The 'Long Class' Experience

The 'Long Class' Experience

Dave Wardman

"This is workshop work.....!!"

[Kit Laughlin during a phone conversation with me sometime mid-2014]

The above quote happened during a deeply interesting and flowing phone conversation I had with my mentor last year.  We were having one of our discussions that darted all over the place effortlessly: practical physical cultivation methods, stretching, strength and conditioning, dharmic topics, philosophy, etc,.  It's a beautiful thing to have people in your life that you can communicate with unrestrained and completely naturally across all the things that are most meaningful in your life!

Kit blurted out this line "This is workshop work!" - and we both fell silent for a few moments, knowing something very important had just occurred. 

The specific "This" we were talking about was the method of Stretch Therapy (the parent art of Physical Alchemy).  Stretch Therapy occurs in a number of settings: private sessions, classes and workshops.  Something Kit* and I (and others) have been aware of for a while is that there is something different, something very special, about experiencing this work immersion style in groups at a workshop level. 

There a many possible ingredients in the creation of the workshop experience: space, duration (most workshops are 2-3 days - the bodymind warms up and becomes more plastic, more open to change), the 'tribal' aspects of doing an activity with a group of like-minded people is a supportive environment, the method, the teacher, the students - and so on. 

Classes are fantastic, and have similar dynamics to workshops.  But they are not as powerful as the workshop experience.  Something I have been contemplating deeply since the phone-satori with Kit is: 'how can I make classes more like the workshop experience?'.  Why? The closer I can get my classes to the workshop level of re-patterning, the more powerful they become and the more effectively and efficiently the methods can work for my students.  

Hmmm, what elements to tinker with?  I have chosen duration (to start with). We have been temporally patterned in a certain way in this society.  Since high-school most of us are conditioned to do roughly 9-5pm, on 5 specific days out of 7. We are used to a lunch break of around an hour, with or without another small break or two.  This is not a natural pattern, IMHO, but it is what we have to work with. 

So, I have been testing out extended duration 'Long Classes' in my Physical Alchemy Experimental  classes - see HERE.  These are between 2 - 2.5hrs in duration. 

The results so far are overwhelmingly in favour of this being a superior way to train the method in class format.  It seems that for Stretch Therapy, after a hour (the normal duration for ST classes, and mos exercise classes) the body (nervous system and other soft tissues) is starting to get into a plasticity state slightly sideways to normal consciousness - a state where deeper change becomes easier to attain.  The increased integration time and lack of haste facilitated deeper relaxation, too.

But how to implement this out of 'the laboratory'..  Luckily Cherie and I have already found a way to implement this new format of long-play physical immersion - we do it on Saturday!  We are currently running these classes on alternating Saturdays at the Sydney Stretch Therapy studio. 

  

Also, coming very soon in 2015 I will be running Hybrid Monkey Gym/Stretch Therapy classes in Sydney.  Details to come very shortly.  PM me (dav.wardman@gmail.com) if you are interested in attending or have any questions about programming this type of experience with other training modalities.

I intend to run two classes per Saturday in this manner ASAP.  Having experimented with this on myself and a number of my collaborators, it is obvious that this is the perfect way to run non-workshop classes.  They even work wonders on one class per week (or even fortnight, which is something very interesting).  This work is alive!  It is a living art.  I, and others, are constantly trying to evolve the method (which we already knows works so well) along the lines of effectiveness, efficiency and depth. 

I am also contemplating an evening Long Class,  if enough humans are interested. Doing this type of format in the evening has often been giving me and the other collaborators very deep and rejuvenating sleep, and being able to go home and sleep soon after aids the experience, in my reckoning.  

Come explore the art of re-patterning your bodymind for increased movement quality, relaxation and suppleness.  It's fun and it feels amazing!  

Please PM me if you have any further questions about the methodology specifically or generally (dav.wardman@gmail.com.

Join the Sydney Stretch Therapy facebook group for more class details, fun and community.  


Dave

*HERE - also, for trainspotters, hard to see in this image but Kit is wearing his 'Resist Mediocrity' t-shirt. 

