All machines ultimately break down for one reason alone, friction. Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, or material elements sliding against one another. When surfaces in contact move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into heat. Friction systematically wears down the mechanisms of any machine. Decrease friction and you automatically increase the life of the machine. The body has a natural lubricant to fight friction in a substance called synovial fluid. This fluid is only activated through regular movement of the joints and like everything in the body, if you don’t use it you lose it.
Tension is the muscular equivalent to friction. Tension is when the muscles are fully or partially contracted. Most modern adults live in a state of chronic tension where they don’t even realize they have lost the ability to relax. Tension in the muscles pulls complementary bones more tightly together which in turn creates more friction. This constant tension burns energy continuously and friction in the joints requires more energy to overcome the resistance so that every movement requires more work than it should. Have you ever struggled just to get up off the couch? If so, now you know why.
Exercise:
Stand up from your chair. Stand on your left leg making the right completely straight as you raise it about an inch off the ground. Now tighten every muscle in that right leg. Make sure the whole thing is tense. Next, try to bend your right knee… What happened? One of two things. Either you couldn’t bend the leg at all, which is what will happen if one really keeps all the muscles tense, or you could bend it but it was an awkward grinding feeling. This is the state that chronic tension creates in the body on a daily basis. Any wonder why the chiropractic profession has grown exponentially for the past 20 years?
Now, raise the same foot off of the ground again but this time let the leg be as soft and relaxed as possible and allow the right foot to effortlessly float up behind you gently bending the knee. Do this several times and notice the difference in sensation. This is the type of body use that tai chi cultivates through it’s soft gentle exercises. Remembering that friction decreases the life of any machine, which of these two styles of movement do you think would allow your knees to last the longest?
In the comment field below, tell me what these two movements felt like to you. What was the difference in these sensations? When do you notice tension in your daily life?
Assignment:
Log into WordPress and write a post to the main page on this site entitled, “Where I Am Going”. Now tell me what you desire to accomplish with this program and why. What is your deepest motivation? Be specific and be honest, because honesty is what leads to true self discovery.
Finally, jump into your second workout session by clicking the play button below.
Checklist:
- Read lesson
- Leave comment
- Post to main page
- Do BJ session
Stay in your center, and free yourself!
SaTek
November 17th, 2010 at 12:02 am
These two movements really do mirror how we feel in our everyday life. If we are tense, our reactions reflect that. If we are relaxed, things tend to move along a little easier and happier.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:15 am
Tara,
This relates directly to what you said in your post about “what you put out is what you get back”.
Something I talk about in class a lot is that my high school coach always used to tell us that you play how you practice.
So if you practice resisting everything so that you can get strong, then you are going to feel the resistance in everything around you because you are always pushing against things. But if you practice relaxing into the flow of everything then you will feel the flow inherent in every single experience.
No matter how mundane, every single experience is bathed in the effortless flow of being.
Peace.
November 17th, 2010 at 1:03 am
Loved the second session. I did have a quick question about one part. I can’t remember what it is called – I think you compared it to sideways skating… maybe ice skating? When we are alternating from side to side – the inbetween where our body sits directly on top of the ball, where should our weight be? Should we hold our weight up into our bodies, or should we let the ball hold us as we glide from side to side?
November 17th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Interesting distinction between holding your weight up into your body, and letting the ball hold you. Always let the ball hold you. We use the ball for support and assistance in every movement.
This exercise is called Speed Skater and I always visualize myself gliding across the top of the ball smoothly like I’m skating on ice.
And don’t forget to keep your heart level to stop you from bouncing up and down and give the quads a much better workout.
Good question, keep them coming!
November 17th, 2010 at 2:39 am
Great workout! I really love stalls. But oh the wedgies… ;o)
One of the beautiful things about a daily yoga practice is that you constantly do mental scans of the body and zero in on tension, we hold so much unconscious tension. We soften, go about our day then repeat and do the scans over and over again. The most common is in the face. Then we soften the jaw, soften the forehead. Far wiser to go with the flow…
November 17th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
My tai chi teacher calls BodyJuggling wedgie ball;) We are going to have to design wedgie proof apparel for all the hardcore jugglers out there. Let me know if you discover a combination of clothing that works especially well. Everyone who gets on the ball more than once eventually asks about clothing.
Daily body scans are the key to full body awareness. The more we learn to consciously tap into what the body is experiencing the more easy it is to respect what it needs in each moment.
Flow is the secret to freedom!
Be like water. It is soft enough to take the form of any container, but strong enough to carve the grand canyon.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
SaTek, you should write books. You write like my husband and we are all encouraging him to write books. I think he is starting to take us seriously finally. It is a great way to have passive income and to spread the knowledge.
November 17th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Thank you dear. This is already in the works, but getting a publisher to take me seriously is another challenge all together;(
If you could get your husband to write a book, what would the title be?
Peace
November 17th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Not quite sure but along the lines of… How To Rock At College/Life, or some fun way to view Mathematics since he has a PhD. in Mathematics, then a book on Trigger Point Therapy would be welcomed.
Here is a sample form our Twisted Roots Yoga & Massage fan page… http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=170077199687511¬es_tab=app_2347471856#!/note.php?note_id=175792382433069
November 18th, 2010 at 6:13 am
Fascinating! I would love to read his book on the subject, and yes he is a good writer. I bought that trigger point book he linked to, it sounds like a brilliant modality and describes my chronic pain to a tee.
Ask your husband if he knows that numbers don’t exist;)