practice session 15 min
9.3. Practice Session: 15 min — Transcript (English)
Section titled “9.3. Practice Session: 15 min — Transcript (English)”Summary:
Transcript
Section titled “Transcript”We begin in a standing position, feet are hip width apart, draw the shoulders down, activate the arms, spread the fingers, and begin lifting your arms diagonally forward without lifting the rib cage.
Keep drawing the shoulders down, lightly pulling the rib cage back, so you feel the Distributed Activation in your upper body.
Now we’re going to hinge.
Your pelvis shifts backward as if you’re trying to sit on an invisible chair.
The knees are first extended and then you begin to bend your knees but keep your center of gravity as far back as possible.
The spine remains straight.
Keep drawing the shoulders down and lightly gripping the floor with the toes.
The knees are just above the heels.
Don’t allow your knees to come closer to each other and collapse inward.
If you feel burn in your thighs, don’t go too low.
The most important detail is the straightness of your spine.
Keep drawing the shoulders down and spreading the fingers.
And then slowly begin to extend the knees while keeping the rib cage stacked with pelvis.
And then slowly bring the arms down.
But keep spreading the fingers.
Don’t relax your arms.
The arms stay active.
And now let’s bring the hands onto the floor.
You can bend the knees here.
Shift the weight onto the left foot right foot with no momentum goes far back, extend the knee and slowly lower the tiptoe of the right foot onto the floor.
And then bring the right knee down, top of the foot down.
Now from here we really want to pull the legs in.
So you pull the legs in and the back top of the foot is pressing into the floor so that there is almost no weight on the right knee.
It could be floating one centimeter in the air and you continue to pull the legs in and press the back foot into the floor.
So your legs should stay in this activated position the entire time we are in this form.
And the pelvis and the rib cage are looking forward.
Now as we draw the shoulders down we slowly begin to lift the upper body.
The left arm extended rest on the knee, the right hand goes into the right hip.
You can wiggle the rib cage from side to side here to become more aware of the position.
Both shoulders and the hips are looking forward so we don’t open the right hip or right shoulder to the right.
And as you wiggle the rib cage, you slowly lift the upper body, no compression in the lower back.
At any point if there’s compression in the lower back, lean a bit forward.
Keep pulling the legs in.
The back foot continues to press into the floor.
And make sure that the front knee stays above the toe.
So the front leg has this Z shape when looking from the side.
Keep pulling the legs in, pressing the back foot into the floor shoulders down.
And then slowly release the hands onto the floor.
Bring the back foot on the tiptoe, lift the right knee.
And then with no momentum, bring the back foot back so that feet are hip width apart.
And then we will bring the left leg far back, knee extended.
No momentum, slowly bring the tiptoe onto the floor.
And the front knee stays above the toe.
And then you lower the left knee onto the floor, top of the foot onto the floor.
And again, the back foot presses into the floor.
So there is almost no weight on the knee.
The knee could be even floating in this form.
The front knee stays above the toe.
If it is above your heel, then adjust the front leg.
Now, as you pull the legs in, creating the foundation and Distributed Activation on the legs, the legs won’t move from here.
We begin to lift the upper body.
Make sure that the front knee stays above the toe.
Right arm goes onto the knee and the left hand onto the left hip.
As you pull the legs in, the legs remain in this position with Distributed Activation.
And as we wiggle the rib cage from side to side, we begin to slowly lift the upper body without changing the position of the legs, keep drawing the shoulders down.
Be aware of the rectangle formed by your shoulders and hips.
It should be completely symmetrical looking forward and not slanting to the left side.
So drawing the shoulders down, no compression in the lower back.
If there is compression, lean a little bit forward, the legs are active.
Then slowly releasing the hands onto the floor.
And the back foot goes onto the tiptoe with the left knee.
Again, no momentum, bring the left foot forward, returning the feet to hip width apart.
Your knees can be bent here.
And then the hands go on to the cuff muscles and round the upper spine relax the neck, but keep drawing the shoulders down towards the hips.
So the knees are above the heels.
The weight is on the heels. so the weight is as far back as possible.
Hug your elbows to the legs, relax the neck, so the head is hanging, but keep drawing the shoulders down towards the hips.
And lightly press the calves with your hands so it can feel like you’re pulling yourself towards your calves.
And then as you continue pulling, extend the spine.
