Extensorville Part 2 – Learning to Crawl

Extensorville Part 2

 

“Extensorville – Part One” https://mewithlauriebb.com/extensorville-part-1/  was full of anatomical information on the extensor system and the concept of co-contraction of the flexor and extensor system.

 

I spoke to the fact that we are born in flexion and our extensor system must be developed once out of the womb.

 

The cervical (neck) and lumbar(lower back) curves are lordotic curves and develop through movement after we are born.

 

We must be able to lift our heads off the ground prior to crawling.

 

We have to support our upper body with our arms prior to crawling.

 

Our knees have to get under our hips on all 4’s (this takes lumbar strength – lumbar extensors).

 

Core stability is necessary (back and front body muscles working together to support the spine between the shoulders and pelvis) to transfer loads between the arms and legs.

 

We literally take baby steps, 1000’s of repeated movements, so that we can lift our heads, push with our arms to lift our trunks, roll over, sit, crawl, stand, and eventually walk and move through space.

 

Our extensor system is linked to our independence, not only as a babies, but also as adults.

 

As we age, the developed extensor system must maintain strength, be reactive to external feedback and work in partnership with the flexors or we may lose our ability to stand up, move through space, squat down to a chair, push and pull things with our arms, grasp with our hands, lift things off the ground, bend over…..

 

Worth taking care of, right?

 

Yep, I thought you might think so….

 

Let’s do a little deep dive using video footage to consider how as aging adults we might glean information from a baby developing her extensor system and how we can use this developmental kinesiology (fancy name for what babies do to learn to move and control movement) in a floor based yoga and movement practice to enhance our own function, motor control, and skills.

 

We’ll specifically look at the development of the shoulder girdle, arm/wrist, trunk, back extensors, and crawling through the lens of infant motor development (amazing baby steps!).

 

Additionally I’ve made a 15 minute practice video for your use based on what you’ll see in the next five short videos of Baby C.

This video will continue to be on my youtube channel and available for your use indefinitely. If you haven’t subscribed to my youtube channel, just put Laurie Burr in the search box on youtube.

 

MEET BABY C

 

Meet Baby C, who is the daughter of one of my husband’s running partners.

 

Luckily for us, Baby C’s momma takes lots of videos of her learning to move and she’s giving us access to these videos.

 

Baby C is absolutely delightfully adorable and she is a keen mover!  Her videos are super fun to watch!

 

As you watch the videos look for recognizable shapes and movements that you use on the mat in your own yoga practice and that  may be recognizable as the foundation of your own ability to be a bi-pedal human moving through space using your arms and legs to get all the things done in your life.

 

VIDEO ONE

In Video One, Baby C lifts her head and torso, reaches, leans, and plays in sphinx.

She’s working on neck extensors/eyes on the horizon, trunk extensors, building strength and capacity in one arm as she leans onto that arm and shoulder.

All that leg kicking action develops her glute and hamstring muscles, and even though it just looks like she is “slapping” the floor remember that in order to crawl she is going to have to put one hand out in front of her body in an all 4’s position, and in order to walk easily she’ll have to swing that arm forward.

 

VIDEO TWO

In Video Two, Baby C extends her elbows and wrists into a cobra-like position, creating a long line of stability to hold her head and torso up. She moves, reaches, kicks… all things that continue to develop her extensor system and move her towards actual “ambulation”.

But first she needs the strength the strength in her shoulder girdle, neck, back extensors, and hip extensors for crawling.

Notice how she never really stops moving.  All those movements she is making, literally hundreds of movements in different regions of her body, are  building her capacity for strength, mobility, stability, and resilience.

 

VIDEO THREE

In Video 3, you’ll see Baby C rocking  back and forth on all 4’s, which often occurs prior to an infant’s ability to crawl.

The rocking action builds strength in the arms and legs.  The core system is tasked with transferring load between the appendages.

We can’t walk if our appendages don’t move with a load bearing weight shift occurring between the upper and lower appendages through the center of our body.

 

VIDEO FOUR

In Video Four, not only do you get to hear a lot of raspberries being blown, but you may be blown away by the strength that is takes to hold yourself in plank and lower to a seated position.

In order to extend her hips with legs in plank, baby C’s hip extensors (glutes and hamstrings) must have considerable strength.

Look at what her shoulders have to do in conjunction with those legs to allow for the weight shifts from plank to sitting.

Think of the muscles you feel when you plank and transition into a different movement in yoga class.

And look at that perfect sitting!  What a journey that’s been to build the co-contraction between extensors and flexors in order to hold her entire head, shoulders, trunk, and lower back up against the force of gravity.

You can see that she is almost ready to motor along in a crawl, but the links haven’t quite firmed up yet – she’s so close!

 

 

VIDEO FIVE

And she’s off to the races.

Can you see how she’s perfected over 1000’s of movement repetitions and steps along the way, the ability to move opposite arm and leg to propel her forward?

This translates later on in walking where one leg steps forward and the opposite arm swings forward.  This contralateral movement pattern develops long before we’re ever walking through space.

It’s really astounding.

 

 

 

 

A 15 minute Extensor Muscle Practice Designed for Big People based on Little People Movement

So here’s a practice video I made for you based on some of what we see Baby C do in these videos.

Although we have the ability to stand and walk through space, returning to movements that we mastered as infants can be very helpful in restoring function, stability, strength, mobility, and resilience to different areas of our body.

I recognize that the sound is very soft.  Although I tried using air pods to broadcast my voice, that was a failure.  Please turn your sound up as high as possible and bring the video to full screen and that should be somewhat helpful.

 

 

 

Always love hear your comments.  Feel free to leave one!