Wednesday, April 19, 1978

Picking up a knee

First check on the freedom of the leg in the hip joint.

To free the leg:

1. Take care of yourself first, i.e., your own directions.

2. Place one hand on the pelvis, thumb on thigh. The hand is saying pelvis goes with head, thumb is directing out the knee.

3. Place the other hand on the heel and foot. The hand cups the heel, the arm supports the foot. This way, you have the whole foot. If you only take the heel, you may hyper extend the knee. If you are just working with the ankle, work from the Achilles tendon. The “knee forward” direction must be a constant.

4. With one hand on the pelvis, one hand on the foot, think of widening, the two hands pull apart. Widening you go with the release of the foot. Movement comes from the teacher’s wrist, not the shoulder. The student should have the experience of a foot he can stand on. (What happens on the table must be translated into erect posture).

To pick a knee up to lift a leg:

1. Pick up knee to allow your hands to slide under the leg comfortably. One hand goes under the thigh, the other hand goes under the calf. Teacher’s body is pulling away from the student to give the direction away from the hip joint. Everything your hands are doing is to insure that the leg is not jamming into the hip joint. Don't put hand in the crack of the knee or you are likely to get stuck.

2. Left the need to lift the leg. Leave upper hand there to study the leg once it is up. Otherwise, the student will panic and grab. The lower hand adjust the foot; if muscles are loose, the foot will fall into place. Do not place the foot. Let it fall where it wants to be.

Idelle Packer, MS, PT, mAmSAT, certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, has been creatively exploring its broad application for over 35 years. In her private practice, Body Sense, in Asheville, NC, she teaches the Alexander Technique in context of physical therapy assessment and rehabilitation. She authored the chapter on the Alexander Technique in Springer Publishers’ Encyclopedia of Complementary Health Practices (1999). Her current passion is Contact Improvisation, a somatic and athletic improvisation form, to which she has been joyfully integrating the principles of the Technique over the past fifteen+ years.