Collected works and current thoughts
Cautions
You have to do this with your body, and your body is not the same as my body. If you start to feel light-headed, dizzy, out of breath, or in any way off kilter, stop, sit down, and breathe 5 belly-breaths a minute for a few minutes.
If you feel general discomfort, that might be OK. If you feel stabby pain, stop what you are doing, and come out slowly. Never use the specific muscle group you are currently stretching to pull yourself out of a deep stretch; bend the knees, re-root the base, and use your leg/hips stack to return to neutral.
Sequence
This sequence warms up the entire body while entraining your nervous system through slow, deliberate practice to encourage new neural pathways and myofascial lines of engagement.
Video Shaking with Exhale Extension (Humming)
- What: Gentle bouncing in place initiated purely from the feet and knees.
- Why:
- Pumps the lymphatic system.
- Restores autonomic homeostasis by turning down sympathetic dominance and shifting into parasympathetic dominance ( marked by increased salivation).
- Loosens and rehydrates gelled collagen/fascia through thixotropic shear forces and direction-change interference patterns.
- Extended humming during exhale increases nasal nitric oxide production, promoting vasodilation, vagal tone, and CO2 tolerance.
- Alignment:
- Feet hip-width and parallel.
- Knees soft/slightly bent.
- Torso upright, arms hanging loosely with light elbow bend.
- How:
- Bounce gently by bending the knees, letting the internal organs and tissue mass move up and down.
- Focus on the micro-whiplash forces generated as the body changes direction.
- Hum on an extended exhale; inhale through the nose.
Video Wu Chi
- What: The neutral, balanced foundation posture of the Tai Chi / Qigong stack.
- Why:
- Maps baseline structural tension.
- Trains anatomical stacking from the ground up.
- Alignment:
- Feet hip-width apart and parallel.
- Knees soft, sacrum sink/relaxing down toward heels.
- Fontanelle (back third of the crown) pressing up.
- Sternum relaxing down into hips; arms in slight medial (internal) rotation.
Video Foot Sensing and Balance Shifting
- What: Explicit sensory calibration of the feet and lateral weight transfer.
- Why:
- Counteracts age-related sensory degradation in peripheral mechanoreceptors.
- Rewires motor cortex priority toward plantar signaling rather than relying purely on visual cues for balance.
- How:
- Stand in Wu Chi; sense plantar contact pressure.
- Map the 9 Yang points of the foot: 5 toe pads, big ball, small ball, outer edge, and heel.
- Engage toes to activate the arch suction cup (the Yin center).
- Shift weight side to side while keeping hips level; push off the loaded foot to initiate movement.
Video Circle Walking
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Video Pushing Palms
- What: Symmetrical or directional palm extensions driven by the lower body.
- Why:
- Entrains the bottom-up kinetic chain (Feet -> Knees -> Sacrum/Waist -> Hands).
- Alignment:
- Rooted feet, knees bent, sacrum down, fontanelle up.
- How:
- Bring hands to the xiphoid process (solar plexus / mid-Dantian).
- Inhale: grip with feet, sink sacrum, draw palms inward.
- Exhale: drive force through feet, extend legs/waist, and express palms outward last.
Video Separating Heaven & Earth
- What: Counter-directional palm press (one hand up, one down) paired with lateral waist engagement.
- Why:
- Decompresses the spinal column and loads lateral myofascial lines under single-leg weight distribution.
- How:
- Press right palm toward the sky (Heaven) and left palm toward the ground (Earth).
- Shift weight onto the left leg and lean laterally over the weighted side.
- Return to center and reverse sides.
Video Uprooting Mountains
- What: Rotational waist push utilizing the edge of the palm (pisiform bone).
- Why:
- Teaches rotational power generation through ground-reaction force without swaying the center of mass.
- How:
- Assume a slightly wider stance with soft knees.
- Fix gaze on a point directly forward.
- Push with the left foot to turn the waist right, driving the right hand out pisiform-first.
- Push with the right foot to reverse direction.
Video Dragon Twists Waists (Twisting Planchette)
- What: Overhead planchette (diamond hand position) paired with axial torso rotation.
- Why:
- Stretches and loads the Deep Front Line (from the plantar arches, up through the inner thigh, pelvic floor, diaphragm, and throat).
- Releases diaphragmatic restriction to deepen respiratory depth and oxygenation.
- How:
- Form a diamond/planchette with fingertips overhead.
- Look up through the planchette, load the big toes and outer foot edges.
- Rotate the torso left and right around a fixed overhead axis.
Video Toe/Low Kicking
- What: Low-amplitude leg swings and toe/heel taps in cat stance.
- Why:
- Isolates single-leg balance and mobilizes ankle/hip joints without joint shearing.
- How:
- Root supporting leg at 45°.
- Step lead leg forward into cat stance (light contact on ball of foot).
- Alternate tapping toe ball and heel, or gently lift foot low off the floor.
Video High Kicking
- What: Dynamic forward leg extension reaching the opposite hand to shin/foot.
- Why:
- Lengthens the Superficial Back Line without flexing the lumbar spine.
- How:
- Shift weight back onto the heel of the supporting leg.
- Keep torso strictly erect (fontanelle up).
- Swing leg forward dynamically, bringing the hand down to meet the shin or foot.
