YOGA & IDEOKINESIS.

Applications of dynamic alignment and imagery

in āsana practice.

© Carolina Diaz 2010

So what are you holding on to?

There is nothing to hold on to. Give it up!

André Bernard

INTRODUCTION

I first encountered Ideokinesis, an approach to body alignment and movement

through the use of images, in a workshop with Ursula Stricker a student of

André Bernard, one of the pioneers of this method. As a former contemporary

dancer, trained to ‘grip’ muscles and work hard, I was surprised to discover that I

could achieve more by ‘letting go’. Back in my Yoga class, I saw a persistent hip

pain gently subsiding when I imagined my Trochanters ‘melting down’ as I

performed the postures. Since then, I have been applying the imagery and

alignment principles of Ideokinesis in my personal practice and with my students.

By researching this paper, my understanding of body mechanics and how mind

and body are parts of an integrated whole seeking its own balance, has

deepened. These tools can inform and enhance my yoga teaching, giving me a

repertoire of options to better understand and serve my students’ needs.

1. IDEOKINESIS

Ideokinesis has been variously defined as: - "The image or thought as

facilitator of movement"... "a discipline that employs the use of images as a

means of improving muscle patterns"1; - "Repeated ideation of a movement

without volitional physical effort"2; or simply: -"A method of movement

education and therapy based on the use of the imagination"3. Its approach

to alignment is based on a thorough understanding of anatomy and body

mechanics, in search of a more efficient and effortless balance. It works with the

pull of gravity, rather than against it, in order to find support and stability. Its

originality lies in the fact that these principles are practiced, not through

mechanical adjustments or by instructing the students to place or move their

body parts in a certain way, but by imagining these actions during movement, or

with no movement at all, usually in a supine posture known as the constructive

rest position, which is done lying on the back with bent legs and the arms

crossed across the torso. 4

First developed by Mabel Elsworth Todd (1874-1956) in Boston and later in New

York, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Ideokinesis has grown thanks to

the contribution of her students, who furthered her work and expanded it.

Barbara Clark’s artistic skills made the anatomically-based imagery accessible and

appealing to a wider audience. Dr. Lulu Sweigard led scientific research that

validated these methods, and contributed the idea of the ‘nine lines of

movement’5. André Bernard brought Ideokinesis to a whole generation of actors

2

1 Bernard, 2006

2 Sweigard, 1974

3 Rosen, 1998

4 For a full description of the work in the constructive rest position, see Bernard, 2006

5 Sweigard, 1974

and dancers, among them Erick Hawkins, Ursula Stricker and Eric Franklin, as

well as Yoga Journal writer and teacher Richard Rosen. Joan Skinner, creator of

the Skinner Releasing dance technique6, and Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen, founder of

the School for Body-Mind Centering®, mention Ideokinesis as their main influence7.

The term Ideokinesis was not in regular use until the publication of Sweigard's

book Human Movement Potential in 1974, where she first uses the word to

describe what Mabel E. Todd simply called "the work" or sometimes Natural

Posture8. Other names that have been used include Ideokinesiology, dynamic

alignment, neuromuscular reeducation and Physiophilosophy9.

A contemporary of Alexander Technique and the Feldenkrais method, Ideokinesis

has elements in common with both, like the analysis of mechanical forces in

search of a more efficient and 'natural' approach to posture and movement.

What sets this technique apart is the use of imagery to affect postural and

movement patterns. So, how does the image work?

Templates for movement

Movement cannot be explained as purely mechanical, without taking into account

the essential participation of the nervous system, in what would more accurately

be described as a neuro-musculoskeletal event.10 The organization of movement

occurs below the threshold of consciousness. We do not think of what groups of

muscles to contract or with what intensity. Our nervous system responds to our

intentions by providing the impulses that will activate the muscles necessary to

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6 As a child, Skinner studied dance with Cora Bell Hunter, a student of Mabel E. Todd. “Joan now recognises these early experiences to have been perhaps the greatest influence on the development of the Skinner Releasing Technique.” Agis, 2002

