As some of my students know, I took a workshop this summer on How to Walk in High Heels with Alexandrian poise! I would have had precisely zero interest in such a thing — I hate high heels — until a respected colleague whom I’d thought would avoid it like the plague absolutely raved about it. So I went… and here’s why I loved it:

A) It was an absolute hoot.
B) It gave me new insight about where my legs actually begin and how an elegant sashay on stilettos is indeed possible.
C) I became a Goddess*.

But first the legs. Take a look at how we can balance effortlessly over the hip joints, thanks to the clever weight transmission of the torso through the spine via the pelvis to the legs:

Now take a look at the soft tissue connection: the sinuous pour of psoas, like a scarf draping elegantly, letting the legs issue forth from the lumbar spine… 

…while providing a deep internal support which helps spring us upward from our contact with the ground. From the center cometh the elegant sway (do check out the link)...

And the power.

Consider the above as you try a guided session of Active Rest. As you allow your entire back to drape to the ground and aim your knees toward the sky, you encourage your legs to release right out of your lower back.

Hello, longer, freer psoas and more space and volume through all your joint spaces, courtesy of gravity and conscious awareness!

Credits:
*Chyna Whyne, Alexander Technique teacher and high heels guru/ goddess mentor
Encyclopedia Britannica
Yogauonline
Melanie Amen, Hura Tahiti
Soccer player photo from Pixabay