To Rest From Rest Or Not To Rest

Before this conversation began at the conference, I had never even considered not holding the rest pose between the movements in a practice. Since then, I experimented with dropping out of the rest pose between movements in my personal practice. It did not make a big difference, but the practice seemed more like a group of 20 separate events rather than a flowing connected experience. The flow is very important to me so I am firmly in the hold-the-rest-pose-between-movements camp.

That said, teaching is a different kettle of fish. Early in my teaching, I unconsciously kept the students in rest position while I talked about the movements. I didn’t even think about what I was doing until a student asked if we had to hold the rest pose all the time. She went on to explain that she had arthritis in her wrists and holding the same position for a long time caused pain. I thanked her and told her that we don’t have to hold the rest position all the time. It proved to be a hard habit for me to break because I am focused on communicating the basics of the movement rather than on how we are standing. I finally got smart and now tell the students they don’t have to hold the rest pose and for them to remind me when I forget.

For me it is hold the rest pose during practice and don’t hold the rest pose while teaching.