Vertical Shake is a movement practice that can enhance the alignment of the body in your chosen movement practice.

The motto of “Align, Release, Mobilize” comes close to encompassing the purpose of tai chi, but also could be used to describe other movement practices use to achieve the goals of tai chi. One way to state that goal is that tai chi allows one to move towards central equilibrium of body, mind and spirit.

Today’s post is a possible first step towards that goal. It describes a movement practice called “vertical shake” which can be seen on YouTube as presented by Ido Portal 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6lyGhAANR0&t=1348s 

Ido Portal’s progression from the set up through the execution of vertical shake is identical to the protocol that I use in teaching Yang Family Style tai chi chuan. The narrative below is an example of how the first four principles, relating to alignment, are presented in tai chi. You will see the similarity if you watch the Ido Portal video.

Vertical shake must begin with finding ones central equilibrium. Begin, standing with feet shoulder width apart with the base of the feet evenly rooted to the ground. Swing pendulum like in small circles feeling the weight change from toes, to the outer/inner edge of the feet and to the heels. Circle in both directions letting yourself slowly find your central equilibrium. Finish with side to side and forward and back pendulum like swings until you feel an aligned connection from head top to the soles of your feet.

This is your start position for vertical shake. The next phase is the release of tension which can be described as a sinking feeling. An understanding of tonus and how it supports the body will be the subject of a future post. For this narrative it needs to be understood that the desired release of tension is not a letting go of support, but rather a resilient maintenance of support without unnecessary tension.

Bring your attention to your knees. Release with a light bounce to off lock any tension in the knees. This is not a knee bend, but rather a release into a supportive but tension free position. Ido uses the idea of a touch to the back of a locked knee position which results in the off locking at the knee.

Bring your attention to your hips. Again, not bending at the waist, but releasing to an off lock tension free position. Coordinate the release of the knees with this release at the waist. As was done at the knee, a light touch to the inguinal creases at the hip can facilitate this off lock release. I use the outer edge of my palms for this touch.

Bring your attention to your sternum. Release the chest, feeling your torso drop onto the supported position of your hips and knees. And, again, use a light touch with the finger tips to the strenum to initiate this release

The combination of all three releases should bring the body into an aligned postion that feels both tension free as well as fully supportive of the bodies weight. A mental image of sinking into the floor may accompany this released position, but not one of limpness. I like to use the idea of a resilient energy maintaining support.

The release of the knees and hips can be felt in the lumbar spine as well as in the sacrum. The release at the chest is felt in the thoracic spine, the sternum, rib cage and shoulder girdle. There is still the cervical spine to deal with which will be added later.

In progression from the knees to the hips and the chest, with an inhale feel an expansiveness followed by a quick exhale to feel the release. It may take several repetition for each joint and then for all three at the same time. Ultimately come to a point where breathing is shallow and natural without mental awareness. You may be able to feel a vibration happening at all three joints. This may take some time before becoming natural.

The major supporting joints of the body are now aligned and released. We now need to add the shoulder to the release. On an inhale, raise the shoulders slightly, and then drop them on the exhale. Return to the vibrating sensation and be aware of how the shoulders are now moving along with your torso.

An added variation is to periodically raise the shoulder and drop them so that the hands shake or flop and your forearms bend slightly at the elbow, like a rag doll. Feel the affect of this on your shoulders and torso down through hips, knees and feet.

Now to deal with the cervical spine. The vertical shake of Ido Portal and the Alexander Technique bring into play the use of the vocal cords in releasing tension in the cervical spine and the connection of the spine to the skull at the occipital bone. Breathing in through the nose followed by the emanation of an Ahh sound on the exhale resulting in a release that can be felt in the throat. It also encourages the skull to settle on the occipital bone in a relaxed fashion. The jaw will drop slightly with the release of tension in temporomandibular joint that supports the jaw. Trying to mentally release these muscles is problematic, but the emanation of the “silent Ahh” seems to allow for the necessary release.

A tai chi acquaintance added something that seems to come into play here as well. Ken Go, President of the Australian Tai Chi Association, is a teacher with a high level of push hands experience and finesse. His ideal aligned position included the sensation of a raising sensation from the headtop (he likened it to a pinocchio like elongation) to a point well above the head. Imagine that your head and entire body is hanging from this elevated point. This sensation is accompanied by a release of facial muscles and the jaw, much like the Ahh practice does. So, I use both.

