Physical Alchemy: Basic Strength Training (Structural, Constituitional and Fundamental factors)

Physical Alchemy: Basic Strength Training
 Dave Wardman

People utilize many different strength training methods for a lot of different reasons and goals.  This article is mainly concerned with how Basic Strength Training is used within the Physical Alchemy method.  This is a general 'strategic' outline, it will not be concerned with specifics in terms of programming parameters and such details (that will be later). 

Strength training is a strong (somatic) medicine for our bodily un-aware culture. Not many people view it as such, but my observation and research over the passed decade and a bit (the last 7 years in particular) have lead me to view this as being very much the case.   It is more than just 'getting stronger', 'bulking up' or 'getting ripped'; and so on. 

When used well it can have a very powerfully positive effect upon the bodymind.  When abused, it can have an equally powerful, inverse effect.  The mistake is in the viewing of physical training as just 'going to the gym/getting fit'; and as being somehow separate and unrelated to the totality of ones' life, more generally.

Putting on muscle, getting fit or losing body fat is no problem (having an aesthetic or fitness primary objective); is often great, in fact - it is just somewhat wasteful of something that can do this (easily) and much more (physical cultivation primary objective); if you are skillful in the implementation and programming.   

Many of the common primary goals people have for their use of strength training are not primary objectives for Physical Alchemy: aesthetics; performance (in sport or physical activity and/or towards advanced strength work); fitness (general).  

[ Further see also 'Dynamic Health' and 'Demonstrating Strength vs Building Strength' by Steve Maxwell ]

Basic Strength Training from a Physical Cultivation perspective

Basic Strength Training in the Physical Alchemy method is largely for structural (correcting imbalances of strength, contraction coordination and activation); constitutional (using methods to improve health in preference to fitness or performance - unless there is a good reason to preference differently) and fundamental (providing the base strength levels and patterns needed to work on higher level complex movements) benefits.

Two of these categories (Structural and Constitutional) fall into health cultivation and longevity (both quality of movement and vitality into old age; and length of lifespan).  For people who are not performance based athletes, these two aspects can make up the bulk of the 'why and what' to train for.
 
The illusion that athletes (because they visually appear as fit/muscular specimens of humanity, and fit certain cultural ideals) are healthy is something that needs to be stated.  Performance passed a certain level is depleting upon the vitality of the body (except, apparently, in swimmers  - where it confers added lifespan.  That tidbit I picked up off Steve Maxwell, and it is interesting to contemplate the mechanisms behind this..) 

Fundamental strength work facilitates quality of movement learning and adaptation in chosen complex movement patterns (movement arts, martial arts, sport, games, play); as well as providing resilience/injury proofing and reducing physical demands of some activities.  This can also be explained in reverse; if you lack basic strength-awareness (generally and/or in specific key areas and patterns) your body will find a dysfunctional way to complete the movement pattern you are asking it to learn. Various injuries, dysfunction and tissue damage result. You see this all the time; it is almost the rule, rather than the exception to it (sadly). 

Using strength work in harmonious combination with the practice of complex movement patterns (movement arts), soft body skills and flexibility work is the primary goal at Physical Alchemy.  The emphasis here is on basic.  Many of the strength exercises popular at the moment have a moderate to high degree of strength-skill attached to them, and their transferability quotient is debatable (and IS debated, endlessly, across the Internet).



[*] Diminishing Returns 
This raises the concept of Diminishing Returns.  At what point does the amount of time-energy put into Basic Strength Training reach a point of diminishing returns in relation to health and skill increase in chosen complex movement patterns (i.e resources could be siphoned off into more skill training for the chosen complex movement art)?

There are many factors to this question: the individual's constitutional and genetic-biological makeup; the training age of the person; the complex movement pattern(s) being studied; the totality of stressors (physical; mental-emotional; environmental; viral; economic; temporal; etc) effecting the bodymind; the attributes already present (where they are with strength, flexibility and agility); whether the person is emotionally dependent on physical training; and on and on. 

IF strength training is not an end in itself for the person (and it can be, which is what I would call 'Advanced' or 'Specialized' strength training); how much energy should you devote to it to maximize gains in terms of health and foundational aspects to aid other movement studies?

