Tonight a student said to me, "I was so mad at my husband, I couldn't even play the violin! But your peeing exercise finally worked it out." I'd sort of forgotten about it, since I hadn't done it in a while.
This exercise was inspired by the amazing Argentine tango dancer Luciana Valle, who vastly improved my tango technique by saying "pee, pee, pee..." as we all danced. :-)
What this does is relax your lower back, putting your spine into better alignment. A lot of dancers learn to "tuck" their butts. That's not the motion I want, because the act of tucking doesn't invite relaxation. This exercise is great to do when you feel physically tense or emotionally stressed-out, which basically amounts to the same thing most of the time.
Procedure:
- Take a deep breath, through your mouth, into your chest. Words: "float your chest" or "float your shelf."
- Leave your chest right there. In your mind, pretend that you are peeing, until your lower back relaxes.
- Breathe in and out normally, enjoying your newly relaxed back.
- See if you can inhale into that same spot in your back, so that your back kind of goes in and out as you gently inhale and exhale.