Ok now we have set up the basic position of the body we can
start to go into detail about how we can begin to tie the frame together and
start to build a useful and dynamic structure.
Beyond the basic position of the body we also need to begin
to work on the structures that connect the body together. Here we are not talking about building muscles
individually, but building the lines of muscle/connective tissue/fascia that
connect distant points of the body, for instance the hands and feet or the top
of the head and the Perineum.
So onwards with part 2 on building the body frame.
Drawing up the Legs.
The legs are an interesting area of the body to begin to
work with, especially as we mean here, as it is not the most natural structural
method we are used to. However i can very easily show you what we mean by
drawing up the legs.
1.
Stand feet shoulder width apart Knees bend
slightly and aligned with the big toe
2.
Very gently start to pull the feet together on
the floor, like your gripping something between your feet.
3.
You should begin to feel the upper inside area
of the leg engage as you begin to pull in.
4.
Focus on the resulting direction of power, it
should feel as though your pulling up into the area of the perineum and the
direction your body wants to go in is up.
This is the drawing up power that we talk about when
describing ‘drawing up with the legs’. However there are several points which
are of importance when we consider this power.
-
Do not allow the power to put lateral pressure
on the knees. This is very important as it can lead to knee injury. The knees
should be unaffected by the force travelling up from the earth along the
insides of the legs.
-
Do not overdo it. This force should be felt and
should be demanding to maintain, but NOT painful! I have seen a few people
overdo this training and injure themselves. If your building this part of the
frame correctly you will feel it the next day initially but it will not cause
any damage to your body.
-
Create this force once the rest of the initial
points are set. If you start to action this force when your upper body is
misaligned or your not set up correctly you will most likely not start to work
the wrong line of tissue.
Arms and Legs like
Drills.
Visualise a screw being drilled into some hardwood. This is
what i mean when i say drilling the legs and arms. It is a very useful practice
to begin to work with especially as one of the core components of IMAs is the
idea of Spiral force or power.
I will start with the idea of Drilling the legs as this is
the most important to get right. Here we are not looking to see any external
movement or rotation in the legs. The spiral power is held inside as the muscle
and tissues ‘wrap’ around the frame created by the skeletal structure. Due to
the way the legs are constantly under load it is important for work on this idea
very softly, with deep concentration and awareness and without tension. If you
feel any points of tension as you drill the legs you will need to adjust your
posture or force to release the points of pain or tension you feel. The direction of the spiral can actually
change or reverse based on what direction you want to receive or project force
in, but for basic training i would suggest that you focus your intent on the
leg rotating as if the toes are turning inward and the heels are turning
outward. Again, i stress do not allow any external expression of the spiral to
show.
The arms are slightly different in that they are not
anchored at both ends. This means that the joints are not under load and are
more protected when spiralling. In the arms we want to produce counter rotation
rather than singular spiralling. You can think of this like a double helix
wrapping around both sides of the arms simultaneously.
To start with you can hold your arms out in front palms
facing down, now without letting the hand rotate, use the shoulder to rotate
the orientation of the elbow joint. This is a good initial basic exercise but
can take a little time to become good at. One very useful idea with this is the
ability to touch and without changing the touch completely change your line.
Intent driven
structure setting
In terms of building useful structure, one of the most vital
tools is your ability to feel the body state and use the mind to make micro
adjustments to force and lines. I call this intent driven structure setting and
at its most fundamental level it applies to the ability to listen to the body
and its reaction to load. We need a very deep and clear attention on the body
to be able to feel for the main culprits of changing or misaligning the
posture.
1)
Points of tension caused by misalignment
2)
Points of tension caused by breath hold
3)
Points of pressure caused by internal collapsing
When you set up your posture, become used to turning your attention
inwards focusing on the physical structure of the body. This process of Recognization
is the first step. From here we need to resolve the tension with small
deliberate changes, either to our breath cycle or to the physical position of
our limbs, bones and muscle.
The next step in intent
driven structure setting is to actually use your intent to produce force
in the structure. This involves using the mind to affect how the structure
maintains its position. When we do this we are trying not to move at all
externally.
One good exercise to feel what we mean by this is to set up
your structure, Then focus all of your intent from the centre pushing out to
the skin of every surface. Everything inside is pushing out strongly, the
joints want to inflate opening the arms, the body wants to rise up, the stomach
wants to expand, but you hold them all in place. Then relax and repeat. This should
be a Physical process, the body should react to the minds intent, it is not
visualisation of expansion which is something different all together.
Not this should not affect the breath at all and should not
cause any pressure in the body or head. We are using the mind to create the
expansion in the body, not Tension!
Other intent driven internal changes can be:
-
Leading to the horizon
-
Condensing to the centre of the bones
-
Coiling the tissues
-
Power to the fingertips
-
Melting into the earth
-
Becoming light
Part 3 will discuss some more points on structure setting
and how to build the body for work.
Happy training.
