The Inner Lift
At the root of our spinal column, an internal ascension originates and feeds into our agility, speed, and power.
Without this lift we cannot open our chest fully, we can't move with speed and grace because we're sinking, so every movement must organize itself instead of feed off the intelligence of the inner pelvic lift.
This ascending energy makes us light on our feet, so our feet go before we have to tell them. When we are light on our feet we don't have the same risk of falling and our balance is superior because we balance from the center root not the peripheral body, where overcorrection and flailing happen.
If you over reach instead of getting behind the ball, in all likelihood, you dropped your pelvic lift, sank into your feet and had to reach because your feet weren't moving.
To move your feet, lift from the inner pelvic root upwards. And, don't be stingy with moving your feet! Don't stand in one spot not moving your feet.
Watch the pros
Watch the pros and watch the footwork. Watch the side to side glide. Watch how they get behind the ball not next to it. Watch how they hit the ball out in front of their bodies as the weight transfers forward. All of this takes impeccable inner pelvic lift.
To awaken this lift
Torso upright, knees bent in ready position, bounce like popcorn on the balls of the feet — pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
With inner lift this popcorn bouncing is a way to release bad tension in the body and let the inner lift replace it.
Where it lives in the yoga lineage
The pelvic floor lift is yogic. It is like consciousness — obvious when you see it, but invisible for many their whole lives, except for a moment here or there. The yogis cultivate this inner lift as if their very ability to transcend depends on the quality of this river.
What happens without it
The midsection becomes a passenger instead of a conductor. The legs still work. The arms still work. But the transmission belt between them loses tension. The upper body compensates — the arm flails, the shoulder hauls the swing around, the paddle chops down instead of catching underneath. Every shot gets hit while falling because without the lift there is no balance.
People start to lose their connection to their pelvic lift way earlier than 65 or 70. This is a problem at all ages, but most people by the age of 35 — especially if they have a seated job, are carrying extra weight, don't walk very often, have lower back pain, or have found the upper body rounding from being on the phone or being on the court — have already lost it.
If the upper body is rounded, the lower body is gripping to hold that distortion. A gripped pelvis is not inner lift. It is the same problem as dropping the pelvis, just with added tension.
What happens with it
The lift keeps the body upright, light on the feet. The pelvis initiates. The legs ground the rotation. The arm follows. The shot is hit from a place of balance, not compensation.