Kneeling Exercise

[Trunk]

Here's what I'm calling the "kneeling exercise",

 

 

Courtesy of Dragon Gate Sanctuary,

thank you! to Sifu Matsuo.

 

 

(Following comments are entirely mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of DGS.)

 

Primary Action:

Gently flexes the lower-most lumbar and by that I mean the sacrum and the first several lumbar. Gently reverses the curve. Repeatedly flexes the musculature and tendons, ligaments etc around there. Many of you already know the implications of this, please feel free to comment for others.

 

 

Practice Notes:

- Do this repeatedly and gently. The leverage inherent in this position targets the lower-most back.

- Do not sit all the way down, just up and down in a suspended range.

- Gentleness and repetition are the keys here:

Do NOT do this with force, nor with speed!, and do not aspire to work up to greater force/speed with this! That misses the point and you could hurt your spine. Just gently, repeatedly such that it flexes ~ relaxes (aka, "pulses") lower-most spine.

- If you feel fatigued and/or 'complete' then stop. Be kind and patient with your spine.

- My modification: arms could be in any position, but helpful ime if you use prayer mudra. It naturally assists with the position of the upper back and allows some heart and limb energetics to engage (especially if you've already done other cultivation along that line).

 

I think you'll find the repurcussions of the "kneeling exercise" on other practices and exercises to be very favorable.

 

Practice, come back, comment, share.

 

 

- Trunk

[yangluchan]

Thanks Trunk!

 

A question: Should we move backwards towards our heels and then forwards again? I find it really taxes my thigh muscles, is this correct?

[Trunk]

Should we move backwards towards our heels and then forwards again?

Yes,

in that little arrowed arc displayed in the picture ...

mix of up/down fwd/back that anatomy dictates.

 

Not all the way up, nor all the way down,

just a little arc that you'll gradually find by feel

that gently flexes ~ releases your lower back.

 

I find it really taxes my thigh muscles, is this correct?

It can tax the thighs, but that is not the point of it, imo. (There are many much better conventional exercises to work quads.)

Be careful not to strain your knees.

 

Basically, do not over-do this in any way:

- not by speed, not by force, not by over-repetition, not by too many days in a row (take as many days off so as to feel comfortable), not by over-focus on this one exercise

- complement with whatever other exercises round you out

 

The angles and resulting leverage demand that you orient gently towards your knees and spine. At the same time, the leverage gets to certain goodies in the low back - inherently by the posture; you can't avoid it.

 

You need to completely discard weight-lifting mentality for this exercise.

 

I'd rather over-scare people away from the exercise than have someone get hurt , but I think that if you orient to take this one easy that it can be quite safe and rather invaluable for opening up the very low spine and some of the tissues & channels that run up through there.

 

- Trunk

[zerostao]

the true man breathes thru his heels- chuang tzu

[Scadder21]

I want to ask this as I'm assuming others have the same question. Does the angle of the Trunk change as your lifting up? I've tried it 2 ways one way the trunk stays perpendicular to the ground no matter at what point in the process. The other is that the thighs and trunk stay at a fixed angle in relation to each other. In that way when your all the way down the trunk is perpendicular to the floor but as you raise up it gets more parrell. Which one is most benefical for the spine?

[ChiDragon]

IMO The spine gives you more support when it was in the arc formation.

Edited July 23, 2011 by ChiDragon

[Trunk]

Which one is most benefical for the spine?

I dunno.

I've just been doing it by feel. I just feel for the motion that gives a little gentle flexi to my lower spine, and then I do more of that.

 

 

~~ later edit ~~

The way I do it is that I stay tilted slightly fwd in relation to the ground (maybe 80 degrees?), as in the picture. Definitely not perpendicular to the ground, not 90 degrees. .. and I suppose that means that my trunk-to-legs angle varies as I move up and down. That's my feel of it, haven't seen myself in a mirror or anything.

[Dainin]

Trunk, do you think that by lying on one's back and drawing both knees in towards the chest (holding the knees or shins for assistance), and then gently increasing and decreasing the distance between the knees and chest, that it would have a similar effect to what you have illustrated? This is called wind relieving pose in yoga. I've noticed that doing this seems to massage the sacrum and tail bone area.

[Trunk]

.. lying on one's back and drawing both knees in towards the chest (holding the knees or shins for assistance), and then gently increasing and decreasing the distance between the knees and chest, that it would have a similar effect to what you have illustrated? This is called wind relieving pose in yoga. I've noticed that doing this seems to massage the sacrum and tail bone area.

* just went and tried it *

Thanks! for that exercise.

I've rolled on my back before, like the whole roll, but never had just worked that little portion of it before - as you describe.

 

Agreed, similar. Targets the same area, in a more relaxing way.

Curious how you experience the difference between the two?

[joeblast]

All excellent stuff. I do pretty much all of this, every day. Great for when not everything's connected back there (the rolling on back, too - short periodicity focuses well at lumbosacral junction.)

 

I usually do other stretches (a la xing shen zhuang) that loosen all of this up and if my back is tight then doing this pose afterwards will usually trigger a proper adjustment.

Edited July 24, 2011 by joeblast

[Trunk]

Worth a thread-bump...

 

So, I've added to this...