Deep Physical Relaxation

Deep Physical Relaxation

Dave Wardman

In my 30, or so, short years on this planet, I have borne witness to quite the acceleration of events and speed of activity in the day-to-day lives of the people around me, as well as in my own activities.  In the pursuit of 'progress' many have not questioned whether this is actually a good thing, or not. I think it is more likely to contain both good and bad elements. I posit that the 21st Century will require the ability to exert some control over the nervous system, breathing and relaxation - to buffer the increasing rate of information bombardment and complexity (madness) of life. 

The ability to bring about deep relaxation in the body is not a given in this culture, regrettably. But it can be trained. Firstly though; one has to come to an honest conclusion that one is, in fact, not relaxed - and don't know how to go about attaining this elusive state (at least not at will or without chemical assistance).

There is much confusion here, in part coming from the experience people sometimes have of an illusion of difference "relaxation" in their lives; that is, they go from highly stressed to moderately stressed and the difference in stress levels feels remarkably relieving (no doubt) - but they have not actually (physiologically) activated the relaxation response in the parasympathetic branch of their autonomic nervous systems, and thus are not relaxed at any great degree.

I remember one day early 2008, walking around the campus of the Australian National University with Kit (probably after a coffee), and discussing relaxation (yes, coffee and relaxation - I know, I know!) and the yoga nidra practice - when he said something fascinating, that I have not forgotten.

He said: "Dave, out of all the chapters in my book (Overcome Neck and Back Pain) the most important chapter is the last (on relaxation); and nobody ever reads that one!".

Now, Kit wasn't actually saying that absolutely nobody reads that chapter, but he was merely using poetic license to comment that the amount of people who read the last chapter is small, and the number who implement it, is even smaller still.

What is fascinating about this is relaxation costs virtually nothing (other than the time taken to hone the skill-set), can be done in one's own home and is far more comfortable and pleasant than stretching or working out(!). Plus it has a whole host of health and life benefits to it (see below). This absence of interest is truly fascinating, and I believe it is linked with our culture's obsession with progress; meaning that things that are in the not-doing category, like relaxation, are shunned subconsciously.  

Just a few weeks before this conversation, I had begun Kit's short-lived (but excellent) Deep Well Being course of which the yoga nidra relaxation and awareness exercise was a core practice.  Having just collapsed numerous systems of my body via long term prajnaparadha I was unable to train any of my usual yang methods (and was generally a mess), and was searching for restorative (yin) methods to rejuvenate my body and for something to take the place of my now missing training. The Deep Well Being course offered just what I needed, and arrived at a most auspicious moment!

From my experiences during the Deep Well Being course, of actually feeling profound embodied relaxation, deep physical relaxation has become a core aspect of the Physical Alchemy method.
The yoga nidra and other lying relaxation and tension release exercises (Steve Maxwell had some great ones at his Mobility Conditioning Seminars) are fantastic practices to incorporate into your training and life. 

As I have said elsewhere, I believe these types of practices will offer increased survival value in the unfolding complexity of the 21st century.

One major aspect of this silent epidemic of lack of body awareness and embodied presence (I need a shorter way of saying this!) we are in, is that people do not possess the ability to deeply relax the body and mind, giving them that sub-verbal itch (broken Continuum*) that manifests as not feeling content or at home within their very own flesh, muscle and bone. I believe this to be linked with the stress and anxiety levels of the populace (among many other inauspicious things).

For me personally, the ability to cultivate relaxation and the practice of yoga nidra were a revelation.  There were many profound benefits to this training; a few of which I will make mention. 

Firstly, it changed my relationship between noise and sound.  This, as a youth who would wake up between 5 and 15 times a night, was no small thing - as it radically altered, for the better, my sleep quality and restoration.

Entering the state described as yogic sleep, which is a deep bodily relaxation with mental awareness still intact, I used what is sometimes described as a rotational awareness focus. I would focus on one particular sound, and just hear it.  No labeling; just experiencing the sound, and feeling as if the sound were traveling through me.  Then, moving onto the next distinct sound that I found within the sound-scape.  In the Deep Well Being course it helped that classes were held adjacent a sports hall, so there were shoes screeching; basketballs bouncing; talking; air-conditioning; people snoring next to me; etc. Cycling between focusing on breath, and focusing on sound, totally re-patterned my relationship to external sounds and eliminated noise (which I define as the mind negatively (or positively) reacting and commenting on sounds occurring).