The vertical shake can now be started with a light bounce of the whole body. The rag doll metaphor may be appropriate to feel the body shake with each bounce. Initially a stronger inhale and exhale can get the movement going, but should subside to a shallow unconscious breathing as the shake reduces to a mere vibration. Doing the shake for just a couple of minutes to start is recommended. Ido Portal’s 24 minute shake is in line with the extreme athletes that undertake his movement training, but may not be advisable for most of us mere mortals.

 

Another movement system that uses the vertical shake concept is the Fascial Training system presented by Jack Thompson. He calls the movement pattern Fascia Hopping. Again, you hear the familiar tai chi principles of alignment being presented. Thompson’s version starts out the same as Ido Portal’s but he adds a number of movement options that take the concept in other directions. I don’t particularly like the way Thompson aligns the body with the palms turned forward, as this creates tension in the chest that is not desired in the objective of the Vertical shake. I prefer Portal’s version, but find it interesting that there are other movement systems that are in sync with the principles of tai chi; interesting, but not really surprising. See YouTube links below for samples of Jack Thompson’s system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2errN-tJTo

 

 

 This post will venture into the subject of resistance training and how it contributes to the objective of strong stable alignment throughout desired movement patterns.  

 

Resistance Training-An adaptive process; moving towards alignment of body, mind and spirit.

Resistance Training creates a transition imbalance that requires an adaptation in the myofascial system and through tensegrity to all fascial systems and processes in order to sustain the body in alignment and without injury.

The following link presents one resistance training system that is consistent with the goals of taijiquan.

Drew Baye on High Intensity Training

All resistance training to failure results in adaptation. This includes badly aligned training and over-training, both of which can result in dysfunction and/or structural changes, especially over time. The objective is to train in alignment with a balance between work and rest. The most efficient training will produce the best results when combined with the necessary rest for adaptation to take place.

The development of lean muscle mass can have the desired result of an ideal or enhanced physique for a body builder or strength for a Power lifter. It also has a positive impact on mitochondria at the cellular level with enhanced metabolic efficiency which can be viewed as synonymous with health.

Movement Awareness may not be necessary for adaptation to take place, but enhanced awareness focus is essential for efficient resistance training to promote the greatest alignment within the training purpose.

Working towards optimal muscle fatigue for adaptation is called working to failure. The mental state that identifies when failure has been reached requires long practice over time to reach that critical point. Understanding the meaning of each resistance movement will enhance efficiency of results and reduce the likelihood of injury.

Drew Baye points out the importance of focusing on the objective of muscle fatigue rather than just completing a number of reps or sets. The slow cadence of H.I.T. allows one to maintain that focus, but it does require awareness throughout the exercise.

 

 

Tai Chi Practice as Kinesthetic Awareness

Much, if not all, of my study of psychosomatic reality, is an examination of Taijiquan as a practice of kinesthtic awareness as it contributes to ultimate fitness.  The following touches on a few aspects of taijiquan practice with comments from my review of literature.

My taiji practice has become very refined in that I spend as much time sensing what it is that I am feeling, as I spend on trying to perfect my form. The two objectives are actually just one, since putting my focus on how it feels is the best form practice. What I am doing less of is going through form sequences for the exercise of getting better by repetitive practice. A long term or perhaps I should call it, my life time goal, is to see what affect deep kinesthetic awareness has on my movement ability as I age.

Kinesthesis does decline with age as our connective tissue stiffens, dries out, loses collegen due to disuse, and possibly loses some proprioceptors necessary to maintain a high level of awareness of our place in space. Alexander Technique alludes to a “faulty sense of awareness” that we have about our body alignment or any sense of ourselves. This occurs as we become “used to” what feels normal and that becomes our default position.

Is it possible, with consistent high focus, to retain a greater level of kinesthesis with age which would result in greater mobility in alignment, which would maintain greater “kinesthetic fitness”. It is common for tai chi promoters to state that tai chi is good for maintaining memory in older adults. The presumption is that learning and remembering the long sequential forms is good memory practice which aids in the retention of their memory faculty. That is fine, but I like the view that “muscle memory” only exists as a psychosomatic sense of how it feels (Deane Juhan, “Job’s Body”) and that tai chi sequences practice is a kinesthetic practice.

