What Do Sumo Wrestlers Have In Common With The Divine Feminine?
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When you’re a creative nerd who just wants everyone to get along with their bodies on a biospiritual level, it’s very easy to fall into the Mists of Avalon style of womens’ fitness training:
“Breeeeeeathe through the lotus structure of your pelvic floor. Feeeeeeeeel the muscles contract and expand like a moving flower.”
Yep, I’ve been there.
With that soft, lyrical approach, I’ve found that women without an athletic background are more likely to be open to movements that otherwise would seem challenging. This is especially crucial if it’s an older client who’s concerned about the longevity of her parts. The more challenging an exercise appears or feels from the outside, the more nervous she may be to attempt it, and that anxiety will impact her ability to perform any movement in the fluid, breathy-happy manner that’s most conducive to a positive overall experience — which is the number one priority, folks. (I don’t care how hard you sweat, as long as you’re feeling safe and secure when we’re together.)
Case in point: sumo squats. Great exercise for all those nasty pelvic floor issues, and highly suitable for both genders.
However, many older women are concerned about knees, and may have additional lower-body stability from underused arches of the foot. The appearance of a “Sumo Squat” might be intimidating.
Enter the Goddess Squat. Derived from Goddess Pose in yoga, this is a great technique for opening the hips, grounding through the lower body, and activating wonderful stabilization muscles through the side-body. (Not a trick word. I mean literally, the sides of your body as intelligent patterns of muscle that perform complex operations.)