So we want to find a position with a completely straight line from the lower back to the back of the neck.
As you do that, continue to draw the shoulders down and continue pressing with your hands against the cuff muscles.
You can continue gripping the floor lightly with your toes.
You can wiggle the ribcage from side to side to better feel the position.
The knees remain bent here only if there is no tension in the hamstrings, you can extend your knees a little bit, continue to press the cuff muscles, draw the shoulders down, and then chin and round the upper spine.
Continue to draw the shoulders down, and then we’ll start rolling up.
Imagine somebody’s pulling on your arms towards the floor, shoulders down, and you slowly unroll, the head returns to upright in the very, very end.
And let’s bring the feet a bit wider right now.
Keep drawing the shoulders down.
Spread the fingers, arms active, bring them forward in front of you to offset the weight.
And then we’ll hinge again.
So the pelvis moves back, the spine is extended.
You’re shifting the weight back as much as possible. on the heels and then start bending the knees.
Make sure the knees don’t collapse inward, knees above the feet.
Insert the elbows inside your knees and press out.
So the knees are pressing in, the elbows are pressing out.
You create Distributed Activation using this oppositional force.
Here, spine is completely straight, draw the shoulders down.
As you continue this pressing oppositional force.
If it’s available to you, you can lower the pelvis closer to the floor.
But if it’s impossible to do without falling or changing the position of the legs, then you just stay higher.
But even if your ankle and hip mobility allow you to lower the pelvis all the way down, don’t just collapse.
Continue to press the legs and the elbows into each other and draw the shoulders down.
And then from here we want to sit down on the floor.
Ideally we want you to extend the arms forward to offset the weight and then slowly lower.
Or you can use your hands to lower you if your mobility doesn’t allow this movement.
And then we slowly bring the elbows down, elbows under the shoulders, extend the knees, extend the ankles, spread the toes, keep drawing the shoulders down, ankles extended.
From here we’ll bend the right knee, open the right leg to the side and press the foot into the left leg.
And then slowly lower the left leg down onto the floor.
It should be under your hip.
So imagine the position of the leg as if you’re standing, not on the midline, but under your hip.
Extend the ankle, extend the knee, push the ball of the foot.
So the left leg is very active.
Left hand forward as you can around the spine and lift your upper body.
Keep extending the left knee, left ankle, pushing the ball of the foot, the left leg is very, very active.
Right hand also go forward.
If you keep drawing the shoulders down, the edge of the right foot is gripping the floor forward.
So the entire body is active, Distributed Activation.
Chin in, keep spreading the fingers, draw the shoulders down, active flat leg.
And then we start rolling forward towards the midline.
So you roll towards the midline, the spine is aligned with the midline, but the left leg is not on the midline.
It’s very important to feel those grid lines.
So draw the shoulders down, broaden the shoulder blades, the fingertips just gently touching the floor.
Left leg, don’t forget it, it remains active at all times.
And you wiggle the ribcage from side to side, feel how it releases the tension in the muscles in your back and the lower back, keep drawing the shoulders down, and then slowly extend the spine without losing the activation in your left leg.
So we are finding a completely straight line position, lower back to the upper back to the neck completely straight.
Keep drawing the shoulders down.
The left leg remains active.
You are trying to imagine that your stomach wants to lie on the floor, but at the same time you’re drawing the shoulders on extending the spine, pushing the ball of the left foot.
Keep drawing the shoulders down.
See if you can come a little bit lower here.
You may be more upright.
Everybody’s if the angle is more than 90 degrees.
So if you’re leaning back, then use your hands to lightly support yourself.
And then chin in around the upper spine.
As you continue to draw the shoulders down, never letting go of the activation of the left leg.
You begin to lean back, pelvis, tilts back, arms come forward to offset the weight.
Left leg and the right leg too.
Lift of the floor.
So you balance here for a moment and then no snapping, no momentum.
Bring chest, extend the knees, extend the ankles, push the ball to the feet.
Now bend the left knee and open the left leg to the side.
The left foot attaches to the right leg but not pressing too much and then the right leg is tracing the grid line associated with your right shoulder slowly lures onto the floor.
The edge of the left foot is gripping forward and the right knee, right ankle extended, push the balls of the left foot.
Now right hand goes forward, you lift your upper body the spine, keep the legs active.
Left hand goes forward.
