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

The Experience of Letting Go (in Stretching)

The Experience of Letting Go (in Stretching)

Dave Wardman

Last week, on the Stretch Therapy forums (ST Forums), forum member Tris posted a topic entitled 'Great Insight While Stretching'.  The post is talking about the experiential dimension of a 'big release' in a stretch; and of the somewhat illusory nature of the sensations presenting immediately prior to the relaxation and re-patterning.

This made me think of the first time I really, tangibly had this experience - and as it was quite a profound experience for me, I thought I would tell my story..


It was probably 6 months, or so, into my joining the Advanced Posture & Flexibility class, at the ANU in Canberra.  Originally I thought nothing much of stretching, and being of above average flexibility for a male human I couldn't see too much benefit in it 'other than as a warm-down' after martial arts practice. I was eventually convinced to attend a Posture & Flexibility course by a combination of my martial arts teacher's (Chris) recommendation that it might increase the speed and power my striking; by the fact that Jen (Chris's partner) was a teacher and I had talked to her about the classes, and from reading the introduction to Kit's Stretching & Flexibility book - which offered other reasonably interesting reasons for doing flexibility training.  I think, perhaps, that martial arts and strength training had put me 'into my body' enough so I was actually getting very intrigued by physical training of all sorts. So I enrolled. 

I had done a beginner's course (with Jen), after which I was invited to the Advanced class instead of Intermediate.  I had found out that the classes were actually fun (who would have thought..)! I had found that, although my spine and shoulder flexibility was high, my hip flexibility had much work to do (and it's always the spots that are tight for you that give the widest re-patterning).

It was around this stage (circa ~2007) that Kit was on his 'Hip flexor stretching answers the Great Riddle of Life and Death; cures all diseases and adds two inches to your...height' phase - i.e we did unrelenting hip flexors, hip flexor partials and warm-up for more hip flexor stretching for about 18 months. 

I had already experienced that interesting physical sensation that when you contract a muscle on stretch, the Golgi Tendon Organs over-ride the stretch reflex in the muscle spindles and produce, seemingly miraculously, an increase in range of motion (and sometimes a decreased "pain/stretch" sensation).  I had got used to this sensation, and was stretching how most people who use PNF methods do (i.e minor/moderate change in range of movement; few breaths and come out - nothing too profound).

Now, sometime very shortly after my arrival in the Advanced Class, Kit decided my purpose for being there was as his new guinea pig (aka 'training partner').  This was actually a fantastic experience for me, as the way Kit stretched himself was different again from how the other teacher's in the class stretched(the class was like a mini-workshop, in that everyone there was a teacher or had long experience with the method; and/or did other physical training) - and I got to digest this kinesthetic food, and my stretching practice was greatly nourished from it.

One class I was doing a stronger version of THIS hip flexor stretch (it looks kind of odd when you walk in on a room full of people doing this, if you've never seen it before), and was in a very strong stretch position, and starting to get the 'it's time to get the fuck outta here' sensations building up.

Kit, sensing this, turned his head around and said something along the lines of  "I know you want to come out right now, and I will certainly let you out at a moments notice, but if you have any energy left, do another contraction  -and then 5 more deep, slow breaths".  Now, I am not sure if I said anything back, but for the stories sake let's say I said "Are you fucking crazy, fool!?  My fucking hip flexor will snap off, motherfucker!!" - as this was precisely my thoughts towards the suggestion to contract again instead of abandoning ship. 

It was, also, precisely the sensations coming from my body.  It felt like there was no way in hell I could go deeper without snapping my hip flexor clean off.  Now, as a brief aside, I will mention that I have never actually injured myself stretching.  IF you have insufficient body awareness and experience with stretching in the way that we do with the Stretch Therapy method, the potential is there. Also, Kit knew fair well that I had sufficient body awareness to do another contraction without risk of injury, and would definitely have let me out at a moment's notice if I had asked (it is the person in the stretch who controls the stretch, in ST).

And then..  and then, the oddest thing happened.  I decided to see what would actually happen if I contracted.  I slowly and with full awareness contracted again, then with a deep breath and a massive sigh, let go and focused on deep breathing.  The effect was a turning point for me, both physically and conceptually.  I immediately dropped 1.5-2 inches (which felt like 6 in the moment), which was shocking enough, but more interestingly all the strong sensations (largely emotional and nervous system freak out, in retrospect - but felt 'physical' at the time) evaporated*.

I then, in partial euphoria, easily completed the 5 full breaths, before coming to another barrier of resistance much further down, and deciding to call it quits for that go.  Walking around afterwards my entire bodymind was re-patterning, with sensations rushing around all over the place (especially spine, and obviously hip complex).

I have had many such experiences since then, but that marked, for me, the beginning of my ability to do stretching.  Before I had just done 'stretching'.  They use the same postures, but occur in different universes. 

One of the primary things I took away with me from this experience was that sensation can be illusory.  Every thing of that magnitude I had felt in my body in my life up until that point I had taken as 100% accurate.  Having the sensation evaporate in a moment whilst actually going into a deeper position was a real mindfuck for me, at that stage.  "This throws my whole view of Reality into question!".  If that had seemed so real, and disappeared like that, maybe there were other such things of equal illusion in the body (the answer is 'yes!' and 'lots!')?

