As a working single mother, I’m used to multitasking. And yet, some of the CANTIENICA® exercises push me to my limits. How can you keep track of so many instructions at once?

My plan was clear from the start: I want to bring order to my body. Align the joints, and screw and stabilize the arm and leg axes according to the Vivatomy® method. To straighten the spine from the sacrum to the crown of the head, align the pelvis, and stretch the organ lifter and the diaphragm.

That was the plan.

But my body parts are pulling apart. My right thigh does whatever it wants. My left shoulder blade won’t stay still, even though in my mind it should be flowing calmly down my back. And what exactly are the ischial tuberosities up to again? What was that about the tailbone? Gently align it away from the sacrum. Don’t pull, don’t push. Just align.

I read the instructions, read them a second time, and highlight entire blocks of text with an orange highlighter. Still, my body keeps falling back into its old habits.

What helps me are the Cantian principles: working from the bottom up. First the feet, then the legs, the pelvis, the chest, the shoulders, the neck, and the crown of the head. One part of the body at a time.

But no sooner have I reached the top than my calves have already started making their own plans again.

So I’ll start over.

Over time, I realize: The body learns. The instructions that seemed tricky at first become more familiar. I no longer have to consciously monitor every single bone. Concentration gradually gives way to a sense of my body.

Only the leg scissors remain stubborn.

In this acrobatic-looking sideways position, the pelvis should remain stable while the upper leg hovers in the air. As soon as I extend my arm, stability goes out the window. As I try to keep my thighs turned out, the tension in the longitudinal ligaments gives way. The whole thing falls apart, and I sink onto the mat like a sack.

One more time.

And one more time.

Then, all of a sudden, it works.

The pelvis remains stable. The arm shoots up toward the ceiling. The top leg swings back and forth with astonishing ease. The exercise no longer feels complicated. It feels logical.

Now this is starting to get fun.

I call my daughter over and proudly show her my leg scissors. She lies down next to me on the mat and says, “Of course, Mommy. Look, I can do that, too. It’s only logical.”

She looks just right right away.

I’m amazed, lie back down on my side, and try it again. And sure enough: Now the leg scissor makes sense to me, too.

When a movement is right, you can tell. Your body feels stable and light at the same time. Suddenly, you know for sure: That’s how it’s supposed to be.

This is the “body intelligence” that Benita Cantieni talks about. An inner order lies dormant within every body. Sometimes it is buried beneath old habits. But it is there. It can be reawakened.

Then the supposed chaos begins to fall into place.

It’s never too late to start.