#movement work

The Rules of NMR

Recently a new student asked me “What are the Rules of NMR?”

I was flustered for a moment then my innovator/rebel answered, “There are no rules.” Since I did not follow a path in my studies that adopted someone else’s way of viewing the body, I’ve been able to innovate based on what the body tells me and I am seeing a HUGE IMPORTANCE for PRIORITIES in how we approach a problem to get the fastest possible results.

So yes, there are rules: the body’s rules = NMR’s Rules.

Here they are:

Correct the Sympathetic/Parasympathetic balance first. (Even that has Priorities)

1. Integration between R/L hemispheres of the Cortex. The fastest track to this starts with Brain Buttons http://www.neuromuscular-reprogramming.com/.../brain.../.

2. Space Buttons or CranioSacral Rebalancing or Polarity or Restorative Breathing can help the NS to deeply relax. The body’s ability to restore itself is optimized when we deeply relax. Hence periods of rest/relax are also good intertwined with your structural bodywork. Structural work is challenging to the NS, as we are pushing for change in a system that is committed to homeostasis. When there has been an accident or injury, this is paramount.

Reduce Torsions/Rotations in the Torso next:

Organize the base of the spine for reciprocal rotation in the waist/core pivot at T12/L1

Follow that with the Low Back and Hips Protocols for safely reprogramming the coordination sequencing of the hips and low back/core. (Detail of this to be found in the NMR Mod 1 Intro manual.)

Organize the Hips to Shoulders relationships before working on the shoulders and neck. This includes reducing torsions and insufficiencies in the diaphragm. Other than some general fact finding and massage warm up for the neck, changes will not be possible until the coordination issues in the torso are reduced. (Details on this can be found in the NMR Mod 2 manual)

Moving out from this basic level of organization one can begin to follow the client’s priorities.

The Thoraco/Cervical junction needs to be functional in order to change pain and dysfunction in the shoulders and neck.

Shoulders should be functionally rebalanced before working on elbow and wrist problems.

Hips should be functionally rebalanced on the way to working on knees and ankles and feet.

The Neck has its own priorities….Because of the complexity of neck issues the intricacies of reprogramming the neck in details are not explored until Mod 3 of the basic 72 hr, training and again in the NMR Advanced 30 hr in great detail.

Once big muscle support is available and relationships are functional one can start undoing the deep layers of detail in the soft tissue matrix of the body and even in the skeleton itself. The Reprogramming of the Spine is explored in Adv NMR also.

Contraindications:

Spot work. Too much in depth work in one area without a larger integration plan can be dangerous and leave clients in pain.

Releasing deep tension without an understanding of what it’s bracing for and strategy for providing the stability that requires it to be tight.

Digging to release spinal fixations. The spine responds best to support and movement instruction in the direction of its normal curvature and function.

(This personal statement was posted on my personal Facebook account on April 4, 2019 at 11:12pm. What is in Facebook is also what is found here.)

I'll be honest, I didn't want to have to make this post. But I realized that this is my last semester as a student and, after I graduate, I'll be focused on a different sector anyway. Before I begin, I'd like to say I don't hope to answer all the questions regarding the issue with this personal statement alone. It's likely that whatever questions you have have already been answered by the Tug-ani statement, which can be found here. This personal statement has felt necessary after the Union of Progressive Students (UPS) publicly questioned the integrity of Tug-ani, the student publication that I am an editor of. I am name-dropped in their statement and, while I am not privy to their private conversations, I can only assume I am name-dropped there as well, even those conversations instigated by their Carolinian friends. You can check out both our statements if you'd like. However, I'd like to raise this discussion beyond the issue at hand since I feel that this is the underlying concern here. It's no secret that Tug-ani, along with several other student publications throughout the UP system, has always been tagged as "red-leaning." One of the worst things that have been said about Tug-ani in particular is that we are the "mouthpiece of Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE)." I have been a member of Tug-ani since 2015, since my first semester as a UP student. At this time, I was still a centrist. I still believed in shit like "Violence will not solve violence." and other related sentiments. I would run away from walkouts, not realizing the importance of such demonstrations. But joining the student publication pushed me out of my comfort zones. The first press conference I covered was about the Kidapawan massacre. Carrying that much knowledge and anger for the perpetrators of the massacre is a weight I carry to this day. The first protest I covered was against the vetoing of the SSS Pension Hike. And since then, I only went up—I covered more protests, more press conferences, more people's issues.

Black Joy is movement work

by Gloria Oladipo Black joy is revolutionary. Full stop. Oftentimes, white people misinterpret Black liberation movements as movements only about pain, movements only about anger, only about violence and death. And, of course, they involve those things. But joy is foundational. Joy is fundamental. Joy is what we’re fighting for. Joy is what we’re fighting with.   For me, Black joy is an…