SUSPENSION
One of the most important features of GRACE technique involves the suspension of the spine from the nape of the neck. It is a very, very powerful approach to spine health in particular because it creates space between the joints and it happens without physical efforting. The idea of suspending yourself from the nape of the neck is obviously not really possible. Gravity prevents it in reality. But the mind gives us a very effective alternative. Visualization. Simply imagining suspending myself from the nape of the neck now automatically releases my entire spine, expanding the joints and releasing tension, both chronic tension from dance and life as well as tension that lingers from past trauma.
Weight plays an outsized role in suspension. It is one of the reasons this technique works so well. We let the heaviness of our body stretch our joints apart. Because the point of origin is the top of the spine, the joint expansion releases and adjusts the vertebrae into natural alignment. All happening through imagining. The mind is an amazing thing.
Why is the concept of suspension such a powerful one for the body?
There are 2 situations in physics where we have 2 distinct choices. Interestingly, we often choose the harder path.
Push instead of pull: I work with seniors a great deal of the time. Falls and preventing them is high on my list of priorities. One of the issues seniors have is how to get up off the floor after a fall. Most advice is to find a nearby support and pull yourself up. However, it is far easier to push yourself off the floor than pull yourself up. Pushing is a much safer and more effective use of your energy and muscle in anything.
Suspend instead of lift: A similar phenomenon occurs when you have the choice to suspend something versus lifting it up. The something I am writing about is your body. We can suspend our body or we expend significant effort and musculature to keep our body lifted. It really comes down to the fact that we are 2 legged creatures. It takes remarkable effort to keep us upright, effort we take for granted since we deal with it constantly. Imagine a 2 legged bar stool and how much you would have to do to keep it from falling over. So lifting is a huge deal for us. Suspending on the other hand is beneficial in several ways: It is wonderful for the joints, requires little effort, very relaxing and consequentially, excellent for our health and well being.
Think about how standing on one spot requires engaging our entire skeletal structure as well as seriously drawing our core in, if the techniques taught in traditional fitness for posture and strength are used. These are excellent pursuits but if you suspend yourself from the nape of your neck you don't really need all that intention or contracted muscle to hold yourself up.
Push instead of pull: I work with seniors a great deal of the time. Falls and preventing them is high on my list of priorities. One of the issues seniors have is how to get up off the floor after a fall. Most advice is to find a nearby support and pull yourself up. However, it is far easier to push yourself off the floor than pull yourself up. Pushing is a much safer and more effective use of your energy and muscle in anything.
Suspend instead of lift: A similar phenomenon occurs when you have the choice to suspend something versus lifting it up. The something I am writing about is your body. We can suspend our body or we expend significant effort and musculature to keep our body lifted. It really comes down to the fact that we are 2 legged creatures. It takes remarkable effort to keep us upright, effort we take for granted since we deal with it constantly. Imagine a 2 legged bar stool and how much you would have to do to keep it from falling over. So lifting is a huge deal for us. Suspending on the other hand is beneficial in several ways: It is wonderful for the joints, requires little effort, very relaxing and consequentially, excellent for our health and well being.
Think about how standing on one spot requires engaging our entire skeletal structure as well as seriously drawing our core in, if the techniques taught in traditional fitness for posture and strength are used. These are excellent pursuits but if you suspend yourself from the nape of your neck you don't really need all that intention or contracted muscle to hold yourself up.
GRACE is easy on the body because of suspending instead of lifting:
- Less effort and muscle contraction is necessary to hold ourself upright with good posture.
- Alignment becomes easy: Gravity arranges your weight appropriately so that the spine in particular is properly and naturally aligned.
- Core support becomes easy: abdominal musculature is automatically engaged without effort.
- Keeping the chest lifted becomes easy: The rib cage is automatically lifted, again without effort, when we suspend our spine from the nape of the neck.
Ways you can experience suspension:
Several methods use suspension as a critical element:
- Aerial yoga: I have been practicing this form for a year now and absolutely love it. It is especially good for releasing hard to get at tension in the deep lower back and hips, fantastic for dancers.
- Suspension gear which allows you to hang upside down from your feet: Our 86 year old yoga instructor swore by this and hung upside down 30 minutes every morning! Not recommended unless there is someone there to help you get down if you need to.
- A body part held as dead weight: This concept is used extensively in GRACE release exercises. It is why the exercises work so well and it is also unfortunately a difficult condition to experience for many.
- Traction: This older method for dealing with back problems involved a pulley weight system to stretch the spine longer while lying in bed. Traction is still an approved medical treatment for use under specific circumstances.
- Your body is suspended when someone else lifts you up.
You can also suspend in any direction. For instance, lying down or sideways. Just be creative in your imaging.
Published June 1, 2026.