Getting Centered: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
When I meet a new child, and want to catch his attention – like the little boy squirming on the window seat of my last airplane flight – I often begin with “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” This song has great hand and arm motions – both fine and gross motor, and these motions are automatically integrating. Itsy Bitsy Spider is a fantastic way to catch a child’s attention, and bring that attention into a centered and grounded place.
To explore why and how, let’s first look at the movements.
“The Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the water spout.” (Thumb and index finger climb up from the lap to chin, or higher)
“Down came the rain . . .” (Fingers fluttering, hands descend back toward the lap in two parallel lines)
“. . . and washed the spider out!” (Palms fly out to both sides)
“Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain” (Arms reach above the head in and and hands curve toward one another to form a circle – many sway here, with the rhythm of the song)
“And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.” (Arms quickly drop, and thumb and index finger make the initial climb once more).
Up-and-down movements like these help us feel centered and grounded. Why?
One reason is deep lies deep in the electro-magnetic circuits of the human body. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese mapped a system of energy flow that is continues to be used today in a variety of healing and educational applications. The Chinese mapped and named pathways - or meridians – they identified.
“The Central Vessel” begins below the pubic bone and runs up to the lower jaw. You don’t have to touch your body to activate it – your the electromagnetic field extends to the air surrounding your body. You can activate any meridian simply by moving your hand along its pathway in the air around you.
Movement along any meridian is like stroking a cat - there is definitely a way the electromagnetic “fur” likes to go! For the Central Vessel, this direction is up. To turn this meridian “on,” we can sweep our hands upward, a few inches away from our bodies, from our laps to our chins. Activating the Central Vessel makes us feel stronger - more energetic and alive, more centered and grounded.
Moving our hands downward, in the opposite direction, turns the meridian “off.” We release our energy, relax and droop.
Try it! Start by noticing your current energy level. One concrete way to do this is to think about a very small problem or annoyance, andto notice the extent to which it bugs you. You can quantify this benchmark with a number from 1 – 10.
For instance, as I’m sitting here writing, I know that soon I need to get in the car and drive a longish distance, and I really am not feeling “up” for that. I’d put my resistance at about a “5.”
Sweep your hand up from your lap to your chin. Do this energetically a few times. “Stroking the cat” in this direction can make it purr.
I just did this. Now my resistance has gone down to a “3.” And I’ve just found myself yawning and stretching, and now it’s gone down to a “1.” And now, just in the time it took to write the last sentence, the resistance I originally felt is totally gone. It's hard even to think about driving – I’m just not interested. The idea no longer has any power over my emotions.
Sometimes we feel over-energized, hyperactive. Then it may be time to stroke the cat in the downward direction, breaking down the jitters. Notice how your body feels, and then stroke the air down, from chin to lap, a few times. Do your shoulders start to droop a bit, and do you begin to feel a little “logy?” Time to get the energy back - sweep up from lap to chin again a few times! This new energy feels cleaner and clearer. It doesn’t carry all of the old “program” that was making us a little jittery a few moments ago.
We don’t even have to touch the cat to activate this energy. The eyes are the joy stick of the brain – every time we look in a direction, we activate information that moves across the brain in the opposite direction. Simply moving our eyes up and down has a centering effect - we are “stroking the cat” internally.
Are you starting to understand the power of “Itsy Bitsy Spider?”
Catch the child’s attention with the tune and the interesting position of your hands. As your thumbs and index fingers crawl up from your lap to your chin, their internal “cat” starts getting stroked in the right direction. Then, the rain falls down, and washes away their old energy. And once the sun comes out, the itsy bitsy spider crawls UP the spout again.
Itsy Bitsy Spider is magic! The movements of the song are perfect for centering and grounding a child. The hands go up, energizing the child’s system. They go down, releasing the old energy. And as they go up again, the child feels both more energized and more peaceful.
On the airplane the other day, the little boy was getting restless, and the cabin pressure was changing, and his mother was occupied with the baby who had just awakened. Itsy Bitsy Spider kept us going for a good ten minutes. He beamed and wriggled and moved his little hands, and his shiny eyes kept returning to mine.
We can do the game as many times as we like, but we always end with an upward movement. We need to put ourselves back together, so we can go on to our next activity.
As for me, I need to get up and drive.
Comments
What a lucky mom, to have sat near you on the plane!
I love this, the insight into this song and what’s happening to our bodies when we sing it. Does the motion upwards always have to be energetic? I’m wondering if slow, resistive pushing up also has the same effect ... like you’re pushing an imaginary medicine ball above your head or something.
Beth
Thanks so much, Marcia!
And Beth, regarding the quality of the motion upwards -
any movement along the Central Vessel can stimulate it,
but a weak, listless motion won’t stimulate it very
much. To really wake up the brain/body system, it’s
important that your motion have energy. But that energy
can reflect whatever intention you bring to it. Slow,
resistive pushing will have a different effect than a
quick, light motion - but that might be the very effect
that you want!
It would be fun to experiment - try different qualities
of energy in your movement up the meridian, and notice
the different ways you feel.
What are your thoughts on teaching the itsy bitsy spider using sign language? Personally I like using the traditional way, but there has been a push to use sign language.
There is never only one way to do a song! Doing any
song with sign language can be a wonderful
experience.
But, unless you are specifically teaching sign language
in your class, there is no reason to prefer sign
language over the traditional way.
The traditional movements for Itsy Bitsy Spider are a
nice blend of fine and gross motor. The spider
activates the fingers, and all the other motions are
large scale.
Any time you use sign language, you are prioritizing
the words - attaching a specific meaning to each
motion. The traditional movements are more of a gestalt
experience - and do a better job of sketching out the
large rhythms and form of the song. So if your goal is
more along the lines of experiencing music/movement
axis rather than identifying words, I’d go with the
traditional movements.
Thanks for the explanation Eve. I like simple examples with profound meaning.
You’re welcome, Julie! I’m glad it makes sense.
Marcia Jul 02, 2011
Wonderful, clear explanation!