My answer.. you don't need so much, if you are doing it skillfully (balancing weakness; strengthening basic patterns; programming to aid the other movement activities).  Then again, strength training is fun in and of itself - so I can see why people specialize in it (which is no problem; unless it is a problem).  Problems creep in when people try to specialize at strength work at the same time as working on multiple complex movement patterns/arts (and working a day job; and having a relationship; etc)...

Classic signs of this occurring are the symptoms of over-training manifesting in the bodymind of the trainee.  And I must say I totally understand how this occurs, and have done this myself, when I was younger.   Strength training can be really fun and rewarding - especially when you start to get how it works well (training age and skill increases); it is mood-enhancing, confidence increasing - you get the increased somatic feeling of strength (the altered body-image from training) etc.. Also, complex movement patterns are great fun... so you end up in the gym 3-5 times a week; training for martial arts or whatever is 3 nights a week (sometimes more), and nobody's paying you to work out (unless you're lucky!) so you need a job; etc.

The body, more or less, takes all these stress as combined.  The view that the whole of your life situation is somehow separate from your training is the downfall of many.  The Stress of Life (as Hans Selye put it) is digested whole. 

For some decent information on over-training, there is a section in Science of Sports Training on this that goes into much more detail than normal (Science of Sports Training - Thomas Kurz) - especially in regards to the differences between basedowic and addisonic overtraining; and strategies to overcome these.   I did a brief overview of these 'yin and yang' types of over-training HERE.

Expanding the Structural, Constitutional and Fundamental factors a bit more: 

[*]  Structural
This refers to the use of strength training methods (in combination with Soft Body Skills (Flexibility; Stretching; Deep Physical Relaxation; RollStretch; etc) within a Spatial medicine (Structural Integration/Osteopathic/Daoist fusion) approach the the structural health of the bodymind.

One of the major things I seek to do with basic strength training is balance any imbalances in the soft tissues of the body (muscles, fascia, nerves): Left-Right; Back-Front; Upper-Lower; Rotational and Spiral Patterns. 

In the Physical Alchemy method we utilize both classical-reductionist (especially Janda's work) and more pattern-based (Anatomy Trains/Myofascial Meridian; Chinese Meridian-organ channels and a few other perspectives) anatomy in the application and theory.

Using a combination of reductionist isolation work with integrative work is a useful thing to do, IMHO.  Some muscular structures appear to perform a 'keystone' function and confer wide benefits upon the organism from their awakening (sensory awareness), strengthening and activation.  

There is a fair bit out now about this type of thing.. I really like(d) Tom Myers  (Anatomy Trains (KMI) & Fascial Fitness) take on this, in his Spatial Medicine concept - mentioned above (there was a great article on the old AT site, but it no longer works..alas).

Ido's (Portal) facebook page had a great little diagram (See HERE) showing:  Isolation --> Integration --> Improvisation.  This is a great way to look at it.

This aspect concerns, not just range of movement available (and other quantitative physical measurements), but also the texture, tone-responsiveness and 'health' of the soft tissues of the body.

What we are after is Optimal Responsive Tonus - a myofascial (soft-tissue) matrix that has lines of tension balanced; is relaxed when at rest (reduced 'parasitic tension' in the body), and is neurally responsive (so that you can leap into action at any given time and from any given posture - then return to rest). 


[*] Constitutional
As I said, I utilize basic strength sessions in a Spatial Medicine way, as well as (more conventionally) for hormonal (neuro-endocrine) health; health of the fluid systems (taken generally to all fluid systems - and the prevention of stagnation in these systems - not just the heavily focused upon (and obviously important!) arterial and venous systems; but the lymph and cerebrospinal fluid too (what does strength and movement work do to the CSF, anyway?!); interactions and movements within organ-systems; lean muscle mass and the (re)-ignition of the Radical Plasticity of the body.

Training is a stress on the body. By intelligently programming our training in various ways we can (hopefully) force adaptation in a desired direction via supercompensation (if adequate food; rest; rejuvenation; etc..).  If we focus on purely numbers (making 'x' reps) or competition, we often lose awareness and quality for sake of quantity and 'glory'.  Training should make the body adapt in a favorable direction in terms of health.  Performing thousands (tens of thousands..) of repetitions of faulty, low quality repetitions is giving the brain a lot a poor quality 'neural-movement food' to digest.


[*]  Fundamental
Many people are far too weak.  Too weak for the activities they undertake. Too weak for the activities of daily life, in some cases.  What I mean by this is they have to compensate in a posturally poor, mal-adapted way to a given movement; due to lack of strength and/or poor basic locomotion and movement patterns.

