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Writer's pictureChristine Ruffolo

Two Questions

As I attempt to simplify and surface patterns, two questions, in various guises, keep cycling through my mind:


Do you know how you’re doing what you’re doing?


Could it be done another way?

The first represents a semblance of awareness.  Do you understand the how.  

The ability to infiltrate your own body and know exactly what’s going on, in what sequence, determines how efficiently you are able to solve movement problems.  It unravels the mystery into its parts and allows you to investigate a particular section of intrigue or issue.  Pieced back into the working whole, a systematic shift occurs, minimizing pain and empowering you to blaze a path past sticking points.

By identifying the assistance, you can learn to maximize the intended output:


A post shared by Chris Ruffolo (@ruffolous) on Aug 22, 2017 at 7:18am PDT


Discerning what happens first dictates coordination, compensation, and organization.  It spells out the natural order of things, revealing the brain’s preference of priority.  Once the sequence has been named and numbered, it can be used to learn from and delineate design.  Recognition grants liberties to rearrange and restructure, excavating details to be noted and controlled.


Supported by the ground, head drop led the chest raise, which unfurled into a surprising external rotation of the shoulder.  As part of the larger bridge, this external rotation would prove to be an important element in gaining a comfortable position of height.

The second question begs you to experiment with your understanding.  Finding another way is the birth of creativity and the establishment of new synapses and neural pathways.  Different develops options and opens the door to expansive thought.  It brings thinking to the forefront and leads to using feeling as a measure of objective success.

When your body can use sensation as a decider of right and wrong, troubleshooting becomes a game of comparative means.  A tight back of the neck, for example, needed extension, but I couldn’t quite reach the base of the skull where it was originating.  Developing, and then contrasting three different methods helped me access the best approach to suit my current need:


A post shared by Chris Ruffolo (@ruffolous) on Aug 14, 2017 at 7:11am PDT


Reversing or changing direction can assist in a deeper, more contextual understanding of sequence.  Is it repeatable under varying or new conditions?  Learning must be actionable in order for it to be applicable. What you do with the information you’ve gathered defines the scope of your personal practice.

The impetus for everything I do revolves around the ability to make stuff up.  Bridging gaps and creating personal challenges engages my imagination, intellect, and kinesthetic senses simultaneously.  It asks that I use all of me.  The process fascinates and provokes further invention.


The origin of this move had nothing to do with a sissy squat.  I simply wanted to see if I could change the role of the knees in the bottom of a lunge position.  Unable to figure how to step forward, I chose to step back.  Leaning back and loading the feet and knees into a slow, concentric-only get up took several tries to smooth out and be satisfied with.

Questions are inviting.  They show interest.  They focus the mind and intent.  When used in a circular or guiding fashion, they provide a structure for seeking.  Meaningful frameworks are simple enough to support our own tangents, and can be forged from our own curiosities.

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