Everyone should master sensing the movement of their body. This means that he should observe and learn to change the changes that happen to him during movement on a daily basis and consciously change them. This would make it easier to determine the cause of the pain, even prevent it, all of which would lead to better movement.
Movement that we constantly perform and will eventually become subconscious and automated, has to be regularly monitored and corrected. The same goes for movement that is actively performed – during sports and exercise or during work (behind a manufacturing belt, sitting behind a computer for hours, long drives…) – require more of our energy and attention. Regular conscious observation of movement is very important for maintaining and increasing efficiency. Such movement awareness as well as its control allow our moves to be fluid, elegant and performed with the least effort possible. If there is less effort, there is more movement – we are talking about rationality or the rule less for more. The energy input is smaller, the effect is greater. Most importantly, such a movement gives us more pleasure, and therefore we prefer to perform it.
However, we need to cultivate doing this persistently, and not stubbornly, because the effects are achieved only with slow learning – we cannot expect long-term results if we use force or pain. Why? Learning requires attention, a known goal, a significant slowing down and simplification of overly demanding tasks, which are then combined into more demanding ones, imagination and rest. We are teaching ourselves, theory is only there to help or lead us.
Learning movement is all around us if we observe children, but unfortunately only few adults learn movement. We all know that we can learn different skills, e.g. playing football, becoming a hairdresser, a mechanic, playing the guitar, training or shaping muscles, raising fitness… The listed of the skills are known everywhere, controlling the muscles in the center of the body, feeling, is an almost unknown area. And that is where we have the most issues. Conditions such as rigidity and pain from wear is usually attributed to aging. While aging does leave its mark on our hair and skin, movement problems actually stem from the ever larger inner muscular tension, that are the result of sensory-motor amnesia which decreases efficiency of our body’s systems and increases inner resistance while moving. This is usually understood as a lack of fitness and/or strength, so we don’t take appropriate action.
A person who has a properly developed and maintained his sense and knows his weaknesses will find it much easier and more efficient to look for a better quality of movement, feel it, understand it and use it in practice. Precisely because of the growing alienation from oneself, determining the current state is left to technology and feeling or guessing. I see, time and time again, how recreational and professional athletes, after a few month of clinical somatics. change and begin to more accurately notice, determine what and how to do things so that they reach their goal as fast as possible.
The answer to solving these seemingly difficult problems is offered by the AEQ method, which in a relatively short time ‘reminds’ us in a simple and painless way of children’s lightness and efficiency, and with existing strength, fitness, experience and wisdom leads to a satisfied, motivated, self-conscious, a confident, progressive and injury-resistant man who knows what else he needs on the way to his goal which he also achieves with pleasure.
Aleš Ernst, author of the AEQ method and AEQ breathing