Video Twisting and Pushing or Sweeping Leg
- What: A 3-count kinetic movement pattern (step-behind, sweep, step) paired with cross-body palm extensions.
- Why:
- Cross-lateral neuromuscular integration and rotational balance transfer.
- How:
- Count 1: Step foot behind supporting leg.
- Count 2: Sweep non-weighted leg outward in a circular arc.
- Count 3: Step forward to reset.
- Pair leg sweep with a cross-body palm push.
Video Hooking Leg
- What: Circular rear leg sweep from cat stance.
- Why:
- Mobilizes hamstrings and hip rotators under strict 100% single-leg load.
- How:
- Root supporting leg at 45°.
- In cat stance, sweep the lead leg around in a backward curve toward the glutes (“kicking sand on your back”).
Video Golden Leopard Reveals its Claws
- What: Step-out sink with chest-to-leg energy compression, claw extension (“Tiger Paws”), and an inner-leg pull.
- Why:
- Opens interphalangeal joints, conditions forearms, and engages the lower Dantian rooting stack.
- How:
- Lift knee, step out wide onto ball/heel.
- Press tension down the chest, core, and legs while extending hands with tightly curled claw fingers (“Tiger Paws”).
- Curl fingers under, sink hips, and pull energy back up the inside of the leg to reset.
Video Pushing Mountains
- What: Hips-forward extension paired with drawing energy into the Dantian and sliding palms down the sacrum.
- Why:
- Releases anterior hip flexors (psoas) while manually guiding pelvic tuck to protect the lumbar spine.
- How:
- Stand wide with big toes firmly grounded.
- Open hip flexors forward while pulling hands to waist.
- Slide palms down the lower back and sacrum to tuck pelvis under.
Video Tiger Straightens its Waist
- What: Full-body isometric contraction (“grabbing the bar”) from neck down while keeping the jaw and face relaxed.
- Why:
- Leverages Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) / isometric rebound to immediately release chronic motor tone.
- How:
- Inhale, grip floor with toes, engage core, back, and limbs at moderate isometric intensity for 5–10 seconds.
- Completely release on exhale.
Video Wild Goose Flaps its Wings
- What: Vertical body wave driven by knee and waist drops, with arms lagging behind.
- Why:
- Trains fascial recoil and ensures limbs move as kinetic followers rather than primary drivers.
- How:
- Stand wide. Initiate movement by dropping feet, knees, and waist; arms follow downward.
- Push floor to rise; arms float upward in response.
Video Draw a Bow and Brace the Tiger
- What: Archer posture pulling an elastic string while squeezing scapulae across multi-plane vectors.
- Why:
- Retracts shoulder girdle, stretches pectorals, and engages upper-body cross-lines.
- How:
- Raise arms. Lead hand forms bow target; trailing hand pulls bowstring back.
- Squeeze trapezius/scapulae deeply at end-range. Release and repeat along overhead, horizontal, and downward angles.
Video Reach Forward and Grab
- What: Diagonally rooted “lawnmower pull” / figure-8 infinity sweep across the body.
- Why:
- Integrates the full kinetic chain (Foot -> Knee -> Hip -> Torso -> Arm) across the sagittal and transverse planes.
- How:
- Reach diagonally down toward opposite foot.
- Drive off floor with foot, passing energy through leg, hip turn, torso rotation, and finally extending hand. Trace an infinity symbol pattern.
Video Dragon Thrashes its Tail
- What: Deep spinal rotation looking over shoulder (“checking for a tail”) while loading outer foot edge.
- Why:
- Wrings out the Spiral Line and decompresses thoracic/cervical facets.
- How:
- Root rear foot at 45°, front foot forward loading outer edge.
- Place trailing hand on spine/lower back.
- Twist torso and turn neck to look back over shoulder, leaning slightly away from direction of spin.
Video Dragon Strikes Out (Trapezius & Neck Isometrics)
- What: Multi-directional neck pushes (lateral, anterior, posterior) paired with full-body root.
- Why:
- Trapezius muscles are controlled directly by Cranial Nerve XI (accessory nerve) rather than spinal nerves.
- Strengthens cranial-somatic integration, providing a structural pathway for processing high emotional/nervous system stress without focal cervical overload.
- How:
- Stand in Wu Chi. Press hand against side, front, or back of head.
- Resist with neck at light intensity (do NOT press hard or force cervical spine).
- Feel engagement down the trapezius line into upper back/torso. Hold 15–20 seconds per angle.
Video Pivot and Push Forward (Lotus Lift & Energy Shift)
- What: Lotus Lift (drawing energy up to third eye / upper Dantian) transitioning into Yin/Yang Ward Off weight shifting.
- Why:
- Integrates upper/lower Dantian focus while training energy absorption (Yin) and redirection (Yang).
- How:
- Step forward, draw hands together to lift “lotus” up center line to third eye, then expand palms open.
- Shift weight back (Yin: absorbing incoming force), step up to hold ball, then push forward into Ward Off (Yang: returning force).
Video Neck Isometrics
- Right
- Left
- Front
- Back
- Side to Side, eye leads, head follows
- Top to Bottom, eye leads, head follows
- Clockwise circles, eye leads, head follows
- Counterclockwise circles, eye leads, head follows
