Don't Forget About The Legs! 5 Awareness Exercises For Today's Practice Session

Does your awareness have a tendency to narrow as time goes on while practicing? I often begin with good intentions of feeling my feet grounding my entire body, but at some point, I lose full-body awareness and become only aware of what feels uncomfortable in the upper body or the notes on the page. 

Perhaps you've never considered the way your lower half influences the entire body while playing! Try the five exercises below while playing, and scan the body carefully for changes in tension and release, holding, or ease. 

1. Shifting Weight Forward and Back

• Are you habitually standing with more weight on the heels or the balls of the feet as you play?
• Scan the body for changes as you slowly shift forward and back from the heels to the balls of the feet.
• Do you feel a change in the legs, the back, the abdominal muscles? Does the sound change as you play?
• Notice your breathing as you do this:
  • I recently realized I felt quite locked and without breath, so I rolled from my heels to the balls of my feet, and felt a tremendous difference in my ability to play with freedom once I rolled forward from my locked position on the heels!

2. Shifting Between Left and Right Legs

• Uncover which leg habitually receives more of your weight while playing.
• By slowing shifting your weight side to side while you play, you may notice changes all the way up the body. 
  • Do you notice a release and increase in space in the opposite side body?
  • How do the ribs feel?
  • Does the opposite arm change in effort?
  • Does anything happen in the neck?

3. Standing on One Leg

• Take it one step further by standing on only one leg, lifting one leg behind and leaning forward to maintain balance. (Something like this image of a Modified Warrior 3 Pose.)
• Do you notice a change in your sound? Breathing? 
  • This elicits a change in resonance for me, and naturally allows the abdominal muscles to release, making breathing easier!

4. Walking in Place Along with the Tempo

• Invite ankle movement by lifting the heels off the ground to the tempo. 
• Embody the tempo beyond listening to the metronome or tapping one foot, while avoiding a locked-in-place stature. (Try this if you're prone to locked knees!)
  • What is it like to watch leg movement while you play?

5. Bend the Knees

• Take the knees from locked to generously bent.
• Notice the relationship between the abdominal muscles and the muscles of the back. 
  • Going from the extreme of locked knees to bent knees, I notice just how much my torso and abdominal muscles release and allow easier breathing and resonance.

Are you aware of your lower half and the relationship to the whole body while playing? Take the time to observe changes in the body while trying these 5 ideas during your practice session! 

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