7 Bainbridge-Cohen was a student of both Erick Hawkins and André Bernard. See Franklin, 1996. See also Golden, 1993

8 Todd, 1937

9 Bernard, 2006

10 Coulter, 2001

perform the movement. These muscle patterns are not created every time we

move, there is no time for that. Howard Gardner, in his theory of multiple

intelligences, identifies these patterns as “representations of movements” that we

keep in store, ready for the action: “... the operation of the movement system is

tremendously complex, calling upon the coordination of a dizzying variety of

neural and muscular components in a highly differentiated and integrated fashion

(...) The movement is preprogrammed by the brain before it begins.”11

We have acquired these ‘templates’ through our evolutionary heritage, learning,

conditioning and habit. The way we deal with our emotions, as well as our

personal and cultural ideas and beliefs about our bodies, seem to be part of

them too. For Irene Dowd, Lulu Sweigard’s student and author of Taking Root to

Fly, the main obstacles to overcome are our “old habits and old information

about the ‘right’ ways to hold or move the body”, in what she calls “defensive

contraction”12. In The Thinking Body, Mabel Todd says that, unlike animals

“human beings form habits of managing their bodies badly (...) largely determined

by preconceived notions as to how (the body) ought to look.”

Is there a way then to override these preprogrammed patterns and conditioning,

and learn new ones or return to a more natural and instinctive way of using our

bodies?

“Think it, imagine it, let it happen”

Everything we think affects us. Our minds are constantly producing thoughts and

these in turn produce small muscular contractions. Zen teacher Charlotte Joko

Beck stresses the fact that every thought, feeling, memory or mental image is

accompanied by a contraction in the body13. Her approach to meditation practice

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11 Gardner, 1983

12 Dowd, 1990

13 Beck, 1993

is based on understanding this connection and learning to trace our thoughts and

emotions through their physical manifestations. "Where does the body end and

the mind begin?", asks B.K.S. Iyengar14, and Swami Satyananda Saraswati seems to

be replying when he says that "the gross form of the mind is the body and the

subtle form of the body is the mind."15

Recent research has shown a relationship between the intention for movement,

and the representation of this movement as a purely mental image, and increased

activity in the brain areas associated with the execution of this movement. In a

study involving patients with different cerebral lesions, Desmurget and his

collaborators have demonstrated how the direct stimulation of certain brain areas

is able to trigger motor responses, in the form of actual movement or just the

sensation of it. Even before the intention of movement is made conscious, a

reaction of neural processes is unchained.16

Irene Dowd says that using mental pictures “can change the habitual patterns of

messages being sent from the brain through nerve pathways to the muscles”.17

Imaginary actions can have an effect on the movement ‘templates’ that we store

in our brains, actualizing them or adding new, more efficient, patterns to our

repertoire. While working with imagery, we do not need to ‘do‘ anything, in terms

of correcting, adjusting or judging our movement or position of our body parts in

space, or questioning the image itself. Instead, we should remain open and

receptive, allowing a natural response from our bodies to emerge. André Bernard

instructed his students to just “think it, imagine it, let it happen”.18 By doing so,

we cultivate our kinesthetic intelligence, the ‘wisdom’ of our bodies. According to

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14 Iyengar, 1966

15 Saraswati, 1976

16 Desmurget 2009

17 Dowd, 1990

18 Bernard, 2006

Howard Gardner, in order to learn with our bodies we need to “get the feel” of

the movement19, and this is precisely what the image provides: “Imagery is not

just pictures in your mind—it is how a movement feels, the rhythm and the mood

of it”.20

Principles of dynamic alignment

In order to be effective, imagery work must be based on a thorough

understanding of the mechanical forces that affect movement and balance. In her

study of the body, Mabel E. Todd identified a series of dynamic mechanisms that

can be used to facilitate economy of effort in different positions. It would take

several volumes to go through every one of them, so for the purposes of this

paper we will focus on what she called axial forces. That is, how the weights of

the different parts of the body are transferred to the ground through a central

gravitational axis.

