I give my students homework. Ugh, right? I mean no one likes homework and here I am not even an academic teacher and I assign homework! It is not something my students have to turn in, but I know whether they have done it or not. You may have read my last post about Sitting Uncomfortably, well, that is the homework assignment. I encourage all of my students to sit like that during the week.
It really is an easy assignment. You don’t even have to set aside specific time to do it, it is one of those things that you can do while you are going about your day. If you have a pet and you get down to say hello, do it in a toe squat. If you have a grandchild that you lower down to say hello to, do it in a toe squat. If you have to look for something or get something on a low shelf, do it in a toe squat. If you watch commercial TV and you are suffering through the commercials anyway, why don’t you do it in a toe squat? If you do any type of social media surfing on a phone or tablet . . . . do it in a toe squat. Of course you need to make sure you are safe in any of these instances, but these are easy ways you can work a toe squat into your day — you don’t even have to plan it specifically.
When this pose is included in a class I can tell by the faces who has been doing it and who has not. It gets easier the more you do it, so pained expressions give people away.
I also encourage my students to balance on one leg . . . again, in a safe manner. But there are so many times when we are standing that we could easily do it on one leg. I am not talking about having to lift one foot up entirely off the ground. You can just casually put one foot on the other or put your heel up on the opposite ankle. You can be in line at the grocery store, bank, post office, wherever and practice your balance. You can be doing dishes. You can be talking to a neighbor. Again, this is something that does not need a specific time.
I want to add core engagement. In our Core & Light Weights class we have been talking about core engagement and I would like to have people think about that all the time. A million years ago the phrase used to be “suck it in”, well, I guess many people took that literally and sucked in their belly and that is not really what is supposed to be happening. The sensation you are after is one that you have when you brace yourself – engage the core. Imagine someone is going to punch you in the abdomen or you’re bracing yourself for a pet or child to jump on you . . . that is what the engaged core feels like. You are not only engaging the abdominal muscles, but you are engaging the stabilizing muscles in the back and the sides. You are ready to hold yourself steady. I don’t even have to tell you how easy it would be to do this all the time because I am sure you know. Sometimes it is just a matter of being reminded.
So, if I were to check with you on this type of homework assignment how would you do?
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