Many of these people want to go out and take on complex movement patterns that are beyond their current capacity.  This is where basic strength training comes in, and it is one of the best uses for basic strength training (and you'll likely put on some lean muscle mass, too).

Basic Strength Training is just this; the basic strength attributes to lay the foundation for complex movement patterns (even simple movement patterns!).  It provides:

• Basic Strength and Lean Muscle Mass

• Basic Human Movement Patterns 

• Sensory-motor Basics:  Contraction (muscular) awareness; activation pattern and sequencing; basic muscle group and movement pattern awareness.  

Other common primary goals for strength training not emphasized in the Physical Alchemy method. 


[*]  Aesthetics
Whilst having this as primary outcome for training can have a certain narcissism to it, the isolation work and seeking a balanced symmetry in musculature is not without some merit (I refer here more to the golden age of bodybuilding).

As mentioned above, certain specific activation-hypertrophy-strengthening of key 'asleep' muscles groups can be a wonderous thing - if brought to life by re-intergration into larger, more global movement patterns.  Common spots for this are:  forearm and hand muscles; feet and foreleg; neck training; deep anterior spine muscles; glutes; and a few other areas.

Aesthetics should flow out of correct Basic Strength Training in a Physical Cultivation configuration (and a certain degree of non-attachment present in this).


[*]  Performance
Just to things clear, the Physical Alchemy method of Basic Strength Training is not about pure performance enhancement (especially competition training for sports), but is the use of strength work within a physical cultivation parameter.

Performance will definitely improve (to a point) from training to improve the Structural, Consitutional and Fundamental aspects mentioned above - but at the higher levels performance will eat in to your health.

And there is no problem with this if your passion in life is to perform at a competition level in whatever movement activity you chose (some activities being less effecting of health; some more).  We all gotta go sometime; no point living to 100 having never really lived with aliveness.

There are many examples of great people who burned quick and bright, and positively influence thousands (or millions) with their legacy (on of my favorites being Bruce Lee (of course)).  [ See Kit Laughlins blog HERE for more insights on this ]

Methods

I have a preference for certain modes of training (as do most trainers).  I will steer clear of too much 'one true way' methodology, in terms of 'best' methods.  I personally love minimalist training because it is practical, fun and has an 'agile-lifestyle' vibe about it.  It's also effective for my non-elite performance physical cultivation training framework - and easy to give to people to do at home (without them spending a mint on equipment that gathers dust in the corner).  

I utilize largely exercises from the Monkey Gym Syllabus (which I helped create); the methods of Steve Maxwell; Stretch Therapy methods; physical conditioning methods from martial arts (especially Chinese and South East Asian martial arts) and various other exercises I have created.  

Exercise is a large part body-weight; with some kettle-bell lifts (especially the strength-stretch and multi-plane movements: TGU; Side press; Windmill; etc) and gymnastic holds; some clubs and band work, too.  I have nothing against other methods (barbell; strongman; etc), I just do not personally specialize in them and would rather refine what I already do.  

As I have been mentioning throughout this piece; the strength work is kept basic in Physical Alchemy, so that there is high remaining energy to work on complex movement patterns from movement arts - because these are much more fun; offer higher level benefits and are more life-enhancing in my opinion.



* Ok; so maybe the Farnese-Hercules image at the top is not 'Basic' strength training - but it is a great statue. 

Fascial Pec Minor 'Arm Line/Lung Meridian' Stretching

I recently put up two clips on Youtube; both of which aim to bring sensory awareness, muscular activation and soft tissue re-modelling stretch to the tissues of/around/involved with the anatomical structure that is pectoralis minor.   

This muscle is notoriously tricky to isolate with a stretch, for a lot of people; and my 'Practitioner Hanging Fascial Pec Minor Stretch' partner stretch came about from my playing-exploring with ways to find a tangible and workable sensation of this region in my own body.  I am really loving this stretch at the moment (and a couple of other hanging stretches); as it works great solo and *GREAT* as a practitioner (partner) exercise. 

The second video is one starring Cherie Seeto (Sydney Stretch Therapy) has also come up with nice solo stretch (that gets pec minor and the clavicular fibres of pec major very nicely for me) - nick-named 'The Kebab'.(!)

