A Central Concept
Christine Ruffolo Asymmetry. Up Leg. Compression. Push Down. Space. Rotational Organization. These all describe the physics of one half of the body accepting load, and one half of the body avoiding load. The first time I wrote about this, I referred to it as a Non-Central Axis. Very generally put, the brain has a […]
Co-Lab 2024: Allowance & Adaptation
Chris Ruffolo The original purpose of this group was to find others like me. Teachers who were also learners, building an online library of courses they had taken and perspectives of value they were willing to give away. The goal was to share information, granting access to anyone with an internet connection. What I […]
To Twist or Not To Twist
Christine Ruffolo Torsion. We all have it: a particular line of twist running through our carriage, gripping us in a certain way and keeping us upright. Each fold and joint tells its story, whether you realize it or not. It’s how we steady the load ourselves and any thing we attach to. It’s why […]
Preventing Pelvic Floor Leakages (It Ain’t Kegels)
Christine Ruffolo My previous post got into the shame and embarrassment that prevents many of us from addressing issues with parts connected to sex or excrement. This one is more objective, looking at anatomy and physics. When you seek to understand the why, you must take a deeper look at what is. The steps […]
Being Half Right
Christine Ruffolo I was so close. I had felt and figured and whittled and realized. I had my longest running issue narrowed down to a dysfunctional half of the pelvic floor. It was just the wrong half. I was convinced that it was my right and gave multiple reasons as to why, BUT my […]
Up Leg, Down Leg
Christine Ruffolo Part 1. Pairs. Roles. Asymmetry. The body knows and the body has ways. Understanding the differences between the halves helps you appreciate them. One side isn’t ‘good’. The other isn’t ‘bad’. They hold a function within the system. Here’s a big picture view that shows how to distinguish up leg and down […]
Students & the System
Christine Ruffolo Amongst other things, COVID-19 revealed how fragile the American educational system is, and how unadaptable it is to changing and evolving times. Designed to churn out compliant workers, it conflicts with the world around them — a burgeoning economy of self employment (one marked by passion, creativity, and innovation), as well as […]
An Attentive Walk & Talk
Christine Ruffolo In an unassuming day in July 2022, I attended a workshop entitled “The Musicality of Being” in Washington DC. It was lead by Seth Dellinger, a Feldenkrais practitioner with a story so wild I’m not going to touch upon it here. That is for him to discuss. We met at a picnic […]
Labeling Relationships
Christine Ruffolo For the second time this year, I told a client they no longer need to pay me. We were peers, and the level of engagement and conversation I got from talking with them far exceeded my $65 per hour asking fee. The interest was mutual, the reciprocity organically leveled up, and I […]
Reflecting on Relationships: Peers
Christine Ruffolo Part Four in a four-part series of relational examinations. Part One: Parents Part Two: Pets Part Three: Students The definition of peer that I most relate to is “looking at”. The people who were supposed to be ‘like me’, were never like me. They might have been of similar age or […]
A Conversation Between New Friends
Seth Dellinger Getting to know: connection as conversation.
The Transverse Arch
Christine Ruffolo Everything I know about the transverse arch, I owe to Adarian Barr. The following is my attempt to take his words and concepts and relate them to my own body and understanding. It is, in effect, my translation. The layers and spirals in which I learn and interpret are laid out here […]
What Compels You to ‘Do’?
Christine Ruffolo The idea for this post first came in the summer of 2021, down time for most teachers here in the States. When you have a secured income (our salary is split evenly between the twelve months), and are given the gift of time and freedom of what to do with that time, […]
Deconstructing Care
Christine Ruffolo Everyone thinks they know how to care. They know what it looks like, and so, they know how to replicate it. What they care about is their reality, their axis of being. It is both their benchmark and their goal. A stagnancy by which to improve upon means doing more and trying […]
Defining Body Mapping
Christine Ruffolo The phrase ‘body mapping’ has many interpretations. It appears as nebulous as it is exact, with the user either struggling to communicate their construct or utilizing words so specific that it pigeon-holes the potential meaning into a singular stranded notion — too big to grasp or too miniscule to get a hold […]
Capitalizing on Color
Christine Ruffolo It’s been about a month since the Embodiment Conference came and went. Since, there have been many claims and a good amount of evidence that the headpiece to the summit, Mark Walsh, isn’t a great guy. As someone who spoke at his summit, I’ve been sitting with possible courses of action (which […]
Yoga Detour: Integrated Upper Body
Christine Ruffolo Cecily Milne is the mind behind yoga detour, movement education that encourages the yoga population to go beyond ‘nailing poses’. She immediately reminded me of Marlo Fisken – a “pole person” who’s actual draw is that she is a brilliant cuer, observer, and communicator of hows. Aside from being able to do […]
Safety & Behavior
Christine Ruffolo The following is part one of my course notes and findings from Stress, Movement, and Pain. Linked through the perception of threat and cause to protect, Seth Oberst generously delivered on the hows, whats, and whys between sensation (or lack thereof) and chronic stress. Ultimately, he offered up a framework to identify and […]
The Fallacy of Individualism
Christine Ruffolo ‘Different’ has always implied some sort of separation. You are there I am here, you have your ideas I have mine. Though existing divorced from shared experience, when something as major as COVID upheaves us all, we can feel the collective angst and impatience. Universal despair brings with it a consciousness of […]
The Work of Bal-A-Vis-X
Christine Ruffolo Please note that this is documenting one person’s experience with a single Bal-A-Vis-X training weekend. Like any other system presented here, it is an interpretation of meaningful components personally gathered and selected, NOT a representation of the accuracy and/or scope of the system itself. One cannot talk about Bal-A-Vis-X without first […]