The Bodywork Perspective –
Learning About Body Tension - page 6

The jaw is pretty easy. Watch the person talk. Notice how much "mobility" there is to the jaw. Are they able to open their mouth flexibly? Or do they seem to be talking through "pursed lips" or gritted teeth? The less mobility, the less the person is willing to share of themselves.

The shoulders and the neck should be loose, neutral and relaxed. Have a look. Are the muscles seized? Does the head seem restricted, turning in a small range of motion? Are the shoulders locked up, forward back, never changing position? These are rigidities, and are about protection of the self, over-responsibility, and again, unwillingness to be open and revealing.

Watch the person walk. The pelvis should actually move. Many people have almost no pelvic motion, having learned to contain themselves – their passions, their drive. Although it’s difficult to see, many people are "tight assed"; the muscles of their butts are squeezed. If you try that – clenching your butt cheeks together, and then walk, you’ll get a feeling of how restricted this is.

One of the people Dar teaches with, on the other hand, walks very loosely in her pelvis – there is an incredible amount of hip and pelvis swing. On the other hand, from her waist up, there is no movement. Her arms actually swing from a rigid upper body. This fits her personality. She is extremely self conscious, worries about ageing, is self-critical and depreciating, yet have what some might describe as an over-active sex life. She’s sexually open, but her lovers never get to find out who she is as a person. Her self is walled in.

The legs should be comfortably relaxed. The muscles should yield to the touch or squeeze, not be like rigid cables. The knees should ALWAYS be slightly flexed – never locked. Walking should, from the leg view, be graceful and fluid, not constrained.

The front muscles on the thighs are often clenched in an effort to lock up the pelvis. We’ll be talking about releasing the blockages as we go along. Suffice it to say that the thighs have to relax in order to free the pelvis.