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​How can our wrinkles teach us about our facial expression habits?
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In our culture, we tend to look at our wrinkles reflected back to us in the mirror with dissatisfaction. (The size of the global market for anti-wrinkle products was estimated to be US$20.25 billion in 2018!) This week, I invite you to try to set negative feelings aside and relate to your wrinkles with a sense of curiosity instead. How can they teach you about your facial movement habits?  
 
We usually don’t think about our facial expressions as movements, but they are. There are 42 muscles in our face that contract forming the grooves in our skin. What are your grooves and lines telling you about the way you move your face?
 
Here is the practice. Look at yourself in the mirror with a sense of curiosity. Choose one wrinkle, or a group of wrinkles, to explore. Try to replicate the facial movement that leads to that wrinkle. How do you do it? How do you contract or expand your face to create that particular group of wrinkles? 
 
Close your eyes and see if you can replicate that same movement with your eyes closed. Slow down and take the time to notice the sensations in your face while you contract it to create that specific wrinkle. Become very familiar with it. Maybe, throughout the week, you will be able to recognize that sensation when you are making that same movement with your face again. 
 
Are there perhaps any sensations in other parts of your body – in your chest, belly, or even your pelvic floor - when you do this movement with your face? How would you describe those sensations? Is there a sense of contraction or expansion? Of tightness or spaciousness? Of heaviness or lightness? Or something else? Are there any emotions associated to those facial expressions, or not? 
 
Studies have shown that in the same way that we create facial expressions in response to our emotions, the reverse can also be true. According to some studies, for instance, we can elicit positive feelings with the act of smiling, as well as aggravate sensations of pain with the act of frowning. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/)
 
Many times when giving private hands-on Feldenkrais sessions to my students, I work with their facial expressions. It’s amazing how much tension we can hold in our face, our lips, and our eyes. My students often relate an incredible sense of relaxation and well-being afterwards, not only in their face but in their whole self. 
 
I hope you’ll give this “wrinkle awareness” practice a try. If you would like to share what you found out, I would love to hear from you. Just send me an email or leave a comment below. 
 
Have a wonderful week, 
 
Paula

When you go up the stairs, with which foot do you start climbing? 

Throughout this week, I invite you to pay attention when you go up a set of steps, or just one step. Do you usually start with the same foot or does it vary? Is there a pattern?
 
This question relates to the broader theme of finding out which leg you tend to rely on more for stability. This can help you better understand how you deal with balance and can also give you some clues on why you feel certain aches and tension on one side of the body more than the other.
 
Try it for yourself: stand on one foot (please only do this if you don’t have any balance challenges. You can also stand behind a chair and, using the back of the chair for support, simply transfer the weight to one foot without removing the other foot completely from the floor. Above all, be safe.) Notice which foot you chose to stand on first. Notice how stable you are on this foot. Then stand on the other foot. Which leg feels more stable? 
 
Is your more stable leg the one that stays on the ground when you first start climbing the step, or is it the leg that you use to climb? How is it for you? I’m curious to know what you’ve noticed. Leave a comment below or send me an email with any questions you have. 
 
Have a wonderful week!

​When you start walking, with which foot do you take your first step? I invite you to notice this throughout the week. Do you tend to always take the first step with the same foot or does it vary? At first, just notice what you do, trying not to interfere with it. 

If you observe that there is a pattern, then you can play with it. Try to start walking with your "non habitual" foot. Does it feel different? Does it change a bit the way you walk? Or not really? Some people might find that their walk feels a little different when initiated with the other foot. Why would that be? Don’t we alternate the feet when we walk anyway?
 
The thing is that we don’t use both sides of ourselves symmetrically – the same way that we have a dominant hand, we also have a dominant foot (the one you would normally use to kick a ball) and we tend to rely more on one leg for stability. There are also injuries, recent or old, which create different kinds of compensations. All of that influences our walk and is reflected in how we initiate it. How is it for you?
 

Awareness question of the week:

When you are sitting, do you tend to have more weight on the right side of the pelvis or on the left? Or is it equally balanced?

Throughout this week, I invite you to every once in a while bring your attention to your pelvis and sense where your weight is. Does it vary? Does it tend to be always on the same side? Can you tell? Try not to judge it or correct it. Take a moment just to be curious and get to know what you do. 

If you can't tell, try lifting one sit bone off the chair just a little bit. It's a small movement. As if you wanted to place a sheet of paper underneath. Do it a few times on one side. Then do it on the other side. Is one side harder to lift than the other? That's probably the side where you tend to have more weight. 

I would love to hear what you found out. Email me or leave a line below with any comments or questions.