You’re pushing forward from the shoulders, broadening the shoulder blades.
Draw the shoulders down, bring the chin in and keep the legs active.
Start rolling in towards the midline and in the hands just gently touch the floor on the sides.
Again, the spine is tracing the midline.
The right leg is in front of your right hip, like it would be when you are standing on two feet.
Feel those grid lines.
Keep drawing the shoulders down, relax the neck, and as you wiggle the ribcage from side to side, start extending the spine, again finding that straight line which starts from the pelvis.
You may be much more upright or even leaning back a little bit, but keep extending the left knee, keep extending the right knee, right ankle pushing the ball of the foot.
Don’t let the right foot to fall to the right, so the top of the foot is looking up towards the ceiling, or the sky.
The left edge of the foot is gripping forward, never let go of the activation in the legs, keep drawing the shoulders down, and wiggle the ribcage.
As you extend the spine, and then we will start rounding the spine.
Chin in, drop the head, very slowly start leaning back, rounding the spine.
Arms come forward to offset that the weight legs become light.
They come off the floor.
We balance here, suspend for a few seconds.
And then as you extend the legs, bring the forearms onto the floor, knees under the elbows, chest up.
So don’t back arch, but straight spine.
Bend the right knee, bend the left knee, and cross the legs at the ankles, forming a cross.
And then slowly lower the feet onto the floor and the upper body comes up. so we can come up to a seated position, but then we lean back.
So the edges of the feet are gripping forward, feet very active.
We around the spine lean back as much as possible, draw the shoulders down, spread the fingers.
And then as we continue to then chin in and as we continue to grip the feet forward and down, we roll in like a spiral, drawing the shoulders down, broadening the shoulder blades and wiggle the spine from side to side.
We’re going the rib cage, feel how that releases the tension in the lower back and the space between the shoulder blades.
Don’t just collapse onto your legs.
The legs remain active.
They continue to press forward and down into the floor as if wanting to push you back.
And then as you wiggle the rib cage, you extend the spine, once again finding a straighter position.
With the legs crossed now, you may be leaning much more forward than you were in the previous form.
So keep drawing the shoulders down, lightly touching the floor with the fingers.
Don’t forget to activate the legs.
The shoulders are open.
Don’t round the upper spine here.
Find completely flat upper body shoulders away from each other as much as possible.
The neck is in line with the spine.
The feet remain active.
And then let’s bring the chin in and round the upper spine and start leaning back very slowly, rounding, rounding, rounding.
Back arms come forward to offset the weight.
Legs become light, come up the floor, we balance here.
And then very slowly we extend the knees, extend the ankles, push the balls of the feet and bring the elbows down onto the floor.
Then we’ll do the other side.
So we’ll bend the left knee, right knee, crossing the feet at the ankles, spread the toes.
And then very slowly bringing the legs onto the floor and lifting your upper body.
And then arms come forward and we lean back.
So we really round the upper spine here.
The pelvis is tilted back.
Ages of the feet are gripping forward, pushing the upper body away.
And then resisting that leg movement, we roll forward rounding the spine, relaxing the neck. wiggle the rib cage from side to side.
The legs remain active at all times.
Only the neck is relaxed here and maybe the fingers are just, well, the fingers are not relaxed.
They’re actively touching the floor and we move the ribcage from side to side.
So as we do this undulating movement of the ribcage, we extend the spine, we draw the shoulders down the neck, finds a position where it’s in line with the lower back. the chest is open, upper body flat, and the edges of the feet are pressing forward and as we continue to move the ribcage from side to side, feeling the straightness of our spine.
And then let’s bring the chin in one more time, rounding the upper spine.
We begin to slowly lean back as if somebody is pushing in the chest.
Arms come forward like explosion in slow motion. legs come off the floor, we bring the forearms onto the floor and his extended ankles extended, pushing the ball of the foot chest up, a ribcage on pelvis stacked.
And then let’s keep the toes together, create some space between the heels so that the top of the feet are perpendicularly looking up, not allowing the hips to rotate outwards.
We’ll slowly bring the legs down onto the floor, keep drawing the shoulders down, don’t back arch as you do that.
When the legs lower on the floor, knees extended, ankles extended, right hand goes forward, left hand goes forward, you draw the shoulders down, you’re really rounding the spine, the toes together, there’s some space between the heels, we’re really around the upper spine.