This one works really well for me as a more active 'contract-move' eccentric style stretch, where the tissues are kept lightly contracted via a straight armed humeral flexion movement and slight elbow flexion; utilizing the breath to change the stretching vectors and release tension more specifically on the tissues attached to the ribcage (as opposed to a more standard contract-relax Stretch Therapy approach). Being a secondary breathing muscle, the use of various directed breathing techniques as enhancers to the stretch should come as no surprise. 

Now, both of these stretches can be felt in many other locations - depending upon where you are have restrictions.  Biceps and the fascia of the arms are very common.  Both the Front Arm Line and Deep Front Arm Line myofascial meridians of the Anatomy Trains terminology are effected; and can be preferentially targetted if you know how.. different grip positions and strengths; different rotations of the humerus; different humerus to spine angles - and much more. 

[ Check out the 'Arm Line' article here:  http://www.anatomytrains.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/bodyreading1.pdf ]

Or just buy the new 3rd Edition of Tom Myers fantastic Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists.  The second edition is on my 'Recommended Reading' list for a reason.. I'm looking forwards to checking out the changes to the new edition myself!

Honing in on the pec minor for a moment (and related soft tissues of the Deep Front Line - esp clavipectoral fascia; subclavius), we can see via the anatomy of the area why this region is a potent site for the blood vessels and nerves of the arm to be compressed against the hard tissue of the ribs; and/or tethered and adhered within the soft tissues of the region (neuro-vascular entrapment).

Magnify the percentage chance of this happening in relation to the degree of Forward Head Posture and all its spine, rib and scapula correlates.

The chapter on the pectoralis minor in Travell & Simons' great work Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual mentions a number of clinical manifestations of pain and dysfunction related to this area, including: golfer's and tennis elbow; carpal tunnel syndrome; various arm pain, weakness and loss of proprioception; and pain, swelling and altered sensations in the hands and fingers.

Taking a slightly wider, and more osteopathic/Daoist perspective (as I do); it makes sense to me that there could be(are) a wider range of inauspicious health, movement and sensory awareness impacts to having this area in a less than optimal state of soft-tissue texture and tone - even if these are 'sub-clinical' in that they have not manifested as pain or perceived dysfunction, yet. 

Reading up about the meridian pathways of Chinese medicine can be very insightful when focusing on the sensations coming about in the whole body whilst stretching certain areas and maintaining sufficient body awareness and a clear enough mind. This complements the classical western anatomy and new fascial anatomy nicely (add in the Ayuvedic/Marma perspective for bonus points). The organ-meridian systems are also useful in watching various pulsations and other phenomena that appear post stretch..play with it. 

Whether this is from a impingement upon blood-born nutrients or Oxygen (the primary nutrient) transportation; impediment of neural information; blocking of waste removal, or block of free flow of any other sort of information - the practical aspect of the effective re-patterning and softening the area is of primary importance in the Physical Alchemy method. 

I have a fair number of variants and enhancements to the Practitioner Hanging Fascial Pec Minor/Arm Line stretch (needs shorter title..), that I will be recorded in the near future - stay tuned! 

Physical Alchemy

Physical Alchemy is the name of my business and also the name of a movement, re-patterning and physical cultivation method I am creating based upon my studies, training and experience in the last 12, or so, years.

I am a practitioner and instructor of Stretch Therapy and Monkey Gym [Strength & Flexibility] methods, and a practitioner of soft tissue therapies.  The methods I employ are fundamentally about transmutation (positively changing, transforming and refining) of the physical body.  

Theoretically, I draw influence from the sciences (anatomy & physiology; ecology; biology; exercise science; neurobiology; psychoneuroimmunology to name a few); the intellectual heritage of the Stretch Therapy™ syllabus; the Structural Integration [Rolfing and others] school of bodywork; human ecology; art; history and philosophy of science and medicine; anthropology and the life sciences of China, India and greater Asia.  On a movement level I draw influence from the traditional and modern martial arts; the Stretch Therapy system; Western physical culture old and new, and my own exploration. On a more mystical level I am heavily influenced by Zen/Ch’an Buddhist practice; Daoism; Sufism; Gurdjieff and the enneagram.  An odd mix, I admit.

My fascination with transformative practices and methods began with my first bodymind transmutation via training in the martial arts. I experienced another of these transformations using the Stretch Therapy method; and then again through practicing various contemplative methods and techniques. 

