{"id":1017,"date":"2016-10-27T17:42:13","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T17:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirstenharris.co.uk\/thedailyease\/?p=1017"},"modified":"2016-12-27T20:26:05","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T20:26:05","slug":"game-of-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/?p=1017","title":{"rendered":"Game of Bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_2997\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Game of Bones<\/p>\n

by Kirsten Harris<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On my way to teach Alexander Technique to high school children this week I popped into an antique and curiosity shop where I happened upon one lone vertebra.<\/p>\n

Lumbar 4 to be precise.<\/p>\n

I asked to buy it and the shop keeper kindly gave it to me, bemused by my enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

The single model vertebra became the talking point for class and wow, did the students amaze me with their observations and insights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here are some notes taken from the children’s thoughts. \u00a0They started with describing it and went on to see the bone as a metaphor for the human condition – choices in life – a game of bones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To quote –<\/p>\n

‘It feels like coral, like a structured wildlife habitat…<\/p>\n

It looks neat, strong, rounded, shaped… it looks like white chocolate… it looks like a fish… symmetrical, exact… it looks like it should be spongy…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘It looks like it has many purposes – multi functional…<\/p>\n

It looks solid and reliable…<\/p>\n

Intricate, spacious, chunky…<\/p>\n

It looks like a hand with fingers coming out of it…<\/p>\n

It looks doughy, like stretched bread – rising and proven…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘It looks like a jigsaw…<\/p>\n

It looks supportive and the supporter…<\/p>\n

If we didn’t have vertebrae we’d look like jelly fish…<\/p>\n

Many together create strength…<\/p>\n

They depend on one another…<\/p>\n

It looks like it is reliant on other pieces to complete its purpose…<\/p>\n

It’s a bit like people, it doesn’t look like it work very well on it’s own!<\/p>\n

It looks like it has been shaped by life…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘It seems unimportant in itself, out of context…<\/p>\n

It looks useless unless you put it into the bigger picture..<\/p>\n

One vertebra missing is like taking middle C out of the piano… …You don’t know it’s missing until you go to play.’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘It looks contradictory!’<\/p>\n

‘What do you mean by contradictory?’ I asked<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘It has space and is dense..<\/p>\n

hardy and flexible…<\/p>\n

solid and complex…<\/p>\n

chunky and delicate…<\/p>\n

calm and tempestuous…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘What do you mean by calm and tempestuous?’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Well the chunky bit looks calm…<\/p>\n

It looks very encompassing and focussed in its role…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘This vertebra is a bit like me…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘If I use the chunky bit and let it support me I feel calm….<\/p>\n

Some people lean more towards the calm or the tempestuous…<\/p>\n

It is like there is an epidemic of slump and people are leaning into the complicated side of the vertebra and becoming complicated and confusing….’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘The complicated side of the vertebra looks like an explosion, but the calm bit looks like a platform. It looks reassuring.<\/p>\n

It looks like a bean or a stage…shaped and calm…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘If you lean into the complicated side it slumps your nerves, I suppose, and you become more stupid…’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Can we lie in semi supine now miss?’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I learned a lot from the children and really love the idea of the spine being calm or tempestuous. So, to use the wisdom of children, which way are you leaning your vertebrae?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To learn more about the benefits of semi supine CLICK HERE TO LINK TO MY MEDIA DOWNLOAD<\/p>\n

BODY MAGIC.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Weight<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Game of Bones by Kirsten Harris   On my way to teach Alexander Technique to high school children this week I popped into an antique and curiosity shop where I happened upon one lone vertebra. Lumbar 4 to be precise. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,3,28],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1017"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1034,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017\/revisions\/1034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifwisheswerehorses.co.uk\/thedailyease\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}