One of the fundamental ideas in dynamic alignment is that of opposing forces, in

the form of compression and tensile support. In any structure, the parts that

stand upright support weight through compression. The parts that hang from

them complete the balance by adding resistance, and are called tensile. "Bones

are the weight-bearers (…)they are the compression members (…) muscles,

ligaments and fascia, are the tensile members, and should be freed so far as may

be from the direct support of weight."21

The bones are made to sit on top of each other, providing support through

compression. The muscles, in turn, hang from the bones providing support

through tensile tone. They are not meant to hold up the weights of the body as

we sometime suppose, by gripping in permanent contraction. Balance is more

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19 Gardner, 1983

20 Straus, 2008

21 Todd, 1937

effortlessly achieved through proper alignment, where the bone structure is

allowed to take the weight load towards the ground through the straightest route

possible. Lulu Sweigard defines the ideal postural pattern as one in which “the

weights are balanced as close to the central axis as the structure permits, and

the center of gravity is as low as the structure permits."22 In this case, “as the

structure permits” emphasizes the fact that we must not distort the structure while

trying to achieve an ideal posture by, for example, compromising the natural

curves of the spine in order to get a completely straight shape.

The shortest route between two points is a straight line, but this line refers to the

distribution of weights along an imaginary central axis. Deviations from this

centre, as when the pelvis is tilted forwards or backwards, or the head is held in

a forward position, only add unnecessary lateral loads to a structure that works

more efficiently supporting vertical loads. It is like adding unnecessary detours to

an otherwise straight road. The extra effort required to hold this unbalanced

structure is shown in the form of both tension and weakness. In order to

compensate for the unequal loads, some muscles will have to contract excessively

while others will not be doing their share of the job, losing tone. It is a vicious

circle that only leads to the accumulation of imbalance.

The essential supporting mechanism is a compact, flexible column, whose integrity depends upon

the closeness of the various compression members to a central axis and to each other. If weights

are held out of balance, this must be done by throwing extra work on the small muscles and

ligaments (...) in order to accent or even distort, the normal compensatory curves; or by tightening

suspension muscles or tensile members, as in the neck, causing them to bear more weight than is

their proper task.23

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22 Bernard, 2006

23 Todd, 1937

“Down the back, up the front”

The spine provides a continuous line of compression support at the back of the

body, where the weights of the head and torso can be directly transferred down

by ‘sitting’ or ‘stacking’. So, at the back, the weight travels down. The front of

the body does not have a continuous bony structure, so the support is provided

through soft tissue: muscles, ligaments and fascia. For proper balance, the tone

of the front of the body must be enough to compensate the gravitational pull at

the back. So at the front, the weight is held up. Todd compares this dynamics

to a bicycle chain: “the chain is pulled forward by the large sprocket wheel

(compression force) and pulled back by the small sprocket wheel (tensile force).”

The bicycle runs smoothly when these forces are kept in balance. She stresses

the importance of proper tone and flexibility in the inner pelvic and abdominal

muscles, while the back muscles should be allowed to extend: “The erector spinae

muscles are extensors of the spine (...) they should not pull up; they should pull

down.”24

In Ideokinesis, an image that is commonly used for this purpose is the dinosaur’s

tail. While in a standing position, or walking, a long and heavy dinosaur’s tail is

imagined dragging behind. The image of the tail lowers the centre of gravity and

allows the back and shoulders to relax; the weight ‘sits’ at the back, transferring

the tensile force to where it belongs: the front of the body.

824 Todd, 1937

2.

3. IDEOKINESIS AND ĀSANA PRACTICE

From the great sage Patañjali, and down to more contemporary figures like

Krishnamacharya, B.K.S. Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar, yoga masters have

emphasized the importance of ease as an essential aspect in the practice of

postures.

In order to achieve this, it is not enough to study the shape of each āsana and

try to 'copy' it. Different body types and people with different levels of ability

might look different. The application of proper balance and alignment principles,

along with other elements like the correct use of breath, allows different bodies

to 'sit' with ease in postures regardless of their level of ability. When this

understanding comes from within the body, and is experienced as kinesthetic

insight rather than mere intellectual information imposed on isolated body parts,

the effects are transformative and the practice can deserve to be called yoga: the

union of body and mind.25

"Release of tension, relaxation and peace of mind are the secret of

transformation. (…) knowledge of truth only comes when you are free of

tension."26

Sthira sukham -ideokinetic- āsanaṁ

It has been made clear that one of the keys to alleviate tension and achieve

steadiness and easiness in a posture is to take advantage of the compression

and tensile forces through alignment. When the main weights of the body: head,

torso and pelvis, are ‘sitting’ on the bony structure, the muscles can be released.