Secondly, the physical dimension of training deep relaxation has a number of benefits upon the soft tissues and tension patterns of the body. One of the primary Stretch Therapy dictum is: no unnecessary tension. My spinal curves which in the beginning were moderately uncomfortable (my spine was quite straight to begin with) and raised from the floor, relaxed so that my whole spine (more or less) was on the floor when I practiced, and now, following practice and re-patterning, its default position of floor based relaxation is all vertebrae touching the floor (which the brain interprets as non-apprehensive and thus relaxes the para-vertebral muscles much more profoundly than if there is daylight under the cervical and lumbar curves). 

Thirdly, breathing and the muscles that co-ordinate breathing relax and expand, allowing more air to stimulate the parasympathetic receptors found within the deeper recesses of the lower lobes of the lungs, leading to further relaxation and activation of the relaxation response .

There is also increase sensory awareness of the internal movements that make up the breath. The increased effectiveness of 'belly breathing' has flow on effects (affects) in the visceral and digestive organs, and other branches of the nervous system. The enhanced interiority lends itself to feeling the various pulsations of the body in more detail. There are some additional things I do in the the yogic sleep state for breathing that I will elaborate on in a future post.

This list doesn't really do justice to having these experiences (especially for the first time), and as you practice regularly other cooler things happen, too.

Once you have regularly had the experience of actually being deeply physically relaxed (mental and emotional relaxation often follow suit when the body relaxes) whilst lying stationary on the ground, rugged up and in an environment conducive to learning to relax, it may become possible for you to bring this state into other postures, and into doing slow movements; and then, perhaps eventually, maintaining being deeply relaxed in daily life.

Further, and linked to my last blog, I see both the experience of letting go and being able to deeply relax physically as being crucial elements in moving from 'stretching' to stretching (aka. Stretching to Stretching 2.0).

There are other elements to this, but these two are primary experiential elements of this evolutionary jump. The lying relaxation (yogic posture shavasana 'Corpse Pose') offers a great entry point for beginners, and is also useful in re-training adults to be comfortably and relaxed on the floor again. 

Traditionally, the yoga nidra practice is classified as pratyahara (sense withdrawal) the 5th limb within the framework of The Yogasutra of Patanjali and aims to induce the practitioner into a state of consciousness somewhere between the normal waking state and the dreaming state (yogic sleep).

The book itself (Yoga Nidra - Swami Satyananda) goes on to list many other benefits (aside from the ones I have mentioned) flowing from continued, regular practice, such as:  release of three-fold tensions (muscular, emotional and mental); increased creativity; re-patterning of the sensory-motor homunculus; as well as many other health and more esoteric benefits.  It should be noted that similar techniques are found elsewhere, and are used for preparation for various trance-work and lucid dreaming practices. 

It is also interesting to speculate about the endogenous auto-alchemy of neurotransmitter substances, brought about by gaining some control over the autonomic nervous system ('Getting high on your own supply'). But, besides all this theory and conjecture, the simple experiential sensations of being deeply relaxed are worth the (very) low price of admission.

These simple practices can be programmed in a number of ways, but first you need to learn the basics of the skill-set (see Notes below). Once you learn to bring about the experience of relaxation more regularly, you may notice that you can observe, more easily, the tension and stress saturating everyone's bodies. It's sort of a 'be relaxed to see relaxed (or not)' type of thing.


Do yourself a massive favor and learn the simple art of deep physical relaxation.  If you're truly interested in all things physical cultivation it is a necessity to learn these techniques.  Active recovery and restoration is an entry level benefit, but deep relaxation flows into all aspects of your life and begins to untie the knots restraining full expression of the human being. 

Please join up to the Physical Alchemy Facebook group, and/or get in contact!  


[D]

p.s  Check out the notes section for a link to some free yoga nidra/lying relaxation Mp3's recorded by Kit whilst teaching workshops.  They are high quality (Kit's voice-recorder looks like it fell outta a UFO! I'll see if I can get a photo of it..) and free**.

Notes: 
*The Continuum Concept - Jean Liedloff is an amazing little book that my good mate Simon (Ancestral Movement) suggested for me during my wife's pregnancy.  Not just for people who are about to have little humans to look after (but I highly suggest you read it if you are procreating), this book looks at the differences in imprinting between people of industrial nations and tribal peoples of the South American region - giving some startling insights that are very congruent with the Physical Alchemy methodology.  Many of the methods employed within Physical Alchemy could well be said to be aimed at 'restoring Continuum' to poorly imprinted adult humans of the industrialized cultures. 