And then we begin to roll in towards the midline, rounding the spine.
Relax the neck.
Don’t relax the legs.
The are actively extending and you can think of pressing the floor with the back of your shin as you are rounding the upper spine, wriggling the ribcage from side to side.
And as you wiggle and keep the legs engaged, thinking that your stomach wants to touch your front of your thighs, you begin to extend the spine, finding a position where the spine is completely straight.
Keep engaging the legs and while you’re continuing to engage the legs and extending the knees, see if it’s possible to lower your stomach a little bit lower without losing the activation in the legs.
Maybe you’re more upright.
In this case you’re going to use your hands to help your pelvis to remain more upright.
But make sure that the chest is open, that the shoulders are as far away from each other as possible.
The neck is in line with the spine, the legs are engaged.
Keep spreading the toes and pushing the ball of the foot.
Your entire body is active here.
Even the neck is lightly active to stay in line with the spine.
And now rounding the spine, relaxing the neck, keep the legs engaged, begin to lean back, arms come forward to offset the weight, the legs become light and they are lifting from the floor, bend the knees lightly, keep the toes spreading and forms down, knees extended.
Cross the legs now and come into a comfortable seated position.
Cross leg or you can sit on your heels if you want to or even feel free to sit on a chair if you’re uncomfortable sitting on the floor, because we are going to do some stillness practice here.
So your spine need to be completely upright as you do this.
Your pelvis should not be tilted back, should be tilted slightly, slightly forward to enable a natural S shape curve.
So try to find a position where the spine is completely straight.
And if you’re comfortable, close your eyes. and bring the awareness to the inside of your body.
So we’re going to observe the body and we will look for tension.
And if you spot tension anywhere, try to just dissolve it by focusing your attention on it.
As much as possible, try to avoid moving.
Really try to maintain stillness as we do this.
So let’s focus first on the top of the head and then going from top to bottom scan the body looking for tension.
The forehead, the space between the eyebrows, the back of the eyes, the cheeks, the jaw.
If there is any tension, try to let it go. the neck, the shoulders, the space between the shoulder blades, the stomach, let it go soft, the lower back, the hips, the legs, the hands.
Whenever you feel any tension, try to let go of it, try to relax it, ideally without moving that body part.
Then let’s focus on the breath.
Inhale in, deep into the chest. and then long out from the mouth.
But slow, slow, long exhalation into lungs completely.
One more time in into the chest.
It’s about 10 seconds for inhalation.
Inhale, make your lungs full, and then out from the mouth.
Really pace it out, slow exhalation to exhale all the air out.
One more time in into the chest through the nose, long inhalation, long and full, feel your rib cage expanding.
And then out from the mouth, feel how your rib cage is falling as your ex exhaling and emptying the lungs.
One more time in into the chest.
The shoulders are lifting slightly, the rib cage is expanding.
And one more time, exhale from the mouth, trying to completely empty your lungs.
One more time in, into the chest, feel the expansion of the ribcage.
And long out from the mouth. complete full exhalation.
And then one last time in through the nose, a little bit more gently now, just inhale comfortably.
And then exhale like you normally exhale, just relax normal exhalation. and just try to remain still for a few moments.
Try not to think about anything and just focus on the internal sensations.
Now from here, let’s inhale deep into the chest and as you inhale through the sides, bring the arms first to the shoulder height and then above your head, where you interlock the fingers and you press the palms up comfortably and tilt your head back.
And open your eyes and press the palms high stretching towards the ceiling.
Then tilt to one side, feeling the stretch in the side of the body, and then tilt to the other side, feeling the stretch in the other side of the body.
Return to center.
And then release the fingertips upright, really stretch towards the ceiling.
Then turn your head to look forward, and then start lowering your arms through the size to the shoulder height.
Imagine somebody is pulling on your arms.
When the arms reach the shoulder height, stop there.
Again, extend the arms as if somebody is pulling your arms out of shoulder socket.
And then tilt your head to the left shoulder and with the right arm stretch in the opposite direction.
So feel the stretch in the right side of the neck.
Then return to center and then tilt the head to the right with the right hand stretch into the opposite side.
Feeling the stretch in left side of the neck and return to center.
Then one more time, extend the arm to the sides as somebody is pulling on them, and then slowly lower your arms down next to your body, very, very slowly and actively.
Let the activation in the arms go.
And that concludes the session.