JACKH EGGIE .·~ SlliiI ng with the WholeBody Your Ticket to the Expert Slopes SKIING WITH THE WHOLE BODY SKIING WITH THE WHOLE BODY Jack Heggie North Atlantic Books Berkeley, California Also by the same author: RUNNING WITH THE WHOLE BODY SKIING WITH THE WHOLE BODY Copyright© 1993 by Jack Heggie. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Published by: North Atlantic Books P.O. Box 12327 Berkeley, California 94701 Cover photograph by Jerry Sinkovec Photography: Moses Street, Boulder, Colorado Ski clothing courtesy Spyder Active Sports, Boulder, Colorado Cover and book design by Paula Morrison ISBN 1-55643-140-6 These exercises have been tested and found to work for people in good health. If you have any questions about your fitness and your ability to do the exercises, consult your physician before starting the program. SKIING WITH THE WHOLE BODY is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corpo ration whose goals are to develop an educational and crosscultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 / 97 96 95 94 93 For Marty, Chris, andJohn and all the good days. Acknowledgements This book evolved from my studies with Moshe Feldenkrais, D. Sc. Without his pioneering research in the practical func tioning of the human motor system, the book would not exist. The awareness lessons for improving skiing ability are a direct adaptation of the ideas and methods that he presented in his Awareness Through Movement ®l essons. Karl Pribram, M.D., Ph.D., contributed original ideas through his book Languages of the Brain which lead to the concept of the Moving Mind. I acknowledge here also my students, who put up with my unorthodox ideas and allowed me to use their bodies as my experimental laboratory while I developed the method over a period of many years. And finally, Ian Jackson, who suggested the final form of the book, and engendered the umpteenth, and final, rewrite. Tableo f Contents The Spirit of Skiing ...... ... ... .. .. ... ... .. ... ..... x Introduction ...... .... .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .... . xi Part I The Moving Mind Why Johnny Can't Ski .. ... .... ...... .... ....... ... 3 Experiencing the Moving Mind .... .. ............... 7 Learning Ten Times Faster .. .. ............. ..... .... 8 Reprogramming the Moving Mind ............. ... ... 9 The Reasoning Mind and the Moving Mind ....... .. 10 The Safety Factor ...... .... .... ......... .. ........ 13 The Method .. ...... .. ... ... .... ..... ... .. .. ... .. 14 The Way of Skiing .. ....... ..... ......... ... .... .. 14 A Few Definitions .... ... ... ................. ..... 15 Part II The Lessons 1. Bill: Becoming Grounded .. ... .. ....... ............ 19 2. Bev: Learning Without Teaching .. .... ............. 28 3. Maria: The Coordinate System on the Feet ... .. ...... 37 4. Mark: Moving and Sensing ... .. .... .. .... ... . '. ... . 42 5. John: Feeling the World .......... .. ........ .. ..... 48 6. Kay: Action and Intention ........ ... ... .. ......... 55 7. Kim: Independent Leg Action ... ....... ... ....... .. 67 8. May: A Total Change ... ...... ............. .. ... ... 77 9. Lisa: The Balance Point for Turning ......... ........ 87 10. Joy: The Unbendable Knee .. .......... ... .. ....... 96 11. Ralph: The Straight Back .............. ... .... .... 108 SKIING WITH THE WHOLE BODY 12. Bob: The Case of the Wandering Feet ..... ... ... .. . 121 13. Kathy: Whither the Poles? .. ...... ... ... .... ..... . 128 14. Tom: The Myth of the Quiet Upper Body .. ... ..... . 138 15. Carol: First Wind Up, Then Pitch ..... .. ..... ... ... 150 16. Ed: The Three Primary Movements of Skiing ... .. ... 161 Appendix: The Neurophys iology of the Moving Mind .... .. .. .. .. ........ ... ... .. . 169 Books about the Feldenkrais Method .. .. .... .. ... . 175 About the Author .... .... .... .. .... .. .. .... ..... 176 "You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him to discover it within himself." - Galileo Galilei