**[Kit has recorded a number of free audio recordings of these practices HERE for download in mp3 format]

[*] The two books I read around this era, that were useful are:
Yoga Nidra - Swami Satyananda 
Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine - Jeanne Achterberg

Others books somewhat related I have read since then that may be of interest:
Why Zebra's Don't Get Ulcers - Robert Sapolsky  (great book on Stress and the bodymind)
Yoga and Ayuveda - David Frawley
Soma in Yoga and Ayurveda - David Frawley

Physical Alchemy Diagram Mach II

Guest Blog #1: Yoga - Vijay Panchia.

I count myself blessed to know, and count as friends, a fair number of other people on the path; humans into the same type of things I am interested in, here at Physical Alchemy - but approaching it from their own unique viewpoint, and with their own skill-sets and teachings.

I would like to feature these people on my blog; getting them to distill an aspect of the knowledge base that they specialize in, or, an insight they have gained from training.  That type of thing.  I am really looking forward to this myself, as I will learn much from my peers posts.

So, without further ado, my inaugural Guest Blog post is by my recently gained good friend and fellow explorer Vijay Panchia.

I met Vijay at the Steve Maxwell Mobility Conditioning Seminar that I reviewed a number of posts back.  Our initial conversation jumped around all types of interesting things: movement training; physical cultivation; Thai, Burmese, Indian, Chinese and Brazilian martial arts; Dharma; sanskrit (which Vijay studied at Oxford); shaivism; various types of obscure (but awesome) strength training methods - you know, all the same stuff I like.  It seems somewhat inevitable that we would meet.

The guest blog post for today is a general introduction to the word  yoga.  I had to stop Vijay from writing a mahabharata-esque epic, so I am hoping to get him to expand upon a number of things in future posts. 

Yoga 

Vijay Panchia

What is Yoga?

Is it what we find in our local fitness clubs?

Is it something of myths?

Is it something only for Indian Holy Men?

Is it a form of ancient gymnastics?

Or is it something else?

When confronted with writing on the topic of the yoga by my friend Dave, I had to really think about what I was going to write about. It is a truly vast topic. But before specific areas are covered I thought best that I express what yoga is to me. You are entitled to disagree with what I have to say but this at least gives a starting point.

Yoga is a system or path for means of spiritual fulfillment or enlightenment. It provides the practitioner with direct perception with the spiritual or divine.

There are a multitude of physical systems in the modern western world that are called yoga however few really present anything which can to be used to reach such goals or at least accordance with what we find in early yoga texts. 

The earliest Vedic texts to make reference to such practices include the Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-gita (which is a chapter of the Mahabharata, more often read isolation) and Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali. What is presented by such texts could be said to be a practice of mental science or alchemy, where the yogi distills the mind in order achieve his spiritual goal. There is no mention of the acrobatic like postures and stretches that we see in the common practices in the West.

What are mentioned are the asana or posture of keeping the body, neck and head erect, and the practice of pranayama or breathing exercises. These are the assistant exercises for the yogi to his goal. No mention what so ever of being able to put your legs behind your neck (not that I’m saying there isn’t any merit in this).  What is also interesting is there is no detailed explanation on the practice of pranayama.  The greatest emphasis is put on how one is to think and perceive the world.  One might say “how to navigate the mind”.

This way or path of thought is possibly best expressed or at least most accessible by the teachings of Lord Krishna and his discourse with Arjuna found in the Bhagavad-Gita.  This is a masterful teaching on the mind. He presents different paths of yoga, making accessible to all some practice of yoga. It could be said he is presenting a single path of yoga but giving various start points to fit with the aptitude of the practitioner.

Rather than going into the specifics of the Bhagavad-Gita, I would suggest tracking down a good copy of it and reading it yourself. Everyone seems to take away something different from it and it would be clumsy of me to even try to match Krishna in a blog post. There are many translations of the Gita available and all with have their own bias.  The Winthrop Sargeant translation is not a bad place to start and even has the transliteration of the Sanskrit.

