How to “Bend ze Knees” like a good skier
Those of you who ski (or have skied) will remember that instructor’s voice saying: “Bend ze knees!” You’ll know it’s essential advice if you want to ski at all, never mind ski well.
Since it’s such obvious, essential advice why did you need to be told? Why aren’t you already doing it? Because bending your knees is not something you usually do.
You might think: “Okay, skiing requires bending my knees but bending my knees more is not a part of my everyday life”. You’d be right, it isn’t. It should be but it isn’t. So if it’s not normal, when is it appropriate to bend your knees?
It’s always appropriate to bend your knees
That’s right, always. For instance, bending your knees is essential to good balance. If you don’t bend your knees, you can’t balance properly. What happens if you can’t balance? You stiffen to avoid falling over. If you don’t notice the stiffening that’s because locked knees and stiffening is normal for you, it’s what you always do.
What else?
Bending your knees is essential to all free-flowing movement. If your knees are stiff and unbending your every movement loses its fluidity. Your every movement becomes jerky and uncontrolled — and that’s no way to get things done. For instance, have you ever tried walking, or running, without bending your knees?
Even though walking with stiff knees doesn’t work very well, that’s what you do. I know that because wherever I go, wherever I look around, nobody is bending their knees properly. Some people stiffen their knees more and some do it less. But everyone does it. Even world-class sportsmen (footballers, golfers, tennis players, you name it) they all stiffen their knees to some extent — and that stiffening degrades their performance. As a result, they lose opportunities to do even better in their sport. Why be number ten when you could be number one?
How about another, less obvious, example than walking?
Bend your knees to pick up your coffee mug
Imagine you’re standing in the kitchen and you’re about to pick up your piping hot mug of coffee from the table.
Wait, not so quick! First remember to let your knees bend. If you do, you can pick up your coffee without bending your back. Otherwise you will always bend your back to reach your mug, losing some of your natural height. You will also become stiffer and your breathing will become shallower. You will do a million and one other things to take you down from where you belong: standing erect, on top of the world. Yes, you could be on top of the world but aren’t. Your waste of human potential will even make you psychologically depressed and less confident in everything you do. Do you think I’m exaggerating? Not so: for some people it’s a giant problem, for some it’s much less of a problem but no-one is immune.
What a disaster
You lose so much from not bending your knees to pick up your coffee. And picking up your coffee mug is just one thing amongst the thousands of movements you make every day.
Since you stiffen your knees to do anything and everything, is it any wonder that you lose height as you get older? Is it any wonder that walking begins to be more and more of an effort? Is it any wonder that you become short of breath? Is it really any wonder that you become stressed out, anxious and depressed?
Of course, not bending your knees is not the only way you move badly. There are many other things that make you move awkwardly and we will need to tackle those too.
The trick is to start somewhere
So start with your knees: whatever you’re doing right now, stop long enough to remember to bend your knees.
As you go on through the day, keep bending your knees. I promise you, if you do, before the day is out, you’ll want to thank me.
You really will thank me for echoing that skiing instructor and telling you to “bend ze knees”.
The other articles in this category are here:‒
Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley
If you want to get the best kind of help, come to me for an introductory lesson in Liverpool.
If you’re too far away, then the next best thing is to get personal lessons and advice from me online at Repoise.com, my on-line school. (Both far-away and local pupils use Repoise).
In more detail:–
If you’re in Liverpool (or can get to Liverpool)
- There’s nothing better than individual lessons. My practice is at 37 Hope Street, Liverpool L1. Ring me on 0151 708 6172 to book an initial consultation and first lesson. (Leave your number so I can get back to you).
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If you’re short of funds, you can still have first class training from me — though it will require a little more work on your part.
The thing to do is have an individual, in-person lesson just once a month. That will entitle you to also get regular on-line lessons from me through Repoise. That way, you have the best of both worlds: in-person lessons and very regular, even daily, on-line Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley from me. That’s a real bargain because Repoise costs the equivalent of three lessons a year to everyone else.
Ring me on 0151 708 6172 if you want to arrange this.
- I occasionally run group lessons. If you’re interested in these, go here for details.
If you’re further away and can’t get to Liverpool
- There’s still nothing better than individual lessons. Here’s where you can find a teacher near you in the UK or elsewhere
- I suggest you also get direct day-to-day guidance from me by joining Repoise.
If you’re having plain Alexander Technique lessons from someone else, you still need to discover the Smiling Back Method of the Alexander Technique. You’ll get a lot more out of your lessons when you do.
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Telephone: +44 151 708 6172 Mobile: +44 7872 905 154
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