Interjecting a mention of “Sprezzatura” as it relates to moving easily with gracefulness. Sprezzature is an Italian term meaning the ability to make something difficult look easy. It was first coined to describe the grace and elegance that court couriers exhibited in performing their tasks. It was used to describe the graceful elegance of ballet dancers.

It doesn’t matter how much sprezzatura is observable, it is the feeling of ease and grace that is important to kinesthetic fitness. Out of alignment feels out of alignment, but only if you pay attention to it. A faulty sense of awareness may allow you to feel aligned when you are not, because of default normal position. Ultimately pain and/or dysfunction will step in to keep you honest. A future post will detail the biomechanical and biophysiological aspects of this “normal” awareness as a default.

In my tai chi practice*, while I maintain my sequences forms for teaching purposes and pride in being able to do them, my daily tai chi is focused on single form or repetitive form practice such as cat walk flow patterns. I may move at the slowest pace possible while putting my focus on a single aspect of alignment, or foot placement, or timing of upper and lower body. Basically I am practicing the “10 Principles” one at at time (as if that is possible). My gaze# may shift from the feeling of weight transfer in my feet to the position of my arms (hands and fingers) at any one point in the form movement. I can feel disconnection from the principles in many of the form movements that cause me difficulty. My continued improvement, as I see and feel it, is tied to this kinesthetic awareness of “what feels right”.

*practice: the use of this word is a bit of a pet peeve as I would prefer to “do” tai chi rather than practice it. This may come from my lifetime association of practice as what you do to improve when you are not actually doing the activity. I spent far more hours in the gym with the teams I coached, practicing and perfecting, rather than just playing the sport of volleyball. My personal experience as a volleyball player was much the reverse as I learned to play by playing and had very little coaching. Good coaching did evolve to include much more game situation competition rather than isolated skill drills, but still lacked the true game atmosphere. While teaching tai chi is a great way to learn and perfect forms, it also gets in the way of truly feeling kinesthetically. I had a student tell me that my tai chi didn’t look as relaxed as what they saw in videos. Part of this is due to the fact that as I demonstrated or led sequence practice I tended to exaggerate positions to be sure they could be seen by students. This is not conducive to good tai chi kinesthesis. In my back deck practice I try to do forms with awareness of flow and just pay attention to the accompanying “feeling” of forms as they arise.

#gaze: Gaze as I use it in tai chi practice has an expansive definition. Clearly one looks in the directions of the gaze, but the gaze begins well before the movement and the gaze leads the movement to the end point. At its outset the gaze may be the “intent” referred to in the 10 Principles, in “Use Intent Rather Than Force”. This can be misunderstood as meaning to stay relaxed and don’t force it, but I see “Intent” as a sense of the end goal purpose and it is found in the kinesthetic sense of moving to a psychosomatically felt end point position.

Moving from “empty to full” is another pricnciple that describes the process of using “Intent” towards an end point. (I prefer from “substantial to insubstantial,” instead of empty to full, as at no point is one truly empty or full) (Thich Nhat Hanh said “if the cups is empty, what is it empty of”). The movement towards full is towards a full expression of the energy in gathering which may lead to a release, felt as insubstantial, as you move towards the next end point, gathering to substantial end point. In affect, I use gaze as the practice of inner kinesthetic awareness. There is a visualization or inner looking that relates gaze to the use of the eyes to see where you are going.

From a martial application perspective you do need to use your eyes to see your opponent, but, as practiced in push hands, it is the listening to feel your opponents energy that gives the feedback needed to react to and counter your opponents energy. As such, push hands is the practice of gaze and, in some views, the ultimate “practice” of tai chi. Can one than take this listening energy and imbue ones tai chi with it at all times, in a sense, listening to ones own kinesthesis.

Many of the points raised above will be revisited as I make more discoveries in our anatomy and physiogical systems.

Myofascial Integration

Myofascia and Tai Chi

The following link is to a YouTube video called, "Strolling Under the Skin"

The video presents concepts of the organization of myofascia and the role that myofascia plays in movement and communication throughout the myofascial sheath and thus throughout the body, almost simultaneously.

A dynamic multi-microvacular collegenic absorbing system exist throughout the body.  Its fractal like structure of vacuoles allows for independent movement of tendons, ligaments and fascia to slide, bend or twist without distortion.  Tensegrity operates throughout this system such that any force applied to it is felt throughout the system.

The skin is an organ for communication as much as for protection.