The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is the text often perceived as the quintessential work on yoga and teaches the eight fold path refered to as Ashtanga. This is not to be confused as a reference to the work of Pattabhi Jois. It is divided into the four parts: Contemplations, Spiritual Disciplines, Divine Powers and Realizations. Like many Indian works, it is intended be used along with direct teachings of a guru, and does not provide a complete discourse on practice.  It is very readable for the most part but be wary that there are many translations of the text with much variance. With the original Sanskrit, Patanjali has used very intricate and dense vocabulary. Hence it is hard to give a recommendation to any single translation. But don’t let this deter you from reading this work.

The Upanishads are regarded as part of the Veda. The Veda is divided into  four parts: the Rig, the Sama, the Yajus (which comes in two forms, known as shukla and krishna, light and dark) and the Atharva. Each of these four is in turn divided into four types of material, which are the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The Upanishads are the philosophical discourse on Vedic philosophy, giving an explanation to the nature of this world. There are many texts given the title of Upanishad however it said there are ten primary texts which are based on commentary by Advaitan Philosopher, Sankaracharya (AD 780 to 820). These “other” texts often deal specifically on the topic of yoga, however as they are not primary sources and from a much later date, I will leave them from this discussion. Of the ten primary Upanishads, the Katha Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishad offer the most obvious statements on what we consider to be yoga. These are more challenging works and some background knowledge or guidance may be necessary. 

 

The Mahabharata is the great Indian epic poem, much like the Odyssey and Iliad. However the Mahabharata, being three times the size of the Bible, dwarfs these great Greek works in size.  Even more amazing this work is from an oral tradition, meaning it was originally transmitted by being put to memory.  The original author attributed to this work is the Indian sage Vyasa, whom is said to have split the Veda into its four divisions and authored 18 of the major Puranas. It was written to summarize the Vedic teachings. It is a story of the Pandava and Kaurava princes and the rivalry and war that breaks out between these cousins. Various discourses are given through out the text on yoga and the metaphysics behind it. One we have discussed already is the Bhagavad Gita.

Something that really needs to be made clear about Indian thought is that it is an open conversation where one does not have to agree with everything in a text. However you need to well versed in order to engage in this ancient dialogue. Indian systems more often than not are based on logic and experience, hence dogmatic practice is a misdemeanor.  Also I would like to say that being well versed in these Yoga texts does not make you a yogi or yogini, and they may not even be necessary to achieve the elevation or mastery of the mind discussed.  A big part, if not the most important aspect of transmission of this knowledge, is through the direct oral teachings of a master of these practices. To establish whether or not someone even is a master of this spiritual path, the knowledge from these texts may be very useful.

If one wanted to delve deeper into these texts I would like to suggest seeking out the online courses offered by my friends at the Oxford Centre for HinduStudies. These are academic level courses put together by the brightest academic minds on Hindu thought. They offer specific courses on the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and a general course on Yoga among others. 

 

Useful links

Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
http://www.ochs.org.uk
They offer online courses and many of the texts discussed. There is
also free mp3 lecture downloads on many of the different topics that
make up Indian Thought

The Bhagavad Gita - trans. by Winthrop Sergeant
http://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Twenty-fifth-Anniversary-Perspectives-Excelsior-ebook/dp/B004L62GEW/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1395897228&sr=8-21&keywords=bhagavad+gita

The Upanishads
http://www.amazon.com/Upanisads-Oxford-Classics-Patrick-Olivelle/dp/019954025X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395897283&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=patrick+olievielle
Very accessible translations of the ten primary Upanishads by scholar
Patrick Olivelle.

Sacred Texts
http://www.sacred-texts.com
A free online resource with translations of the texts discussed.

Yogas Sutra of Patanjali trans. BonGiovanni
 http://www.starcenter.com/patanjali.pdf

http://yogavidya.com/gita.html
Offers a free pdf of the Bhagavad Gita as well as other early Hatha Yoga texts.

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 Schemata Diagram I

This (above) is a diagram I have been playing around with (in my mind) for a while, but haven't put pen to paper (whiteboard) on; until today.. 

This is the bones of the method; in diagram form.  I am sure this diagram will go through a number of changes, but as it stands I a quite happy with it.  Remember, this is just my take on movment and awareness training (Physical Alchemy style).  Take whatever is useful for you, and discard the rest.