 

 

.. added the heart chakra part of Kwan Yin Magnetic Qigong + the kneeling exercise, together.

 

Holy mackeral!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nltVuSH-lQM

[Sunya]

Would prostrations like in Tibetan Buddhism have a similar effect?

[joeblast]

I think it would depend on the physical intent. This particular 'exercise' has intent to it - if you're just bowing down in however your body tends to bow down, that may not be the same thing.

 

 

I've been doing a standing version of this a la the 'snake coil' spine exercise, it aligns me parts nicely

[Trunk]

Would prostrations like in Tibetan Buddhism have a similar effect?

Prostrations are good, this is good, there are various spine (& other exercises that are good). My first (and perhaps best) answer is: Do them, notice your own experience, compare. That's where it all happens. You have the equipment!

 

But also, note: The kneeling exercise specifically flexes ~ releases the very low lumbar. Can you think of other activity that also does that? This is a very clever exercise to process jing up the very low section of the spine.

[gendao]

But also, note: The kneeling exercise specifically flexes ~ releases the very low lumbar. Can you think of other activity that also does that? This is a very clever exercise to process jing up the very low section of the spine.

I tried it this morning and liked it as a "cool-down" after some more intense stretching.

 

However, I also experimented with doing it in a squat position to add more flexion & range-of-motion, which had felt rather limited in the seiza posture.

Edited September 11, 2011 by vortex

[doc benway]

 

But also, note: The kneeling exercise specifically flexes ~ releases the very low lumbar. Can you think of other activity that also does that? This is a very clever exercise to process jing up the very low section of the spine.

I frequently do forward bends where I let my knees bend a bit to take the tension off the hamstrings and fully flex and stretch the lower lumber/lumbosacral region. I then go back and really stretch out the hamstrings, then combine both. Then side to side whips to continue to loosen the lumbosacral region rotationally.

[Taomeow]

Very good stuff.

 

I was taught a version of this. You squat while keeping your spine absolutely erect (top of head and tailbone aligned on one line perpendicular to the floor). While slowly squatting, you don't let your tailbone go out, don't stick your butt out at any point. Mind the knees! They have to have no part in the action whatsoever, short of bending strictly forward strictly over the toes pointing strictly forward, and make sure you don't twist them sideways at any point. This is actually a meditation pose, the palms are held together in front of the chest.

 

Disclaimer: this is not safe for everybody, there's a risk to the knees -- don't do it unless you're 100% prepared to blame only yourself and not me should something go wrong.

[Trunk]

To be explicitly clear about what I'm pointing to here, as I think that the kneeling exercise + Kwan Yin magnetic heart qigong does something specific that is very much worth seeing and experiencing as-it-is. Get that. Don't let the permutations ~ variations (which are perhaps good and worth learning also).. but in this case listen, worth getting this one. Particularly for men.

 

These two things together:

 

1. The kneeling exercise mimics the rhythmic flexion of the lower lumbar during sexual intercourse but it does not engage the musculature nor psychology typical of that act.

 

2. Kwan Yin magnetic heart qigong alternately flufs open and spirals into a concentrated refined pearl, the heart chakra. Very effectively. (If you've worked with the whole KYMQ set then all the chakras also start to do that sympathetically.)

 

So, you've got the very low spine flexing pumping and the heart opening ~ refining spiraling concentrating both together in concert. It's extremely effective unaroused jing training and refining practice.

 

(Of course, you will first need to practice them separately until you are comfortable enough with each such that you can combine them.)

 

Afterwards, follow it up w/ whatever you feel is appropriate. Maybe still standing + lower dan tien breathing. Maybe more full spectrum Kwan Yin magnetic session. Maybe whatever you think is best. I'm just saying that those two together are perhaps helpful and important to look at as they are, especially for men w/ sexual refinement challenges (which I think is most of us ). That's all.

 

- Trunk

[hagar]

To be explicitly clear about what I'm pointing to here, as I think that the kneeling exercise + Kwan Yin magnetic heart qigong does something specific that is very much worth seeing and experiencing as-it-is. Get that. Don't let the permutations ~ variations (which are perhaps good and worth learning also).. but in this case listen, worth getting this one. Particularly for men.

 

These two things together:

 

1. The kneeling exercise mimics the rhythmic flexion of the lower lumbar during sexual intercourse but it does not engage the musculature nor psychology typical of that act.

 

2. Kwan Yin magnetic heart qigong alternately flufs open and spirals into a concentrated refined pearl, the heart chakra. Very effectively. (If you've worked with the whole KYMQ set then all the chakras also start to do that sympathetically.)

 

So, you've got the very low spine flexing pumping and the heart opening ~ refining spiraling concentrating both together in concert. It's extremely effective unaroused jing training and refining practice.

 

(Of course, you will first need to practice them separately until you are comfortable enough with each such that you can combine them.)

 

Afterwards, follow it up w/ whatever you feel is appropriate. Maybe still standing + lower dan tien breathing. Maybe more full spectrum Kwan Yin magnetic session. Maybe whatever you think is best. I'm just saying that those two together are perhaps helpful and important to look at as they are, especially for men w/ sexual refinement challenges (which I think is most of us ). That's all.

 

- Trunk

 

I've done something similar in the standing deer. Will give it a try.

 

h