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25 Desikachar, 1995; Iyengar, 1966, 1966a, 2005.

26 Saraswati, 1976

"Why hold the bony parts of our body when we can let them hang or sit? (...)

Conscious direction of a moving function rather than a holding function… "27

Now that the structure has been aligned, we face yet another problem, which is

psychological rather than mechanical. We might understand the idea of practising

with ease but sometimes our good intentions are not enough. Our no-pain, no-

gain culture is often so deeply entrenched in us that 'relaxing into a posture'

does not feel like an option. Even if the muscles might be no longer holding the

weight, we might still be unable to just ‘let go’. Here is where imagery work can

be useful in helping us achieve a more effortless balance, bypassing our logical

judgment.

An image is non-judgmental, it describes a situation to aim towards, rather than

focusing on what is wrong. It brings awareness without creating additional

tension. Pointing out a mistake might at times reinforce what is trying to be

corrected and generate stress and anxiety, creating more muscular tension.

External mechanical adjustments can have the same effect.28

Ideally, adjustment of alignment should come from within, through increased

awareness. Imagery work, as opposed to mechanical direct action, allows the

wisdom of the body, that lies beyond the area of logical thinking, to act. It

overrides our tendency to control the movement with our thinking function, and

thus through a preconceived idea of what our bodies should look like. In this

way, we cultivate and refine our kinesthetic intelligence.

This approach to alignment can also help to avoid the common mistake of going

‘too far’ in an adjustment. “Dr. Sweigard points out that trying to place or force

the body into a given position, i.e. tuck the hips under, pull the stomach in, only

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27 Todd, 1937

28 Franklin, 1996

"results in a corresponding deviation of some other part or parts of the

structure”...”29 By focusing, instead, in an arrangement of body weights around a

central axis in a subtle and relaxed way, and by imagining soft lines of movement

rather than clenching, pulling and contracting specific parts, this problem can be

avoided.

A note on ‘tactile aid’

The emphasis on mental imagery does not mean that Ideokinesis disregards the

importance of touch as a kinesthetic aid. Its approach to it is, nevertheless,

different to the way we understand it in yoga. Hands-on adjustment takes on a

subtler form, not aimed at manipulating body parts but at directing awareness

towards them, so the image can be 'felt' in a more physical way. This is called

tactile aid. Bernard defines it as "a light touch -including stroking, tapping, or

just holding on the part of the body that is to be imagined (…) Its purpose is to

clarify where the image is taking place and the direction in which the image is

moving, bringing focus and kinesthetic awareness…"30

The interesting thing about tactile aid is that any change in alignment is coming

from within, not as being done from an external source. Just placing a hand in

the right place, and at the right moment, might be enough to bring the awareness

necessary for the student to make their own adjustments. Tactile aid can also

be self-administered.

It is important to acknowledge the need for active hands-on adjustment in some

particular cases, but often yoga teachers might be too quick in wanting to 'make

things right', when perhaps a subtler approach would, not only do the trick, but

actually allow the correction to happen by itself. I believe this trust in the body’s

own capacity for self-regulation can be tremendously empowering. The change is

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29 Skinner, 2008 (quoting from Sweigard, 1974)

30 Bernard, 2006

experienced as coming from a source of inner wisdom, and not from the authority

of the teacher or the judgmental reasoning of the ego.

Warrior’s rest: Dynamic alignment and images in Virabhadrasana II

A yoga posture will serve as an example of how this images and alignment

principles can be applied in practice. Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II), being a

standing posture, is ideal for showing the axial forces in play. I will give some

examples of the images that can be used. They can be expanded or modified,

and there is no need to use every one of them, or all at the same time.

Imagery work requires intuition and adaptation to every particular situation.

1. Axial balance of the three

main weights: head, chest and

pelvis. In order to achieve the

maximum economy of effort, these

need to be aligned as closed to

the centre as possible, ‘sitting’ on

top of each other. In the head-

torso-pelvis alignment, that is in the

axial body, the application of this

principle will make us ‘bring in’

everything that wants to ‘stick out’.