In taijiquan form practice we have the saying, "when one things moves, everything moves."  This can be taken as simply a biomechanics principle about how movement during taijiquan practice is connected in the upper and lower body,
or
energetically in the principle of Balancing Inner and Outer energy,
or
at the deepest level where all biomechanics, biochemical, neurophysiologic systems are connected.  The is as close of a definition of Body Mind Centering as I can currently conceive. 

From Job's Body, Chapter 8, "The Sense of Effort" we continue to see anatomical descriptions that shed light on the sensations that are felt during tai chi movement.
   Tai chi principles can seem to be obscure directives lacking any concrete basis.  First the translations from Chinese to English are lacking in full meaning.  Use Intent rather than Force, Seek Quiescence, Balance Inner and Outer Energy may have meaning, but are open to a great dal of interpretation.  Each Grand Master's description or experts interpretation may expand the concept or narrow the focus randomly.  I will use just one such interpretation to illustrate the obscurity and then suggest that the bodies "Sense of Effort" is integral to all.

The sensory feedback that comes from the musculature is below the level of consciousness.  See pages 248-250 for full examples of how the muscle spindles and golgi tendon organs, along with the cerebellum and brain stem ganglia, create a sense of effort that is the essence of our reality of time, space and self.

I have moved on with the reading so will just summarize by saying how strongly the tai chi principles are supported by the fact that the sensory cortex is responsible for organizing the muscle memory that allows us to be so precise in repeating learned movement.  It would seem that the muscle cortex would do this job, but in fact, the muscle cortex takes its cues from the sensory cortex and just carries out how we feel when we move.
The Taijquan principles of:"Use intent rather than force," "balance inner and outer energy", and "seek quiescence" all are indicative of the sense of feel that initiates movement, coordinates it and allows for its smooth execution.

The case to eliminate the very concept of "STRETCHING"

Everything I read adds to my belief that "stretching" for whatever reason is not a beneficial practice.  Certainly some individuals can do stretches that feel good, but, I am convinced that there is little benefit to extensive stretching for the following purposes.
---increased range of motion
---injury prevention
---enhanced performance
---life enhancing practice

I will offer instead that one should increase functional range of motion only by enhancing stable
bio-mechanically efficient alignment.  What this means is that you need to first be in alignment, then have the strength to maintain that alignment as you move through the desired range of motion.


Supple Leopard presents a full description of concepts and movements that maximize alignment and mechanical efficiency, while releasing tension blocks at the joints through mobility enhancement.   "Bracing" as presented in "Supple Leopard" is integral to maximizing mechanical efficiency, without the use of stretching, as it is known in the old paradigm.

Tai Chi Chuan, as a movement system, is, at its core, a health practice that enhances strength in alignment and release of tension through movements that are designed to "extend to engage and open, rotate to release and loosen" all muscles, tendons and ligaments and other supporting connective tissue at the joints as well as throughout the myofascial sheath.
This is what stretching should be.  Visualize a cat rising from a nap, arching its back and undulating its torso, finishing with a quiver that extends outward through the legs and tail.  This "Cat Stretch" is what tai chi chuan is doing throughout the form.

The human body as a tensegrity devise responds to aligned movement with instant adaptation throughout the body.  The tai chi adage that "when one thing moves, everything moves" directly relates to tensegrity, in that, any force exerted, at any point, on a tensegrity devise is expressed everywhere throughout the devise, instantly.
In Job's Body, in the chapter on "Muscle as a Sense Organ", is a description of the change in muscle tonus, throughout the body, in response to any movement.  Clearly understandable in imagining the change in balance when raising an arm to the side, it is less obvious when considering the changes throughout the body as a result of a shifting of the gaze.
I am using this description of tensegrity and muscle tonus adaptation to support the notion that stretching should be nothing more that a full body adaptation to the changes that take place during movement, and particularly beneficial when the movement is in alignment.
When movement is out of alignment, tension must take place to prevent damage to the bodies support structure (muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue).  Extreme tension results in "faults" as defined in Supple Leopard, with traumatic injury or long term wear and tear the eventual result.
On the other hand, movement in alignment with the necessary supporting strength, can result in a loosening of the support structures and removal of blockages of circulation of all bodily systems needed for supporting a health life.

