Invited Post By Rebecca Amis Lawson: FitOldDog Benefits Considerably From His Study Of Continuum, But What Is It?

“Triathletes of all ages spend a lot of time, money and effort getting the right bike and running gear, but they rarely seem to invest enough in tuning the engine.” by FitOldDog

Hi Folks,

Invited blog post by Rebecca Amis Lawson, dance and Continuum instructor.

FitOldDog has been coming to see me for a while now. We work on his alignment, posture, movement dynamics and patterns that are inhibiting his performance in his sport and life.

Often we will use a modality called Continuum. Although Fit Old Dog has posted about it, it is now time for a more thorough description of this self-care practice. So here goes………………….. Thoughts, feelings, movements, sensations – it all happens in the terrain of your physicality. The most direct way to learn about yourself is by developing your ability to listen to yourself as an embodied being. The journey is simple and at the same time more radical, subtle, surprising, and stranger than you probably imagine.

Think of it: “Every cell in your body is sorting, selecting, rejecting and communicating in countless exchanges of information based on past experience and current circumstances.”

Rebecca gives FitOldDog a lesson in balance on the roller. Click image for link to video store.

This is the heart of intelligence. Science, medicine, fitness, psychology and spirituality are all converging on a future that is involved with accessing the body’s capacities to go beyond what the rational mind can achieve.

The practice of Continuum can help you to understand the body’s way of knowing and draw from its well of insight and ingenuity.

• Do you have patterns in your body that are causing you pain or movement restriction? Are you interested in a practice that can bring ease and vitality to your body?
• Do you want to live with more adaptability, acceptance, and love?

Continuum    

 is about change which creates the opportunity for discovery, growth, and healing.

OK, so now what is Continuum?

The vitality of the individual is in large part determined by the dynamics of his or her fluid system. Our tissue is mostly water and its wellbeing is a function of the unblocked and unrestricted grace and flow of the overall fluid system. It appears that the normal challenges of everyday living result in compressed tissue. In order to function, we inadvertently maintain a fixed, often rigid structure that ultimately works against our overall health and wellbeing. This density is experienced as restricted movement and/or pain. The individual finds him/herself  in a maladaptive closed system  that  perpetuates  compression and thwarts spontaneity, adaptability, and healthy functioning.

Which animal is more fluid than the octopus? You can learn a lot by watching other creatures.

Let me say it one more time. Closed systems deteriorate.

Whether politics, relationships or muscle tissue, a system that is stuck in pattern will deteriorate. If our tissue was as fluid and adaptable as the Octopus, we would be able to adjust to the amount of effort or load required given the context. No more, no less. For over 45 years, Continuum has been exploring the profundity of the fluid system as one resonant stream of intelligence…within our bodies, planet and galaxy. Fluid molecules choreograph tissue structure and affect communication and the energetic nourishment that is available to us. So what do we do in this practice?????? Using sound, breath, and micro-movement, the Continuum practice works to revitalize the fluid system and de-densify (open up) tissue. An “opening” occurs resulting in a renewed flow of energy that can allow the body to rediscover and experience healthy functioning.

Rebecca demonstrates exploration of fluid body motion with the aid of a weighted ball.

Energy is literally unleashed as our tissue is restored to a state of receptivity and readiness. There is a dissolve of “personal paralysis” as restricted, repetitive patterns are altered. The feeling state that emerges is calm yet energized. The individual is subsequently more alive and ready to perceive and experience the moment with renewed interest, curiosity, and creativity.

When the patterns of compression from repetitive training continue without good postural and alignment support or an imbalance of tissue over or under use, we get injured, have pain, or do not perform optimally. If we can begin to listen to ourselves as an embodied being, catching the patterns that no longer serve us, open the fluid choreographer and intelligence of our physicality body’s capacities to go beyond what the rational mind can achieve, well……………… you got it, you are going to feel better, move more effectively and perform your sport proficiently and with reduced risk of injury!

Rebecca Amis Lawson has been whole-heartedly involved in dance, psychology, movement and therapy for the last 35 years. She is an Authorized Continuum Movement Teacher, has a MA in Dance/Movement Therapy, and a BS in Psychology. A professional dancer and teacher for over 25 years, she also has had extensive training in alignment, ideokinesiology, effort/shape analysis, authentic movement, yoga, Pilates, connective tissue massage and improvisational movement. In her work, she has been able to coalesce psychological mindedness, a love of dance, and a compassionate spirit. She offers a therapy that is revelatory, expressive, and self-creating.