Two body cues that actually work: “mama give me money” hand, and “museum person neck.” Yes, they sound unhinged. That’s the point.
“Mama give me money” nails the wrist and palm angle in wall work without a lecture. You feel the shape instantly. You stop overthinking. Your hand stops doing that limp, apologetic thing.
“Museum person neck” gets you tall without the chin-jut struggle. Not “pull your head back.” Not “lengthen through C7.” Just: be the person who looks at art all day and somehow never looks stressed about it.
I’ve learned a lot from people like Nick Winkelman and Eric Franklin, and from the whole imagery-based thread in yoga teaching (I first heard “dynamic alignment through imagery” via David Garrigues). External cues work. Sport science knows it. Yoga pretends it’s above it, then quietly steals it anyway.
The nervous system doesn’t fall in love with accuracy. It falls in love with something it can recognize. A human picture. A little poetry. Even onomatopoeia when it fits. Absurd language is sticky, and sticky is useful when you’re trying to learn with a moving body.
So yes, I’ll keep saying “mama give me money.” And “museum neck.” If it gets you safer, steadier, and less trapped in your head, we can all survive the cringe together.