A philosophy to live by. A goal to strive towards. Ultimately, it is a way of life.
As an ancient martial art technique, Taichi explains:
‘Move light or not at all. Use energy strength not muscle tense.’
These two sentences sound simple but convey deeper wisdom than most can recognise.
To create lightness, the body condition needs to reach a certain standard. To be agile and elastic, a muscle needs to be supple and free of blockages.
Unlocking the fascial adhesions and learning to remain light and well-balanced for foundational postures and movement sequences creates a practice of observing, developing and becoming more aware of wisdom. As our body and character unite to be in harmony with gravity as we move in space, eventually that sensitivity will help us to be more aware of others. Their blockages, limitations and intentions become more obvious, making it easier to navigate relationships.
The path to be free from suffering begins with a body free from physical blockages. This supports psychology to have no stress and the mind to remain free from worry.
Tension Free is a standard for conditioning.
Muscle tissues are amazing. The fascial network in particular is astonishing. It is a web that spreads across our whole body in slings that wrap and interweave around our structure, allowing for amazing abstract strength and agility.
These tissues are like mini elastic bands that pump blood with every contraction — conditioning to become better at whatever stimuli they are exposed to.
Sitting or holding in place for too long creates knots or adhesions, restricting and stiffening up the elasticity, length and strength of the entire fascial network.
Untreated, the range of motion is limited to a new, reduced normal and the system does its best to work around the restrictions. This is where structural compression appears.
When something is no longer centred or balanced, it destroys much more rapidly. When a structure is in motion and the slightest imbalance appears, the rate of destruction is magnified. Our body is a very complicated structure and can be a very efficient athletic machine if maintained properly.
The physical, emotional and mental states all need to be free from blockages to remain in harmony. If one falls out, they all fall out.
when the body has a problem, everything else almost seems less important. To have a Tension Free Body is a lifestyle meditation discipline.