Full Circle - 6 - Baby Steps Continued - Big Head, Slippery Feet
Calligraphy by ThIch Nhat Hahn
Full Circle - 6 - Baby Steps Continued - Big Head, Slippery Feet
Mixed metaphors to elongate the neck, soften the hips
Based on “Painting with Your Feet - AY111” as taught by Anna Johnson, GCFT®
Newborns head’s are almost an inch larger then their chests, Not until a child reaches two years old does the chest grow bigger than the head.
Circles, circles. This lesson circles back to your baby-self’s first attempts to lift your head, combined with “Painting with Your Feet,” a lesson we covered in Back on Our Feet, Too Darn Hot, and No Crunch Abs 1 & 2 (and probably other series I’m forgetting), and breathing and the pelvic floor.
The result, I hope, will be a better understanding of lengthening the whole spine, especially the neck, using “ballerina” and Modern Dancer” feet as the ‘aha moment’ drivers. Also, I hope to amplify the hip release that some of you reported after last week’s “Baby Steps” lesson.
The microcosmic orbit posture with long spine, long neck, slightly tilted chin
When I was studying Chi Kung with Grand Master Mantak Chia, the first lesson he taught was the microcosmic orbit: the path that energy flows through the central meridians. He would talk about the energy gates and how to pump energy up the spine and down the front channel. I didn’t get it then, especially the position of the low back and head. I am beginning to get it, now, finally.
Getting the cervical spine into position is not so much chin to chest, as I thought, but more base of the head lifting up and back, taking the neck and chest with it. We will experiment with this in sitting and supine. (Thank you, Andrea B, for allowing me to extend your neck - maybe with a little more enthusiasm than you would like. You reminded me of the microcosmic orbit and inspired this lesson.)
From there, we add on the ‘ballerina’ or extended foot, and the ‘modern dance’ or flexed foot to ‘paint the floor’ as we glide the foot in different planes. That simple movement activates an entire chain of forces, conveying the ground energy up the leg, into the pelvis, and all the way up and through the neck.
We start on our backs, roll to the front briefly for a different experience of gravity on the feet and spine, and then back to the back. There’s a bit of imagination involved as well, mentally tracking the foot to hip to head connections from the right side to teach the left.
Science Nerd Candy Bowl:
The Power of the Microcosmic Orbit with Master Mantak Chia 7:33 The master introduces the practice and key points
The leg: the posterior compartment, deep layer - Anatomie 3D - (3:36) how the toes connect to the lower leg - use your imagination from there.
Set Up for a Supine and Prone lesson:
Lie on floor with support under head or legs as needed to keep the neck and low back long and relaxed, with some optional padding for the prone (belly down) segment
Slippery socks or mat might be helpful for this lesson
Sit on a firm, stable chair with knees and hips level
If you tie your hair in clips, you might want to take them out for this one - lots of head nods, rolls and slides
How you might feel after this lesson: Longer; Open; Breathing deeply; Aware of your back ribs and spine; Hips and low back relaxed; New sensation of a long and elegant neck; New awareness of how the diaphragm, ribs and spine interact in breathing.
“We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality.”
If you have a Wednesday 9:30 am or 6:30 pm class registration, keep using it. If you were registered for the 12:00 pm Wednesday session, you’ll need to register. Registered, paid students receive the lesson recording link on Thursday. $40/month; $15/single lesson. PayPal or Venmo to jackisue@aol.com. Or check to Jacki Katzman, PO Box 116, Bethlehem, NH 03574
For new student registration, Click Here