While I'm sure it pales in comparison to the Beijing intensive, I'm keeping my tribute going. I haven't missed a day (actually in a few weeks) where I didn't do something fun with my fake saber. I've also been much better about getting in some solid turning time (which has been more spotty than I'm used to due to my Ph.D. thesis and the variable weather of my adviser's mood on that matter). Top it off with a renewed dedication to drills, and I feel like I'm doing them some justice. Now all I have to do is decide to get up and start it all off at six in da mornin' to top it off (or train for something like twelve hours a day, which I don't think I can make happen so long as there's this jobby-job thing). Maybe I'll try 6:30 or something tomorrow. Sometimes you dive in; sometimes you put a toe in first.
So, my (half-dozen) readers around the globe, send salute and tribute to your YSB comrades that are either in Beijing or heading that way soon by upping your workouts until the end of the intensive. Feel free to comment and put some publication on what you're up to!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Integration
A number of things are going on. I have trigger point work steadily improving the dilapidated state of my low back to the point where I feel *mostly* normal again. I'm still leaning forward somewhat, but sooner or later, I'll get that released. My (outer) body is feeling more integrated.
I found a book on my shelf on "Internal Exercises" that looks totally crappy because it has no artwork and is mustard yellow, and I've been reading it. It's really freaking cool. The exercises I've been up to with it for the last few days seem to have made me feel generally better, are helping my back along more quickly, and seem to be improving my myopic eyesight. My inner body is feeling more integrated.
I'm doing a fairly powerful intestinal cleanse. I feel lighter. That's all I want to say about that.
I figured out a great way to "integrate" the saber into training as well as into life. First of all, when I make my "rounds" in the yard (checking on the various plants we're cultivating), I carry my proxy saber around with me until my arm burns so bad I want to drop it. Then I switch arms. However long my little yard adventures last, that carrying around does as well. That's day-to-day activities. Secondly, I just did a fantastic workout where I alternated between saber drills and empty-hand drills. I'd do some standing or striking or forms work without the saber, and then I'd pick up the saber and do a basic drill or turn or go through the three sections of the form that I know. Back and forth, back and forth, one or two drills each time. It was pretty nice and kept me busy for roughly 90 minutes straight. If I sucked wind in between, instead of standing there and waiting, I walked around my driveway (which is a little loop) at a brisk pace, in a low stance when my breathing wasn't terrible and in a relaxed manner when I was huffing and puffing (some of those low-stance saber drills wipe me out still). The only thing I didn't "integrate" was turning. I'll do that in a little while.
So this is the beginning of my humble tribute to my friends suffering and improving in Beijing, since I couldn't go with. They should be sleeping now, but I'm sure they're dreaming about the warm spring sun I was just soaking in while I sweat, keeping them in mind.
I found a book on my shelf on "Internal Exercises" that looks totally crappy because it has no artwork and is mustard yellow, and I've been reading it. It's really freaking cool. The exercises I've been up to with it for the last few days seem to have made me feel generally better, are helping my back along more quickly, and seem to be improving my myopic eyesight. My inner body is feeling more integrated.
I'm doing a fairly powerful intestinal cleanse. I feel lighter. That's all I want to say about that.
I figured out a great way to "integrate" the saber into training as well as into life. First of all, when I make my "rounds" in the yard (checking on the various plants we're cultivating), I carry my proxy saber around with me until my arm burns so bad I want to drop it. Then I switch arms. However long my little yard adventures last, that carrying around does as well. That's day-to-day activities. Secondly, I just did a fantastic workout where I alternated between saber drills and empty-hand drills. I'd do some standing or striking or forms work without the saber, and then I'd pick up the saber and do a basic drill or turn or go through the three sections of the form that I know. Back and forth, back and forth, one or two drills each time. It was pretty nice and kept me busy for roughly 90 minutes straight. If I sucked wind in between, instead of standing there and waiting, I walked around my driveway (which is a little loop) at a brisk pace, in a low stance when my breathing wasn't terrible and in a relaxed manner when I was huffing and puffing (some of those low-stance saber drills wipe me out still). The only thing I didn't "integrate" was turning. I'll do that in a little while.
So this is the beginning of my humble tribute to my friends suffering and improving in Beijing, since I couldn't go with. They should be sleeping now, but I'm sure they're dreaming about the warm spring sun I was just soaking in while I sweat, keeping them in mind.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Been Meaning To
I've been meaning to post again, I really have. I just haven't had much time. I've been desperately trying to figure out what else to do for my dissertation (without hearing a peep from my adviser, which is making me nervous again) and therefore chasing wild tails that go nowhere but take a long time, doing tremendous side research because my wife's planning to have a surgery in May, and, of course, training. Thanks to a little "detox" tea (involving senna), I have time right now that I can't use for training, I figure I've researched up enough for my wife, and I just don't know what else to do for my dissertation. Thus, I'm finally posting.
Here are some of the posts I wanted to make but didn't:
The "branching out" is partly in reaction to the posted curriculum from Beijing and partly in reaction to something I read on our forum that indicates that a stronger feel and understanding for the Lion system comes from tasting the other animals a little. Since I have all the basic-drills videos now, the idea was to start learning some/all of the basic strikes from the Dragon, Phoenix, and Bear systems, though not making those a foremost part of our practice. I've only done so up until now with one palm in the Dragon and one palm in the Bear, but I have four palms total (2 Dragon and 1 from each other) that I want to look at this week. The new drills are making me sore in new ways and forcing me to think about emitting force differently, which is interesting. It's also already changing my approach and thought about the Lion System, which is rocking cool, though slight at this early hour.