Each of these transformative periods and the practices involved in them led me to view my previous incarnation (my self before the training) as only being partially alive; embryonic.  

 The reality I inhabited after each step was so radically different that it rendered the ‘old me’ obsolete – with only the true aspects of myself coming along for the ride into each new stage.  Often difficult, sometimes painful, nevertheless what happened was alchemical each time.  I had been transmuted.  I had learned new information, yes;  but I had also put down much unnecessary baggage and felt the lighter and happier as a result. 

These transformations now inform my observations of the world. Sadly, what I (and other peers) perceive is there is a silent epidemic of lack of body awareness and embodied presence in the people who live in Western cultures (and many other developed nations) and it robs us of the joy of living with full aliveness. 

Many people move around in unnatural and unconscious ways, unaware of their surroundings and themselves (yes, even their own bodies!).  They are armored against sensitivity and creative expression.   They are often collapsed, hunched, weak, tight, restricted, brittle and uncoordinated when they could, and should, be open, graceful, strong, supple, agile and bodily aware.  Moreover, many are either unaware of this reality, or rigorously deny that it is happening at all – very few simply see this, accept it and start doing something about it. 

I believe if we are to survive and flourish in this 21^st century, we need people coming forth at full capacity and full creativity.  Working at transforming your own bodymind to some degree is a great place to start (and possibly the only place to start).

This was the seed from which Physical Alchemy germinated. Now I am blending the elements I found most useful from the teachings I have studied into the ‘bones’ of my method.  The ‘muscles’, ‘organs’, ‘fluid systems’ and ‘nerves’ of the method will be added via my continual practice and refinement of what I have been so blessed to have learned from my teachers, and from what other influences I continue to study and explore.

Although I will explain the core of the Physical Alchemy method below, let me preface those comments by first saying that a lot of what makes up the Physical Alchemy method is un-learning.  

What I mean by this is the removal of inhibition and unconscious culturally conditioned movement patterning from the nervous system; re-modeling restrictions in other soft tissues and dissolving the character armoring that is legion among the adult population of this society (and even among the young, these days - disturbingly).

The Physical Alchemy method seeks for its practitioners to return to the child-like state of wonder, spontaneity (wu wei) and shoshin (Beginner’s Mind). To do this, there must be intentional letting go of inappropriate belief systems and views about the world.  Physical Alchemy is training to create balanced and aware individuals.

The core of the Physical Alchemy method in its current incarnation is: 

The Re-Enchantment of the Body (Yin Training – Body and Spatial Awareness; rejuvenation and Aliveness)

+ Tiger Body (Yang training – Strength, Flexibility & Agility)

+ Intent (Intention towards physical cultivation, longevity and Radical Plasticity - and Intent more generally)

+ Awareness 

 = Physical Alchemy

People often train one, two, sometimes even three of the above categories well – but very rarely are all four cultivated with equal intensity, intelligence and passion. 

The Re-Enchantment of the Body 

The Re-enchantment of the Body is concerned with all things increasing body awareness, kinesthetic sensitivity and the cultivation of a ‘full body map’ of sensory location in the brain.  This involves systematically becoming aware of the interior (and exterior) of the body, of all the asleep and missing sensory information from: muscles and soft tissues, nerves, visceral and digestive organs, lungs and blood systems, other fluid systems. 

It is also the working towards cultivating ‘Total pulsation’[1], a body that has all the subtle motions and pulsings of the organs, glands and other pulsation systems working in harmony; a body that has the nerves and blood vessels un-adhered within the myofascial matrix.  A body that is un-restrained and functioning in a natural way.  The same, or very similar, concepts are found in osteopathy and Daoist medicine and cultivation practices.

Soft Body Skills of all types are included here: self-massage and soft tissue work (using both Eastern and Western perspectives); body and spatial awareness practices; suppleness and stretching exercises that are more subtle and deeper than the stronger stretching methods included in the Tiger Body section. This also has a soft tissue textual component – what is the palpable quality and health of the tissues, besides their movement capacity. It aims at reducing the amount of unconscious, ‘parasitic’ tension in the body and freeing up wasted energy.  

Freeing the Breath (releasing and re-patterning dysfunctional breathing patterns) and Deep Physical Relaxation (learning to activate the Relaxation Response in the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and bring the experience of deep physical relaxation to the body).   Both of these I view as essential survival (and "thrival" - if that is a word!) skills for the madness, stress, increased communication and uncertainty of the 21^st century.