Along similar lines, I found, as have others, that people with low embodiment and body awareness label any strong sensation as 'pain'.  Part of the process in using stretching in this specific manner is to heighten the embodied awareness of the person (this, for me, is a higher benefit than achieving extreme postures and range of movement - which is also fine to work on, obviously).  Via increasing one's vocabulary in the language of the body (sensations), with awareness one can get a far more accurate assessment of what is 'real pain' and what is a 'strong stretching sensation'  - and there are many, many finer layers of sensation than this.  It is also possible to separate out what is an emotional barrier or fear (apprehension) barrier, and safely work on these. 


Some links to Kit's recent blogs on like topics: 
'What use is stretching?'
Where does tension come from? Revision I
Principles of Stretch Therapy


*picture that scene in the Simpsons, where the Head of the Stonecutter's sacrificially burns Homer's officical Stonecutter™ underwear as he is being excommunicated from the group - and all the evil spirits howl and fly off in a cloud of smoke. 

90 Day Video Challenge

So; I have been challenged to a '90 days of Video' Challenge (by Stretch Therapy forum member Adurst) - and I have accepted!

This should be interesting.  Things I am hoping to get out of this are:

1) Reform my upwardly inflecting voice patterning during speech in videos
2) Learn to use iMovie, instead of just 'one taking' everything
3) Learn how to use my new camera more effectively

I am counting the challenge on June 6th 2014. 

Here are the videos I've posted so far..

Agility - Precision Rail Jump 1

Agility - Precision Rail Jump 2

Tree Climbing - horizontal under branch

Pseudo-Archer Chin-up pt1

Pseudo-Archer Chin-up pt2

Stay tuned! 

p.s I have about 10 large-ish blogs in partial completion.  Hopefully I will get the time-energy to get these out soon. 

Physical Alchemy Diagram Mach II

Guest Blog #2 - Craig Mallet [ARCtraining] on Zhan Zhuang [Standing Meditation] practice

 

Guest Blog #2 - Craig Mallet [ARCtraining] on Zhan Zhuang [Standing Meditation] practice

About a thousand years ago I was having a conversation with my good friend Dave about my standing meditation practice. I don’t entirely remember what we talked about specifically, but I do remember saying that I’d write an article on the subject for Dave to use as a guest post on his website.  Despite best intentions, I promptly forgot about it for a long time and ended up writing a bunch of other articles and guest posts for other people and left Dave crying himself to sleep every night (at least I like to think that’s what happened). Dry your imagined tears Dave, it’s time for me to finally make good on my promise!

Standing meditation appears in quite a number of traditions. Yoga, Buddhism, Zen, Daoism and I’m sure many other traditions that I am not so educated on, contain variations of meditation practices; typically some variety of lying, seated, standing and walking/moving meditations.  

Each method and tradition has different purposes and different outcomes. My particular practice is drawn from the arts of Xin Yi Liu He, Yang Tai Ji, Cha Quan and Qi Gong, all of which for the most part are built on philosophies drawn from Daoism (with a hint of Buddhist). From what I’ve seen, the Chinese traditions seem to have a lot more detail in the standing practice compared to other traditions, although this is more than likely just a case of the details of the other traditions not being as readily available, or that I haven’t learned them yet.

At any rate, I’m going to keep this article reasonably confined to the methods I have learned from the Chinese martial arts. Let’s start with some terminology. In mandarin, standing meditation is called zhàn zhuāng. 站 Zhàn means to be stationed or to stand and 樁 zhuāng is a post, stump, stake or pole, so common translations are usually “standing like a post” or “standing like a pole”. It is often shortened to standing post or standing pole. The idea is not only that you are standing, but that you are fixed in the ground like a stake or stump. Often imagery of being buried up to the waist line is used during practise to invoke this feeling of sturdiness.

Zhàn zhuāng acts as the core of most of the internal Chinese traditions, and is considered fundamental to proper understanding of internal skills. It is such an effective practice, that there is an entire style that practises zhàn zhuāng almost exclusively to great effect, called Yì Quán (意拳 - ‘Intent Boxing). It might be important now to note that there is more than one standing posture, each which has a slightly different focus.  

One posture might be used for general health; others help with generation of whipping power, and others again that cultivate the feeling of qì  There are endless variations, as basically any posture that you move through in any of the forms or movement practices can also be practiced as a post.

 

The most common zhuāng that is practiced and generally found across all of the styles, is called hún yuán zhuāng (浑圓樁 completely circular post, often also called embracing post, or embracing the tree post. NB: different characters appear to be used by different people, sometimes the second character used is yuán 元, which would make the meaning something like complete primary/basic post). There are other common stances too, such as sān tǐ shì (三體勢) and wú jí zhuāng (無極樁), but I’m not going to go into any detail on those specific practises in this article.  Instead, I will simply provide some global queues that can be used across all standing practises. If you are a beginner and wish to try this for the first time, use the hún yuán zhuāng.