The torso presents itself as a compact unit; the head an extension of it, not

adding unnecessary lateral loads that would destabilize the posture. The arms

extend away from the torso, away from the centre, but in doing so they are

establishing two opposing forces that balance each other. The arm extending to

the back needs to be just as active as the arm at the front. The keyword here

is ‘active’ or ‘alive’, not tense.

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"Movement of any one part away from the gravitational axis … involves the movement of

an opposing part in the opposite direction, or the application of sufficient muscular force

to restore the balance of the whole."31

2. Dinosaur’s tail.32 Imaging the tailbone ending in a heavy, long, dragging tail.

It helps to direct the weight down, relax the buttock muscles and extend the

lower back. This action is less drastic than the common ‘tucking’ the tailbone

or the pelvis ‘in’, which tends to reverse the lumbar curve.

3. Barbara Clark’s foot diagram.33 This applies the idea of ‘up the front down

the back’ to the axis that runs at the front of the ankle. In yoga class we

often hear the instruction of keeping our feet active and ‘lifting the arches’,

which can be confusing or too abstract. With this image, we picture lines or

forces coming from each toe and from the heel, converging at a point at the

front of the ankle. A thread can be imagined pulling at this point.

34

13

31 Todd, 1937

32 ibid.

33 Matt, 1993

34 Barbara Clark’s foot diagram, adapted from Matt, 1993

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4. Draping around the axis.36 Imaging the body, from the

shoulders down, as a cloth draped around the vertical

axis. The pulling action is focused at the inner centre of

the body, while the exterior relaxes, especially at the

level of the shoulders. The effect is a feeling of ‘melting’

into the posture while maintaining the verticality. We

think of two opposing forces: upwards on the inside,

downwards on the outside.

5. Melting trochanters.37 This image is aimed at releasing tight muscles in the

outer hip and buttocks. Understanding the correct location of the hip joint is

particularly useful here. There is a generalized misconception about the weight-

bearing and articulating action being at the level of the greater trochanters at the

sides of the hips. As tactile aid, the student can place a finger at the crease

between the leg and the hip, thinking of the weight being directed there. The

trochanters, at the outer side of the hips, are then imagined to be melting down

like warm candle wax.

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35 3D version of Clark’s diagram with string, which I sometimes use to illustrate this point.

36 Bernard, 2006

37 Bernard, 2006

6. Tactile aid can be given by touching the top of the head, where the axis

would be, and down to the ears at each side, and to the shoulders. This helps

locate the centre of balance for the head before turning it to the side to

complete the posture. A hand can also be placed in between the shoulder

blades, providing a point of support for relaxing the back muscles and bringing

the weights of head, torso and pelvis closer to the axis. Using two hands, one at

the back between the shoulder blades, one at the front at the centre of the

chest, can also be helpful as a reference for locating the central axis.

CONCLUSIONS

In Ideokinesis, as well as in yoga, the goal is not only better posture and muscle

patterns, but a general state of homeostasis or balance between all the systems

of the body-mind-spirit. This is what I want to keep in mind while teaching and

practising. I want to ask myself why and for what do we practise, and if any

particular āsana is taking us closer to that goal or is just being used to reinforce

our attachments and rigidity -both physical and mental.

I have heard the concern of many yoga teachers worried about the

'contamination' of yoga with knowledge or methods brought from outside of its

tradition. Leaving aside the fact that the so called 'yoga tradition' has been

drawing elements from a variety of other sources since time immemorial, and the

idea of its 'purity' is basically a myth, I believe the secret for the longevity of

any system is its capacity for adaptation and evolution. I also believe we do a

better service to the yoga tradition by preserving its essence, rather than clinging

to forms that might not be the most appropriate when applied to specific cases.

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When there is no room for challenging and revising ideas, they become dogma

and gradually stagnate, ceasing to be useful. The notion of all-knowing gurus, or

teachings beyond challenge, might be appealing to some, but as 21st century

yoga teachers, I think we do better in applying independent, critical thinking,

questioning the knowledge we receive and exposing ourselves to as many different

sources as possible.

In the same spirit, the pioneers of Ideokinesis never aspired to create a fixed

system, but rather to propose a line of enquiry that would help increase our body

awareness. What I suggest here, likewise, is not set in stone, and the best way

to take it is as a starting point for what André Bernard better described as "an

adventure into your own being".

Namastē.

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