Changing our movement habits
Changing our behavior is challenging. Changing the way we move might be even harder.
Changing our behavior (a.k.a making new habits) is challenging. Changing the way we move might be even harder.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of teaching a Franklin Method workshop for Chamber Music Guild’s Summer Student Festival. We had a great hour exploring the anatomy of the spine and building our posture from the inside-out.
Afterwards, my friend Ava pointed out one of the most interesting moments of the workshop–when I asked the students to “air-play” their instruments to experience what it felt like to play with a dynamic and aligned spine, many of them reverted back to their old postures immediately.
I see this all the time in violin lessons, Franklin Method private sessions, and in my own rehabilitation journey. We’ll experience a positive upgrade in our technique, movement, or posture, but quickly lose it when we go back to our normal activities.
We are creatures of habit, after all!
In order to make a new movement or habit stick, it has to become ingrained in our nervous system. This requires awareness–both in terms of catching ourselves going into the old habit and doing mindful repetitions of the new habit.
There’s something else we have to consider: level of complexity.
When we do something more challenging or complex, the nervous system essentially defaults to its normal operation settings. Imagine playing a more difficult piece–are you more likely to be aware of your posture or focusing on technique and expression?
The reality is we often lose awareness of what our body is doing when playing our instrument and go back to our old habits. When the Chamber Music Guild students began to air-play, their nervous systems reverted to what was familiar. Their posture shifted from something they’d only experienced for less than an hour to something honed over years of practice.
What we need to do instead is lower the level of complexity. You can do this with any technique or movement you’re working on by yourself or with students. You want to keep lowering the level of complexity until you can execute the new movement or technique successfully without reverting. Then we start increasing the level of complexity gradually.
(A common example of this for string players and pianists is separating the hands in difficult passages and working on them individually!)
What the nervous system considers complex depends on the activity and movement you’re trying to change. In the Franklin Method, we’re learning to change the fundamental ways we move. The closer the change is to the foundations, the more you have to strip back and build back up.
When we talk about injury prevention, we often talk about maintenance (relieving pain) and practice/lifestyle habits. But if we’re not taking a look at how we move when we play, we aren’t addressing the whole problem.
Movement rehabilitation is injury prevention. It may take time, but it is possible to train our bodies to move in healthier ways.
If this sounds interesting to you, please join me for my upcoming injury prevention workshop on July 20 at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET! It’s $30 and you’ll get a replay for 30 days.
If this is the first time we’re meeting virtually, hello! My name is Erika, and I’m a violinist, teacher, and certified Franklin Method Educator. My mission is to rethink traditional teaching approaches to help musicians play with confidence and ease. If this resonates with you, here’s how you can connect with me:
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Take a Franklin Method class with me. Learn to release tension, play with more ease, and practice injury prevention techniques. The Franklin Method uses mind-body tools and anatomical embodiments to help you improve the way you move in daily life. If you’ve never experienced the Franklin Method before, an online or in-person workshop is a great introduction! Institutional presentations are also available for arts organizations and schools.
Try a Franklin Method private session. Are you an instrumental musician struggling with pain, stiffness, or sore muscles from playing? In a Franklin Method private session, we analyze your movement while playing and explore different ways to move with more freedom. You’ll learn exercises to improve body awareness, release excess tension, and retrain movement patterns
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