Non Dominance for better Uniform Development

One of Joseph Pilates’ concepts is Uniform Development which I’ve written about before.

In his 1945 book, Return to Life, he says:

 "Accordingly, since we are living in this Modern Age we must of necessity devote more time and more thought to the important matter of acquiring physical fitness. This does not necessarily imply that we must devote ourselves on the the mere development of any particular pet set of muscles, but rather more rationally to the uniform development of our bodies as a whole" 

Here’s what I said in that first post:

In our Pilates practice we strive to uniformly develop our bodies

• up to down
• right to left
• in to out
• mobile & strong

 

(If you’d like to read the full post on how I connect flower arranging to the Pilates Method check it out here: Your Pilates Vase - you might find it a strange idea but my superpower is connecting pretty much anything to Pilates🤣) 

photo by Chloe Bolton 

In This Post I Want to Focus On the 

• up to down and 
• right to left of Uniform Development 

 I want to look at how we can be aware of Uniform Development when we’re off our mat by focusing on using the Non Dominant side of our body.

How might we bring this into the 23 hours a day we’re not on a Pilates mat?

It is going to be easier to work on Uniform Development when we’re in the Pilates studio for a number of reasons:

• Because it’s a foundational concept it’s been brought to our attention (I’d never heard of the concept before my early Pilates days)
• We have the structure & support of the equipment or the geometry & confines of the mat for feedback (yay!)
• We might have a mirror for visual feedback (read my full-on post about mirrors HERE)
• We also could/should have an instructor’s eyes boring into our imbalances (& of course offering us positive corrections to adjust said imbalances, right?)

photo by Moi’

Once we leave the Pilates studio how can we proactively work on Uniform Development?

Here are my Suggestions:

First Pay Attention & Notice

What are your current movement proclivities?

We all have ingrained movement habits.

• Do you stand with more weight on one leg than the other? (I’m guilty & it gets really exaggerated when I’m tired)
• Do you always cross your legs the same way?
• Do you always carry a bag on the same shoulder?
• If you’re a parent of littlelies do you always prop your kiddo on the same hip?
• When you climb stairs do you always lead with the same foot?
• Have you slept on the same side of the bed for yonks thereby getting up in the same direction on the daily?
• Do you have some old injuries or maybe some pathologies that inform how you move?

I think you get the idea that yep, 99% of us have one side that is dominant, which is not to say that we don’t use our non dominant side for things - we have a bit of a mix between the two.

Approximately 11% of the population is left handed (including yours truly) but only 1% of the population is truly ambidextrous where they can use each hand/foot/side of their body equally well.

Why do Things Feel so Odd on our Non Dominant Side?

Because of our Brains.

If we’ve repeated a task over the years then we’ve laid down a neural groove making that particular brain body connection really strong.

I’ll give you an example from my left handed-ness.

I’m the only lefty in the family and we only had right handed scissors growing up so as a result I cut with my right hand (knives as well as scissors). Would it have been more comfortable for me to use left handed scissors as a child? Probably but I can’t guarantee it but what it means is that now trying to use left handed scissors feels just plain wrong.

Why Should We Focus on our Non Dominant Side?

Dominant ‘Sideness’ or ‘Handedness’ is not just about which hand we use to cut or write out our grocery list.

Once we’ve brought our attention to our ingrained movement patterns in all aspects of our lives and notice which side dominates in different scenarios then we can try to corral our non-dominant side into stepping it up.

What’s the Big Deal?

Three Sound Reasons:

• Brain neuroplasticity - teaching an old dog a new trick does have benefits for better health outcomes as we grow older. Here’s an article that talks about cognitive ageing and Positive Neuroplasticity.
• If we can take what we learn off out mat and use it in the ‘real world’ it will in turn make our time in the studio more effective and we’ll progress more quickly (You can liken it to doing your homework on a school subject, if you only rely on the classroom learning with no self study you won’t get very far)
• The old saw of, If you strengthen an imbalance the imbalance gets stronger is true. Misalignment is not efficient and can then lead to injuries. Here’s a quick look at lower leg strength in soccer players: A comparison of muscle strength and flexibility between the preferred and non-preferred leg in English soccer players. I mean it just makes sense.

Now that we have the awareness of the How (paying attention) and the Why (3 sound reasons), let’s look at some super easy ways to bring the What of Uniform Development into our lives:

It’s Pretty Easy but You Must Be,

Willing to Feel Uncomfortable and

Willing to Look a Tad Foolish by 

Leading the Way With Your Non Dominant Side.

• Walk up the stairs emphasising the ‘wrong’ foot
• Convince your partner - or your bed hog of a dog - to swap sides of the bed (in my house this one’s probably not going to happen)
• Brush your teeth with your non dominant hand (way harder than it ought to be!)
• Write that grocery list with your opposite hand (having broken & fractured my left hand I have some experience in this and it did get easier with practice)
• Fold your hands crossing your fingers the opposite way - it feels really weird.
• get dressed in reverse: put your opposite leg into your undies or pants first, this will cause you to have to balance on your non dominant leg. Put your shirt on the unusual way. (Have you ever had the experience of someone holding a jacket up for you to put on and they offer you the wrong arm first? Didn’t it just do your head in?)

Go ahead, put yourself out there and live on the edge even if it feels a bit awkward🙃

photo by Cindy Tang

In a Nutshell🌰 My Message to You is Really Simple -

Go Non Dominant!

• Take what you’ve learned in the Pilates studio about your preferred alignment and movement patterns
• Up the ante of your Uniform Development by moving more from your non dominant side in your regular day to day
• Work, move, and strengthen from the most functional movement patterns available to you
• Keep the one body that you’ve got in as good a nick as possible so that you can continue to move with Spontaneous Zest & Pleasure!

Want more of my musings? I spout them all the time (some people call it a soapbox😉)

Book a live class or workshop or rent one of my Videos On Demand, all the info’s on the website: Dragonfly Pilates & Movement

Be Well,

xBec

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and Rebecca Forde disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this post

cover and social photo by Maria Teneva