How does Yoga fit into the definition of stretching?  I am no yoga expert and would welcome hearing from one, as to how yoga accomplishes the positive definition of stretching.  I know enough to know that one of the health objectives of yoga is to enhance the free flow of Prana (qi) through the body.  Asanas are meant to create the ideal environment for this to happen, by releasing tension and removing blockages, much as described above with tai chi chuan.
Like any movement system, including tai chi chuan, incorrect application of the system eliminates the maximum benefit and can be counter productive, even causing injury.  My belief is that yoga asanas should never exceed functional range of motion with correct alignment.  At that point, the focus should be on release of tension, in alignment and never taken beyond that.  Over time, the functional range of motion should increase.  Trying to imitate the extreme position of the advance yoga practitioner, is counter productive and dangerous.  This is also true of tai chi chuan in trying to imitate the low movements of the advanced teacher or the Grand Master.

The Alexander Technique to a case study in bio-mechanical efficiency.  The "Use of the Body" written by F.M. Alexander defines the a way of reaching functional efficiency through proper biomechanics.  The release of tension that accompanies the natural realignment of the body can then be seen as path to correcting a wide range of afflictions ranging from muscular and structural pain to mental dysfunctions.  Nowhere in this system have I seen any mention of stretching as an aid to this process.

Just because it is fun to do, I will throw in my word play regarding stretching:
---We stretch the truth, when we lie.
---We stretch our budgets, when we are short of funds
---We get stretch marks, "whenever".
---Our clothes can get stretched and then do not fit anymore
---You stretch a rubber band and it snaps back

Job's Body is again the source for understanding the impact of tai chi.  Chapter 8, "The Sense of Effort" will touch on several aspects of sensory feedback that accompanies movement.  I will be interested in what this might reveal about how tai chi describes the sense of energy movement during tai chi and the role of the gaze in providing feedback.  A current class mantra of "extend to open, release to loosen" might take on additional significance if applied to the muscle as a sense organ.  The sensory endings in the muscle spindles and the Golgi tendon organs are so sensitive that it may be more appropriate to describe their actions as "feeling" rather that just mechanical adjustment of muscle contraction or lengthening.
It is easy to take for granted the role of sensory feedback in the control of our biomechanics until we attempt to operate without that feedback.  Take the attempts to use your hand after you have slept on it in a way that causes it to "go to sleep" from a nerve impingement.  Your muscles and tendons are functional and you can see what you intend to do, but movements are clumsy at best.  Any action requiring "sensitivity" is impossible to do with any accuracy.  Try picking up a pin with a numb hand.
A wide variety of sensory input structures are needed to detect qualities such as color, texture, odor taste, pitch, volume, equilibrium, limb position, pressure, weight, density and many other such distinctions.  Our muscles are filled with sensory organs that give no conscious sensation, but provide us with the feedback to make the above distinctions.  Add to that the role of the cerebellum in interpreting the sensations, below the level of conscious awareness, and you have a mysterious feedback loop system that could be called a double black box.
I have marveled at the ability to reach into a bag with a wide variety of objects of different size, shape, weight, smoothness, density and material; and to be able to sort through them to find a single item, like a certain size screw or a rubber band.  Sometimes the items is obscured and sight is required to make the distinction.  A bag of similar screws or rubber bands could be to difficult to sort through only by hand to find one of a certain size.
How this sensory feedback relates to the practice of tai chi is hard to describe, but not hard to accept as essential to the feel of the movement.  In the learning process there is an initial phase where the mental activity of memorizing the movement gets in the way of "feeling" the movement.  Often we need to use our vision to see if we have in fact executed a proper bow stance.  Ultimately, correct positioning begins to be felt as we relax our conscious control of our movements and let our kinesthetic sense guide us.  Extend to open, release to loosen is more than a tension release of the muscle spindle but also a release into the subconscious sensory feedback loop that allows for the feel of the movement to take over.
When considering the role of the myofascial sheath as a support structure with tensegrity qualities, the metaphor of extend to engage, rotate and release to activate, becomes profoundly appropriate.
A principle of tai chi is that movement is continuous without interruption.  This can only be accomplished with circular movements of the limbs and torso, especially at the end point of any form.  Any straight line action would result in an end point signifying a stopping and starting point. At the end of any form position is an end point that must be an extension to open the frame (or any single joint) followed by rotational transition to releasing to loosen.  The entire myofascial connective tissue structure (including, tendons, ligaments and bones) is included in this extending to open; and it is at this point that a release of energy is expressed, in the "small circle," to rotate into release to loosen.