I use some categories from my Physical Alchemy statement of Intent in this post - see HERE.  I suggest you read that one before this one..

Basic Strength Training (Tiger Body - Strength & Flexibility)

In the Physical Alchemy approach to strength training, the exercises are picked to improve the structural health of an individual, and to provide a solid foundation for the complex movements that the individual has picked to work on in the Complex Movement category.  

The health (hormone profile; structural health; soft tissue quality; etc) aspects are emphasized above the performance aspects, unless there is a good reason to preference performance (the person wants to compete in a competitive activity that they love).

For this reason there is little emphasis on general conditioning, other than walking and mobility conditioning style work (putting movement and mobility drills, that are done for their Radical Plasticity, joint opening and health benefits; into a circuit for some ambient cardiovascular effect of a low-medium level). 

People are encourage to do specific conditioning work (which can have a general conditioning micro- or meso-cycle) for the Complex Movement art(s) they have chosen to work on as the primary conditioning they do. 

Why?  For most normal individuals, doing an inordinate amount of strength training normally leads to over-training and injury, and quickly reaches a diminishing returns point.  Sure, if you love it and it's your passion, or favored movement activity, no problem (i.e Olympic lifting).
Also, specific conditioning drills (boxing; wrestling/grappling; martial arts; Parkour and Free-running; dancing) are normally much more fun than general conditioning drills, so why not do them instead (especially if you are not competing professionally)? 

My personal preference is to keep strength training sessions to two or three times a week (depending upon other activities undertaken); and keep my energy for skill work (which often has a strength-skill component, anyhow).
A lot of times people, rightly or wrongly, go for making exercises too advanced too quickly - or picking exercise that don't transfer particularly well to other endeavors (see Steve Maxwell's post on this HERE). 

The Basic Strength Training work each week is constitutional and soft tissue quality training.  The motor patterns are kept reasonably simple to keep quality and form to a high level.  Resistance is (obviously) one variable that is increased to keep improving, but in the Physical Alchemy approach a high degree of emphasis is placed upon improving bodily awareness and strength-control in an exercise (without resistance going up; which works well with body weight exercise) and working on different, increasingly difficult ways of breathing (or retaining breath) during movements.  More on this in a later post.

Advanced Stretching & Soft Body Skills (Tiger Body - Flexibility; The Re-Enchantment of the Body)

In contrast to the strength training, I like to use a lot of advanced stretching, limbering, suppleness, mobility and soft body skills work in my training - programmed in a way so I do something every day, but do not do the strongest methods more than twice a week (This too, will be a detail later post).

As I mentioned in my what is Physical Alchemy piece (HERE) - I am of the strong belief that there are many (some recognized, some not) health (from Daoist, osteopathic and structural integration perspectives on health), aliveness and awareness benefits gained from this type of work (on top of the useful, but more mundane improved flexibility and movement capacity) - and so I preference this type of work very highly, and specialize in it because of this. 

Complex Movement arts (Tiger Body - Agility; Strength; Flexibility; Play & Movement Lexicon)
My opinion is that it is here, not in strength training (again, unless it is your passion), that you should chase after complexity, high skill exercises and playfulness - once you have a sufficient foundational capacity of strength, flexibility and agility to do said activity (this depends upon the individual and the activity/art).

These activities have life-long learning benefits, creativity enhancement and creative expression aspects, and offer a sense of community/tribe. Master a few, and learn an instrument, and you're on your way to becoming a Renaissance man or women..! 

Examples: Martial arts; dancing; Parkour and Free-running; sports; even just joint mobility and movement patterning do for fun and health.

The Re-Enchantment of the Body
This is all things body awareness, kinesthetic intelligence and sensitivity.  This includes stand alone body awareness exercises, as well as awareness exercises that can be added to Basic Strength and Advanced Stretching and Soft Body Skill exercises.

It also includes specific exercises for Freeing the Breath and learning to bring Deep Physical Relaxation to the body (both, also, later detailed posts).

For me, some of the deep appeal of this type of thing is the creativity enhancement and character armour dissolving qualities.  


