The Hindu

The Hindu can be used to teach and to reinforce correct posture.  It will only take a few moments each day, but the rewards are great.  Work this into your ensemble's daily routine, or have performers repeat this at "down" times during rehearsals on the field.  Sections which are not being worked with can do "The Hindu."

Set-up:  Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and parallel.  Be sure feet are not greater than shoulder-width.  There should be three points in the performer's body line: shoulders, hips and ankles.  This 3-point body line should always be aligned properly when performing movement phrases in the show.  Be certain that feet are parallel (in good ski-lines) throughout all aspects of this exercise.

In counts of "4"...

BREAK DOWN

1. HEAD:  Move chin directly to chest. Take all 4 counts when moving from landmark to landmark. Each landmark involves a change of speed.

2. SHOULDERS:  Roll shoulders back, up, forward, down.  Shoulders end forward of ribcage, with arms in toward center of body and hanging down.

3. UPPER BACK: Push straight down with hands towards the ground until only the upper half of back is bent. This will involve very little visible movement but the performer should feel the difference in the upper back.

4. LOWER BACK:  Push down with hands and upper back; extend lower vertebrae; slightly arched lower back as everything goes toward the ground.  Hips are still set in the 3-point body line at this point and they should not have come out of alignment.

5. HIPS:  Release hips and all of lower body while dangling arms toward the ground.  At the end of this 4 counts, the performer should be very near the ground in a slumped posture, but NOT squatting.

BUILD UP

Reverse the "Break Down" sequence.  Begin with Step 5, then Step 4, etc. Following Step 1 add "12" additional counts to complete the exercise.

1. HIPS:  Slowly raise and rotate hips back into correct 3-point body line.  At the end of this 4 counts, the hips and lower body should be in correct alignment with ankles.  Take all 4 counts when moving from landmark to landmark. Each landmark involves a change of speed.

2. LOWER BACK:  Stack lower vertebrae in correct alignment with hips; stack vertebrae from bottom to top as lower back arches back into position.

3. UPPER BACK:  Shoulders, upper back, and hands move only slightly back into position with 3-point body line. This will involve very little visible movement but the performer should feel the difference in the upper back.

4. SHOULDERS:  Roll shoulders down, forward, up, back.  Shoulders end precisely in line with hips and ankles..

5. HEAD:  Move chin from chest up to slightly above the horizon. Head should move to the position that is most comfortable and least restrictive for airflow.

6. RELEVÉ:  Slowly move up to relevé while at the same time extending arms in full extension above head.  Reach as high as possible on count 4 so that everything is as "out of the ground" as possible.

7. RELAX:  Leave the rib cage in the raised position achieved in Step 6.  Everything else returns to base.  Arms reset to sides.

8. COMPLETION:  In the final 4 counts, move arms up to horn position.  Right hand ends in a fist with left hand overlapping.  Elbows should be open and horn carriage should be away from chest.  If a performer is standing up properly, he or she will feel like he/she is slightly leaning forward.

Circledrill.com Exercises

Click the following links for instructions for each exercise.

MOVEMENT EXERCISES