One of the goals of working with these yin skills is to re-ignite the Radical Plasticity* of the body (it is there in babies and some children).  In my terms Radical Plasticity obviously involves the currently trending neuroplasticity, but is wider and  more general in its scope, basking in the wondrous regenerative capacities of the human body as a whole - when you get it working in the specific manner that is natural to it.  To this end, The Re-enchantment of the Body also involves themes of longevity and rejuvenation.

A great one-line quote from one of my teachers (Kit Laughlin) that points directly at the essence of the Re-Enchantment of the Body, is: “Increasing the sensations of being alive”.  

 

Tiger Body

Tiger Body is the yang counter-part to the yin training methods that are encompassed in The Re-Enchantment of the Body syllabus.  It is training for a balanced combination of strength, flexibility and agility.  It is a body that wastes little energy in movement and has the ability to relax quickly and fully after moving.  It is a body with a high movement vocabulary (movement lexicon).  The goal is to attain the proverbial body like a jungle cat.

To expand just a little further, Movement Lexicon is the continual playfulness and exploration of the vast capacity of movement available to the human form.  It emphasizes quality before quantity, and working on movement patterns without too much of a conditioning component (keeping the system fresh). It is large, visible movements and small, subtler movements, done internally - getting movement into any joint that has movement potential.  

Play is tempered with sessions of specific strength, flexibility and agility work (which are also fun, just not as exploratory).  Methods combine techniques and ideas from: Monkey Gym syllabus; Stretch Therapy™; kettlebell training & bodyweight mobility-conditioning (largely drawn from my studies with Steve Maxwell), agility and movement drills from martial arts; Gymnastics; Parkour and Free-running and Feldenkrais, to name a few.  General conditioning and fitness are not emphasized. 

Awareness

Awareness is a clear mind.  A mind not entranced by wandering thoughts, emotions or stuck in fantasies about the future or past.  Awareness is bringing all of one's faculties to bear on a specific task.  A lot of what is classified as awareness in Physical Alchemy is bodily awareness (awareness of what is going on inside the body) and spatial awareness (what is going on in the immediate environment around the body) - or both simultaneously.   It is precisely the same awareness as the Zen just doing whatever it is you are doing. 

Moshe Feldenkrais has great paragraph about how to use awareness to transform movement in Alchemical Movement.

“In those moments when awareness succeeds in being at one with feeling, senses, movement, and thought, the carriage will speed along on the right road.  Then man can make discoveries, invent, create, innovate, and “know”.  He grasps that his small world and the great world around are but one and that in this unity he is no longer alone”  Moshe Feldenkrais, Awareness Through Movement. 

Intent

Intent involves a direction to which momentum is concentrated (it is the will, the hara); such as directing exercise done towards physical cultivation and the re-awakening of Radical Plasticity in the body.

“Be strong to be useful” - a quote from Georges Hebert, is a great principle. Why not be strong, flexible, agile and have a high degree of embodied awareness, too?  It’s fun(!) and feels great on a number of levels for the individual; and there is a great healing on a cultural-body level to be had here, too.  The split between mind and body, and humans and Nature needs to be sewn up. Many of the unfortunate hallmarks of this modern culture: depression; un-happiness and lack of contentment; pain and movement dysfunction; ‘stuckness’ of all types; obesity and anorexia (body image-sense disorders) can be linked to this silent epidemic and often healed via movement and awareness training.    

My aim in bringing Physical Alchemy into the world is primarily at developing a practical method. I’m interested in getting down to practice over knowing a lot about practice and movement.  Studying and reading fascinating philosophies and sciences is great, but at some point you have to put that down and go out and do something. 

 To echo Goethe via Bruce Lee "Knowing is not enough, we must do".  

Physical Alchemy gives highest priority to the doing (which is a type of knowledge), with discernment and diminishing returns being applied to intellectual knowledge and habitual reading. They are obviously useful – but the goal in this system is to become as high a level of practitioner as you can; not a philosopher.

As Physical Alchemy matures, with it, I predict a group of like-minded practitioners will gather; a group that explores, tests and refines these exercises and practices – always looking for improvement and evolution of the methods.  I am very excited by this, as I will learn many new things via this process. 