Qi Gong Skill-set
Flowing on nicely from The Re-Enchantment of the Body are more specific Daoist Qi Gong (Tao yin) exercises, that I am only just beginning to practice recently.  Already I can see that they will fit into Physical Alchemy very nicely, hence the addition.  Many potential health, awareness and aliveness benefits here, I feel.. 

Zen/Ch'an (Awareness; Intent) 
As a lay practitioner of Zen/Ch'an, all of the above categories are also ways of practicing, for me.  I do not do this for health or performance benefits, even if these come of it.  I simply practice Zen, and also love movement and having fun doing all things Physical Alchemy.

One of my teachers, Kit, once said to me:

 "All these things (health; stretching; movement/martial arts; strength training; etc) - simply give you the longevity that you are probably going to need to get over your own ignorance and attain your True Nature" KL (Paraphrased - this was the gist of it).  

This is pretty much the approach I take; other practices to aid Zen (and for enjoyment), rather than doing meditation to aid other practices -  though I do find that making movement a practice is very rewarding.

Having some base contemplative/Dharmic practice is a personal thing, and not essential to enjoy, or gain benefits from, the other categories. But, if you do find something that works for you - it does add an extra something (or maybe takes something away..) to all the rest. The increase Awareness seeps into everything and enhances...life.

The practice of Zen Buddhism (or any other method/path - Vipassana; Tibetan Buddhism; Daoism; yoga; tantra; etc.etc.) is also an 'end' in itself - hence the arrow pointing off into the Void.  

The Arrows of Influence  

Basic Strength --> Advanced Flexibility (Stretching) & Soft Body Skills:  a solid foundational strength aids a lot of the stronger stretching postures, and also aids the ability of muscular contraction, sequencing, bracing and un-coupling of movements.  Essentially we are after 'optimal responsive tonus' - muscles that are strong and supple, and that stay relaxed until needed - are respond quickly and in harmony. Then go back to resting again.

Advanced Flexibility (Stretching) & Soft Body Skills --> Basic Strength:  Improved range of motion, relaxation and removal of inhibitory properties (neural; trigger points; fascial adhesion's; scarring; etc) plays back into capacity to access muscle fibres and to enhanced sequencing. 

Basic Strength & Advanced Flexibility (Stretching) & Soft Body Skills ---> Complex Movement Skills:  A strong foundation of strength, flexibility and agility from which to more effectively, efficiently and safely learn fun, new movement patterns and skills.  (Why no arrows back?  Again, this is a prototype diagram and for now I am thinking the influence is stronger in this direction - let me know if you thinking I should have double direction arrows here).

Re-Enchantment of the Body ---> Complex Movement; Basic Strength & Advanced Flexibility (Stretching) & Soft Body Skills:  Although the diagram does not currently have two of these arrows, the enhanced breathing, relaxation and kinesthetic intelligence flow nicely into the three categories at the top.  The arrow back from the Flexibility (Stretching) & Soft Body Skills skills to the Re-Enchantment of the Body is indicative of the strong link between the two in both directions.

Re-Enchantment of the Body <--->  Qi Gong Skill-set:  This should be a reasonably obvious connection.  Some of the more basic awareness exercise flow on into more complex Daoist practices, then flow back into the basic exercises. These are very similar categories, but I didn't want to put Qi Gong 'into' The Re-Enchantment of the Body because there are so many arts and practices under the banner of 'qi gong' that it seemed a bit foolish - even though qi gong does very much re-enchant the bodymind.

Qi gong <---> Stretching:  I have a strong feeling that qi gong and stretching/soft body work (done the Stretch Therapy way) is going to be a very auspicious, mutually re-enforcing combination. 

Zen/Ch'an -->  I talked a little bit about this above.  All things become practice, hence the lines going out.  I have contemplated putting arrows back to this from 'Stretching' - i.e being able to Sit in a more comfortable position in zazen, or control movements better in kinhin.  Also, possibly back from qi gong, though I haven't practice qi gong for long enough to make any judgement about that one. 

At any rate, I had fun making a linking diagram of the things I encompass Physical Alchemy (which are also some of my favorite things).  Quite possibly I could have had more arrows (even arrows showing influence from everything to everything else), but again, this is just prototype #1!

Hopefully you got something out of this (even 'just' a good laugh).  Let me know if you have any useful suggestions or experience in the combinations mentioned above. 

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. 

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