Why It’s Important to Vary Your Movement

In Somatics class last night I taught the “seated twist,” a wonderful exercise that never ceases to astound the students doing it. In this exercise you learn to increase your range of motion and ability to twist around yourself by doing seemingly random things like moving your head while keeping the body still, or shifting your eyes side to side without moving the head.

Varying your movement can speed your progress.

I love teaching this exercise because the students experience the dramatic changes that can occur in their movement merely by “differentiating” movement in simple ways. In this video from his Intervention: Course Corrections DVD, Strength coach Dan John points out this same principle in regards to strength training. He notes that athletes often sequence their workout drills according to what they want to do. However, if they really want to quicken their progress, they should do the movements they don’t already do. People are amazed that simply doing more of what you don’t normally do can increase motor control, strength and athletic ability.

One of the reasons this works so well is because movement variation stimulates the brain with new and different sensory feedback. The result? Improved motor output. You improve your overall movement and strength without having to push harder.

Differentiated movement creates intelligent motor control.

Moshe Feldenkrais, originator of the “seated twist” exercise, developed some extraordinary movements based on what he called “Differentiated Movement.” He discovered that differentiating patterns of movement brings an almost instantaneous greater coordination and range of movement in the muscular system. Seemingly random little differentiations – moving the head separately from the torso, the eyes separately from the torso and head, increases our ability to move and twist the whole body – eyes, head, neck, shoulder girdle. This occurs not with force, but with intelligent sensory appreciation of what we’re doing and with greater motor control.

As a ballet dancer, I would often get frustrated and take several days off to do something completely unrelated to dancing. My favorite “other” activity was vigorous bicycle riding. I’d look for the steepest hill possible and just ride. I’d get a vigorous upper body workout, then return to the dance studio and find that my ability to do the movements that had frustrated me had improved – without practice – but with “differentiation.”

For those who simply want to improve their mobility and joint health by walking, for instance, it’s also important to vary your movement.  On a daily basis it’s easy to “get stuck” in the repetitive movements of today’s society: sitting with our eyes straight ahead, driving, working at a computer.  These repetitive, “stuck” postures can cause back, neck, shoulder, hip and knee pain. It’s critical that we remind our muscles that they can move in different ways (which is why the “seated twist” is such a good exercise) – bending, reaching, twisting, rotating, pulling, pushing.

The brain thrives on stimulation and new sensations. When you vary your movement by moving in ways you don’t normally move, you stimulate the brain with new and different feedback. When you return to your original movement you have not only a wider range of possible movement, but more intelligent motor control; not through force or struggle, but through laying down of more sensory feedback to the brain.

Try this fun exercise:

When you’re struggling with a movement, stop. Do something different for a few minutes. You can circle your arms like a windmill, run in place or do “the twist.” Make it different. Then return to the original movement. What’s the change? Is it easier?

Somatic Exercises stimulates your brain.

For professional athletes, a short routine of Somatic Exercises is an excellent use of movement differentiation. You move slowly as you focus on sensory awareness and proprioception. You practice movements you probably think you don’t need to practice (like side bending, twisting, moving the shoulders and hips in different directions). You’ll find that it’s those different movements that help to increase your overall movement mastery.

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