Classes –  my Stretch Therapy classes at the moment are more about the Re-enchantment of the Body, flexibility and un-patterning aspects - suppleness, relaxation, breathing and of course increasing range of movement (one of Kit’s other favorite quotes is “Attaining grace and ease in the body”).

The Monkey Gym (Strength & Flexibility) classes are aimed at the Tiger Body set of attributes, with play and increase movement vocabulary in there too.  Adding the awareness and intent to either class gives the higher benefits, but must be practiced via the individual. No one can do these for you. 

If you have read this far, something has resonated with you.. come and explore, play and transmutate!

"A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention."- Aldous Huxley.

* The term 'Radical Plasticity' comes from the great book The Protean Body: a Rolfer's view of Human Flexibility by Don Johnson. 

---

[1] Kinesthetic Dystonia part 3B: the contribution of bodywork to somatic education, Structural Integration: Collected Journal Articles, T.W. Myers, 1999.   

Train Them Bones

A while ago I was leafing through The Shambala Guide to Taoism - Eva Wong, which is a general type introduction and history of Taoism book (I know a number of people who do authentic Daoist practices, so maybe they can comment on whether the book is accurate, or not); and found a chapter 'Cultivating the Body' - which had obvious appeal to me!

Authentic or not, this chapter talks about all types of cool things: softening and strengthening 'tendons' (soft tissues; muscles; tendons; nerves; etc); gaining full range of motion in odd movement patterns; freeing the spine; freeing the breath; massaging the viscera - so the "..tissues will regain their dynamic buoyancy". Things that I am interesting in doing via the methods I have studied or made up (and am currently learning). People have obviously been fascinated by all things physical cultivation, since time immemorial. 

I have always been attracted to, and fascinated by, various Daoist practices and philosophies (too much Monkey Magic and Kung Fu movies as a lad, perhaps..), so it is possibly surprising that I am only this year investigating qi gong/dao yin and other such things - and having a great time with them! I think they will blend very well with what I already know and practice, and it's great fun to have new methods to explore.

I've been having a great time playing with percussive style techniques on my ribcage and abdominal cavity; as well as trying to mobilize/relax/gain awareness of my viscera view bouncing up and down with different degrees of abdominal vacuum on (this I did not get taught by any one in particular; just figured it out by stuffing around - you could potential fuck something up if you do not have the body-awareness, so only try it if you take responsibility for your own body).

Training the viscera is something that is not mentioned too much is the western style training literature I have read; but, to me, is obviously an essential part of physical cultivation. Based on what I have figured out so far in my playing (and reading), I would say (IMHO) a decent amount of pain, dysfunction and ill health comes from mal-positioned, hypertonic and constricted organs.  

One other aspect in the chapter that stood out to me was the part on 'marrow washing', which it described as a way of strengthening the bones via cleansing, regulating and then changing the bones shape.  This piqued my interest.. I'll have to ask some of my Daoist lineage buddies about this sometime.. 

Anyhow, what I started to think about after this was what I knew that would strengthen bones.  The most obvious being strength training (muscles and fascia contracting to stimulate bone growth and density via Wolfs Law - now 'Utah Paradigm of Bone Physiology!') and dynamic loading of them (jumping and impact absorption).

A less obvious one I want to run with a bit here, is putting spiral contract-relax/hold-relax (PNF) contractions through bones as a way of strengthening them - and effecting the fascia (periosteum) around them.  What I feel when I get a good solid spiral contraction through, say my forearm, definitely feels like it's doing something positive (not very testable, I know). 

Some of the Stretch Therapy wrist stretches are perfect for this set-up, and I have been using the stretch position to hold long and reasonably strong spiral contractions from them. These are not beginner/intermediate level contractions; I am talking about wringing out to those tissues (within parameter of no pain and/or wrist compression; just high level stretch sensation and muscular contraction); similar to wringing out a wet towel.  It's not held for overly long, but over time you can get used to a high contraction stretch (be patient!). 

I like the idea mentioned in the book about having strong but pliable/bendable bones (again with the bamboo analogy), rather than brittle or rigid. Just take a look at the statistics for life expectency post hip fracture..

I must re-read the 'Bone' chapter from Job's Body again, and go over the theory a bit more rigorously.  Still, it is a fun thing to ponder.  My gist for 'bone-training(™)' is to use high tension strength techniques (heavy weights; medium-high tension gymnastics holds; etc); plus dynamic recoil techniques (agility and jumping); plus impact techniques (heavy bag work); plus spiral 'wringing' long hold, multiple contraction Stretch Therapy style PNF contractions to change the bone make-up towards bamboo-dom.  Cool?

