Jibengong "loosening exercises"

these are movements designed to relax and 'open' all the joints (fang song....relax and release).  

focus is not only on relaxing and moving the structure or area in each exercise, but also keeping the whole body relaxed and balanced.   at every opportunity,  'cascade' your tissues and let everything drop into the ground.

these exercises are quite simple in terms of gross motor movement.  the difficulty, if there is any, is in staying upright, relaxed, and balanced.

never force movement, as the 'stops' are built into the framework of your body.   don't start whipping your waist around on spinal twist, or force your arms back on knock on door, as examples.  

pay attention to your feet.  make sure they stay flat, relaxed, and feel 'soft'.   this is the spreading out of the metatarsals we discussed in class ('leaf springs')

maintain SPINAL ELONGATION.    tuck the chin in slightly to level the eyes, and drop the tailbone.  the effect is a slight extension or 'opening' of the cervical and lumbar spine.  this is a very important alignment in the internal arts.

use the STRAND OF PEARLS image to help relax your back as you ELONGATE THE SPINE.

movements of the arms come from spine.   this means what it says.   all arm motions originate from the space between the shoulder blades.   in this way, you use your WHOLE ARM coming from center when you reach, pull, etc.    most people tend to move their arms from the shoulder, without using the scapulae much.   Use yours.   (movement like a cat.....flexible spine and moves from the scapulae).   do not overarticulate this motion.   just think  'move from the spine.

given that last bit about the arms and spine, in jibengong most of the motions are motivated from the kua.  in practical terms, this means most of the work is being done by the feet, legs, and hip/waist area.   the upper body is very relaxed, and merely stays balanced atop the lower.   in reaching or extending with the upper body use HAND UP/YOU DOWN (internal 'draining' or 'sinking').   In SPINAL TWIST,  the arms are propelled outward by the centrifugal force from the hips, not from being lifted or activated at the shouder and/or scapula.

in doing these exercises, if you relax and pay attention, you can feel that 'bounce' I demonstrated, in the hip area, where the pelvis connects to the femur.   get what the compression model thread video is saying about how this works.  what it is exactly, is still up for debate.   however, we need only to get the feel for it.   in jibengong, you can feel a light, easy bounce in the hip joint as you direct your 'sink' into the standing foot.   Look for it.

rotate the knees
leg circles
hip circles
spinal twist 'rag doll'
open/close chest/back 'hug and tap'
knock on door
side bends
neck stretch
shaking hands
arm circles
clap hands
butterfly
open/close kua
dragon straddles
chin to toe
squatting monkey

We did a simple exercise in class called 'lift and drop.  Both arms are lifted above the head at about 10 and 2 on the clock.  You want to reach up but not too high above the head so as not to overly strain the body.

Inhale as you lift your arms and feel the stretch of expansion.  Keeping the arms up, exhale as you RELAX internally.  

Elongate the spine by tucking the chin and tailbone, and let your weight and attention drain through the floor.

Let your arms fall to your sides like dead meat. They should slap sides of the thighs, from the fall, after you fully relax.

This an ART or active release technique.  You alternate tension and relaxation.  

This exercise goes in stages.  First work on lifting and lightly expanding or stretching out the body, then exhale and relax your body.  The main point is too feel the difference between the two.

After some familiarity with that, move on to immediately draining down internally AS you raise your arms.  

This is HAND UP/YOU DOWN.

Whenever you head words like SINK, DRAIN, CASCADE, and RELAX there are all referring to HU/YD.

HU/YD is the opposite of what people normally do when they express power.  HU/YD is a fundamental aspect of grounding and compression, along with SHIFT WEIGHT UNDERGROUND.  

WHEN A LIMB LIFTS UP ALL FEELINGS OF ENERGY, POWER, AND STRENGTH FALL AWAY FROM IT AND DOWN INTO THE GROUND UNDER YOUR FEET.

Do that and you'll get it.

SINKING VS SQUATTING

SQUATTING is external

SINKING is internal

Sometimes sinking is conflated with squatting. SINKING often involves squatting, but not always.

SINKING is relaxing the body internally, allowing all tension to drop. The result is a body wide feeling of a massive drop into the lower body and ground. Everything inside you goes down.

When things inside you go UP, that is expansion.

Old school changquan:

"The upper body is light and the lower body is heavy."

SYNONYMOUS TERMS:

RELAX, MARROW DRAIN, DRAINING, SINKING, CASCADE

CHEN (PERISH), SONG/SUNG, FANG SONG

Now after all that get what FANG SONG or RELAX AND RELEASE means, EXPERIENTIALLY.

Feel it. Do it.

Train your body to do this AUTOMATICALLY.

Walls, bricks, yoga balls, people, opening doors, pushing shopping carts, lifting things, reaching up for stuff, punching, throwing, kicking, drinking water, sitting, standing and so on.

If you want this to happen then you have to stay at it all day.

The internal Arts are designed to reverse your standard physiological responses. To achieve this you have to practice daily.

It's easier to make your day practice.