To set up:

• Stand with the feet shoulder width apart and the knees softly bent (nb: foot position might be different for other zhuāngs).
• Lift the crown of the head and sink the hips.  My favourite imagery for this is imagining the head is a helium balloon, the pelvis is a weight, and the spine is a string connecting the two. So the head is floating up, the pelvis is sinking downwards and spine is drawn into a lengthened position. You can also imagine that this causes a gap between each vertebrae to form, as if the spine were a slinky being pulled apart. It is important to note here that for the spine to get longer and the vertebrae in the neck to separate, the chin must tuck in; pointing the chin towards the sky will actually compress the neck.
• Let everything else soften and hang from the lengthened spine structure.  Even the spine itself is soft and pliable just like the string connecting the balloon and the weight.
• Relax and soften the point between the eyebrows, inducing a feeling of the eyebrows moving further away from each other, and the wrinkles in the forehead and the bridge of the nose flatten out.
• Let this feeling of softening and relaxation cascade backwards into the face. First the eyes, then the eye sockets and superficial muscles in the face, next the sinuses above and below the eye sockets, and then the top back of the nasal passage, the back of the throat, then softening the deeper tissues of the head and neck, where the top of the spine meets the base of the skull.
• Continue cascading the softening and relaxation down through the shoulders, arms, hands, ribcage, waistline, hips, upper legs, lower legs, ankles and feet.
• Imagine that a rope is connected to the end of each finger tip, and is being drawn away from the arms in the same direction as the fingers are pointing creating a feeling that the hands are being suspended and therefore don’t need to be held up by the shoulders. Let the shoulders relax and sink, as if they could go totally limp without affecting the position of the hands.
• As the hips soften, they should open up, as if they were a set of jaws swallowing the torso whole, or as if they were a sack that was being opened to envelope the torso.
• The knees should not feel like they are holding any weight. They should feel like a load transferring joint, rather than a load bearing joint, simply directing the weight through the lower legs and feet and into the ground.
• The centre of the bottom of the feet should feel like they are the centre of a suction pad, being drawn or sucked up into the legs.
• Finally, take notice of the fact that you are 80% water, invoking the feeling of all of the bones, muscles and organs suspended and floating in liquid wrapped in a semi permeable membrane.

Points of attention after set up:

• The most basic thing to do once the set up is complete is to simply continually return to the first point and scan your way down through the body again, re-cuing everything that was queued initially in the same order as above.  Often you will find that as you return to the crown, for example, it is no longer lifted and you need to do it again, or that you can somehow find a deeper level of softness. This can be continued for the full length of practice and I highly recommend beginners stick to this method for at least a few months before experimenting with anything else below. This will ensure that the structure is strong and stable.
• Once the structure is reasonably secure, you can bring your attention and awareness to the abdominal region between the belly button and the spine (called the Lower dān tián). Simply see if you can be aware of all the happenings down here.  After time you may start experiencing strong feelings of buzzing and warmth, as well as a deep and strong feeling of relaxation that starts to radiate outwards from this area.  Simply stay with this feeling, without trying to force it.  If it’s not there, just watch what is there.
• You could also explore single pointed attention.  See if you can keep your attention on one particular point for extended periods of time such as the tip of the nose. Any point will work here, and it doesn't matter which point you use so long as you can keep the attention there.
• Finally, in any meditation, exploration of the breath is always a fantastic idea [See Here: http://awarerelaxedconnected.com.au/using-the-breath-as-a-tool/]
  

Before I wrap this article up, I want to mention a very important point in this practice.  There is some variety of cascading effect that happens when you practice standing pole every day that allows progress not available to those who do not practice daily. It’s as if you build up a particular momentum doing daily practice, and if you stop, you must then expend more energy to build it up again.  My teacher would always say “miss one day, and you will need three days to catch up”.  In fact I’m reasonably certain this is a paraphrase of one or more of the classical texts surrounding these topics. At any rate, I have definitely found it to be the case, as it appears all of the fun exploration parts of the practice are only accessible to me after 2 - 4 weeks of constant practise, despite my 10 years of experience. 

It’s also probably a good time to mention now that initial practice is very uncomfortable. To begin with, your body is going to tell you where your problem areas.  It will tell you this by making them become incredibly uncomfortable, possibly by trembling and shaking, and more than likely by burning.  You are going to want to give up, and your mind will make up every excuse in the world as to why you should.  Here’s the interesting bit, you’re not in any real danger, and the body is more than capable of continuing (with the only exception being the knees, do not go too far into a deep posture unless you are definitely totally relaxed in the legs and hips!). It will be an exercise in persistence for quite some time until eventually, those points will relax and open up and become very comfortable. Sooner or later, the entire body will be engulfed in this feeling of deep relaxation and it will eventually get so comfortable that you won’t want to get up - a very different experience to pushing through discomfort to some preconceived end point.  If you don’t persist, or practice consistently, this will never happen.

Finally, I would like to finish this article with a link to some very classical views on this kind of practise.  If you read these and they don’t make sense, then perhaps its time to do some serious practise.  You can read them HERE and HERE.   Happy practice!

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. 

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.