On a side note, Bamboo is fucking awesome and should be planted everywhere (down median strips; in alley ways; etc) - noxious weed or not.  It has many uses and fixes a fair amount of carbon sequestration.  Plus it just looks awesome...(!) you feel like you are in a 70's kung fu movie when you walk passed it (at least I do)! 

Exercise Ecology

Today I am going to start a blog about something I have been contemplating for quite some time - sparked into action by my fellow 90-day blog challengee(?), Kit.  (See HERE)

What this topic is, is the viewing of the body in physical culture and exercise as either a machine or a microcosm - or, from either a Newtonian-Cartesian (reductionist), classical physics, fundamental building block paradigm vs using a post-modern science, self-organizing systems (systems theory), cybernetic paradigm - and what affect/effect, implicitly or explicitly, adopting these world-views has on how we approach our training.

As Kit says in his books, there can be reasons for adopting either in particular circumstances, for efficiency and effectiveness, as he mentions in the 'Supervenience' blog post above.  I've seen this topic has been debated in philosophy of science and philosophy of medicine, but I have not seen too much in terms of exercise and physical training (highly likely it is out there, just that I haven't had contact with it).  

Much of the language and metaphor of physical training today, especially that of athletics, is that of a machine (Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm): we fuel our bodies; program our brains with skills, or our bodies 'break down'. But is this a useful image? 

What if we view our body as an ecosystem (or a microcosm as in the Daoist paradigm)? There is a lot of fascinating evidence from the mulch-disciplinary branches of science, that this could be more like the way the body works - gut bacterial ecology; psychoneuromimmunology; medical anthropology; human ecology, and so on..

What happens to an ecological body when it works out?  Well, firstly, this view allows us to see impact of an exercise session more generally; as Kit said today: "in complex systems, there can be no change at one level without a corresponding change in the subvening levels".

So exercise and movement will have effects upon the immune system, the nervous system and brain; the cardiovascular system; the myofascial system; the lymphatic and cerebrospinal fluid systems; and organ systems. 

On a practical level, I've been contemplating this from both perspectives, when viewing foam rolling and using balls and sticks to work with the soft tissues.

So, we may choose to view our body as a machine (a somewhat recalcitrant machine), that is broken and need 'fixing', or is not functioning optimally/as desired (in a somewhat schizophrenic starting point); and choose to do light, medium or aggressive repair on the un-perfect machine - the recalcitrance justifying the use of maximum pressure on the tissues(?).  This can certainly work well at a practical level (i.e the tissue changes state)!

In the ecological body model, we are trying to contact/dialogue with a highly complex, responsive and sensuous network of interlocking systems (our own biosphere); that responds well to low - medium pressures, and re-organizes at 'subvening levels, as well as the local tissue change, inflammation and resultant metabolic clean-up.  High pressure on the soft tissues can result in other systems being effective in a negative way - SNS response from the autonomic nervous system; limbic system and endocrine system interactions.

For me, the ecological/microcosm model is where it's at when I do soft tissue work with balls, rollers and sticks.  When you practice full body-mindfulness at the same time as doing the local rolling, you feel all types of interesting things happening all over the place. It's totally cool!  Again, this is obviously subjective; but you should seriously checking it out.  

I personally found that when I relax and use a medium level of object pressure on the soft tissues; wait and listen for the tissue absorbing/allowing the object it, and focused on slow, belly breathing and body-mindfulness - that I actually got superior results for less effort (and probably much less inflammation).  I also got a nice, relaxed parasympathetic feel and heightened body awareness afterwards - rather than feeling abused and sore.  Results get better and better with practice - as body skill increases. 

This doesn't mean not training hard (in strength and conditioning), obviously.  For me, it seems like a perfect yin-yang relationship.  You hit the strength work intensely (when you need to, but not every session or in a stupid, injurious way), and you chill the fuck out and roll your body in a smooth, relaxed and interoceptive way.  You don't need to pin your psoas with a 20-plate (there are intestines in there, too), or grind your tendons out of existence.  There are a lot of people who think you have to always train everything as hard as possible (insert proverb about brittle stick snapping and bamboo bending in the wind). 

It's a simple mode shift. Hard and soft in their correct places and correct doses.