Nine Lines of Movement

Ideokinesis may, or may not, be a new term for you.

Lulu Sweigard, a pioneer of the term and technique describes “ideokinesis” as “repeated ideation of a movement without volitional physical effort”. In other words, using visualisation and imagery to encourage a dynamic form of alignment without any conscious effort.

Thoughts of Sweigard and her teachings touched on my thoughts as I was standing at work. Standing in heels for eight hours. It’s not physically painful, uncomfortable, yes, but the main thing that strikes me about having to adopt such stances is the lack of movement. Dance training or no, I think our bodies reach a more painful point when we are made to be, or elect to be, static.

We are designed for movement. There are very complex pathways that exist within the body created to balance us out – skeletal, muscular and ligamentus structures that create a push and a pull aspect allowing us to, on the whole, feel relatively “even”. Standing in one position, holding something and moving minimally don’t allow these natural actions to take place and our muscles don’t like it. It leads to stiffness, soreness, and the shutting down of natural nervous responses that can keep us alert.

And that’s where Sweigard comes in. I was searching for ways to help myself – stretching in my breaks, removing my heels… They were short term solutions, but another half an hour back standing renders the body in it’s near shut-off state. I needed a way of mobilising my body when I wasn’t able to move. The teachings of ideokinesis can be used in such situations – imagined pathways in the body that contribute to dynamic sense of alignment and release in the body.

“Dynamic” is an important word here. Growing up, most of us are encouraged to assume correct postures, and these are demonstrated to us in static ways. “Stand up straight”, “shoulders back” etc, etc, and it becomes nigh-impossible to maintain these postures without conscious effort, therefore, when our attention lags, so does out body. Dynamic alignment suggests movement pathways, that is ways of imagining a tiny movement, which allows the body to physically adapt and can keep you engaged with much more longevity (and success).

Lulu Sweigard created the “Nine Lines of Movement”. These are nine movement pathways to visualise to bring the body into a neutral alignment. A neutral alignment is something that dancers use constantly to bring us to a state of readiness for movement. It is the alignment where the structures of the body are at their most harmonious – there is no extraneous muscular effort or tension to adopt a position. Used correctly, these nine lines of movement allow the body to stand with a posture that allows the muscles to relax as much as they may, and allows the body to remain engaged with a beneficial alignment for a longer time.

Here’s a quick diagram:

Take a few moments to visualise these lines of movement within your body, standing straight and on two feet. Remember to keep breathing. It can take a little while to get the hang of these movement – because they’re not what we think of as active movements. In trying to adopt these lines of movement, don’t think about effort so much as lengthening, or letting tension melt away.

For me, standing so long, number five and six were an immediate release for my hip flexors, quadriceps and hamstrings. Allowing the hips to relax also releases into the lower back, which in turn affects the upper back, shoulders, neck… and you get the idea.

These are tools you can use anywhere, any time of day. See them as a way of releasing your body of undue tension and creating an alignment that is healthier and stronger for you. It can take a while to get the hang of it, but once you learn and cycle your way through each line of movement, your strength and attention span of the visualization improves.

Let me know how you go. Do you notice any difference? Feel more relaxed? Feel taller?

This really helps me, I hope it helps you.