul Back in the Body, The Deep Massage Book, and Life in the Bones: A Biography of Dr. Fritz Smith and Zero Balancing. Jeff Rockwell, DC, is on the postgraduate faculty of Life Chiropractic College West, the College of Chiropractic at Parker University, and the Institute of Manual Neuroscience—of which he is the co- founder. He writes for several chiropractic publications and has published five books of what he calls "somatic poetry." L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 63