Another post I might have done today might have been "The Fifty-Six." Bradley and I have decided that it's high-time that we sat down with the videos (figuratively sitting) and learned all 56 Lion System forms. At our peak, we knew roughly 30-35 of them, but we've forgotten most because we didn't know how to train them properly and didn't make time to practice all of them frequently enough (we often wonder how it is that one is able to do all of the training that we should as well as "maintain" 56 forms while drilling certain ones really hard to get good at them.. then we realized that there are certain forms that we'll probably never forget now and are getting better with.. realizing that what made that happen is intense drilling with intention and analysis). We've realized we can probably intensely drill two or three forms at a time, maybe per week, which should get us all fifty-six within a reasonable amount of time. We've also conjectured that we can speed this up and benefit more (win-win or two-for-one) by focusing on one attacking method at a time and working those, since in theory, at least, there should be some overlap.
That gives some idea of what's been going on and what will be going on. With luck, I'll have time to keep updates on here. With more luck, I'll graduate soon and no longer have the fear of a dissertation hanging over me and will have more time for all things good. In any case, Bradley leaves for China in less than a week, and so I'll have to figure out how to deal with my separation anxiety while he's gone. So ronery....
Here are some of the posts I wanted to make but didn't:
- Turning With the Saber: After finally getting access to the saber basics dvd, I learned to do this properly. What a tale.
- Proxy Saber Under the Worm Moon: I went outside near midnight on the night of the full moon this month and turned in the bright, pale moonlight, carrying my proxy saber. Then I did some drills with it. Then I turned without it, but only for a few minutes. It was late.
- It's Not Cold Now, You Pussies: Now that spring is arriving, I was considering changing the small online ad for our study group to include this line based on the fact that our group has grown essentially none through the cold months, though some interest was expressed until people found out that we practice outside (even that one night when it was 12 degrees F out, which kind of sucked).
- No Sleep Till Saber: I'm feeling the itch and burn for the real saber I'll have in hand in about three weeks, after Bradley comes back from Chink-a-Chink-a-China. In the meantime, I'm burning up my proxy to prepare for the training I want to do that will do justice to the Silver Snake once I have it.
- Yijing: This would have been the exciting emotional rollercoaster that tells the tale of how I spent a long time compiling a nice list of how the sixty-four hexagrams of the Yijing might correspond with or lend theory to each of the forms in YSB, even though I'm totally ignorant of the vast majority of those. It was long, it was interesting, it might have been worth something (or not), and my computer ate it after I finished it. All was lost. There was almost crying, but I laughed and let it go instead. I might redo it piecewise (instead of all at once) in a more secure way.
The "branching out" is partly in reaction to the posted curriculum from Beijing and partly in reaction to something I read on our forum that indicates that a stronger feel and understanding for the Lion system comes from tasting the other animals a little. Since I have all the basic-drills videos now, the idea was to start learning some/all of the basic strikes from the Dragon, Phoenix, and Bear systems, though not making those a foremost part of our practice. I've only done so up until now with one palm in the Dragon and one palm in the Bear, but I have four palms total (2 Dragon and 1 from each other) that I want to look at this week. The new drills are making me sore in new ways and forcing me to think about emitting force differently, which is interesting. It's also already changing my approach and thought about the Lion System, which is rocking cool, though slight at this early hour.
Another post I might have done today might have been "The Fifty-Six." Bradley and I have decided that it's high-time that we sat down with the videos (figuratively sitting) and learned all 56 Lion System forms. At our peak, we knew roughly 30-35 of them, but we've forgotten most because we didn't know how to train them properly and didn't make time to practice all of them frequently enough (we often wonder how it is that one is able to do all of the training that we should as well as "maintain" 56 forms while drilling certain ones really hard to get good at them.. then we realized that there are certain forms that we'll probably never forget now and are getting better with.. realizing that what made that happen is intense drilling with intention and analysis). We've realized we can probably intensely drill two or three forms at a time, maybe per week, which should get us all fifty-six within a reasonable amount of time. We've also conjectured that we can speed this up and benefit more (win-win or two-for-one) by focusing on one attacking method at a time and working those, since in theory, at least, there should be some overlap.
That gives some idea of what's been going on and what will be going on. With luck, I'll have time to keep updates on here. With more luck, I'll graduate soon and no longer have the fear of a dissertation hanging over me and will have more time for all things good. In any case, Bradley leaves for China in less than a week, and so I'll have to figure out how to deal with my separation anxiety while he's gone. So ronery....
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saber Circuit
Even though we don't have *real* sabers yet, we've embarked on doing a circuit-training routine with our proxies, and it is kicking my butt. It only has seven exercises on it: most of the basic drills we covered last fall in Vermont, and the idea is to get through the whole routine three times and reduce the overall time spent while maintaining/increasing quality. Today was the second time we did it, and it wrecked us again (last time it ripped a bunch of skin off my hand, so I had to put it up for a while).
Basically, the first time through the routine, it took us about 12-13 minutes to complete all of the exercises, resting as little as possible between them. We essentially failed on the third time through, with 43 minutes on the clock, but we weren't done with all of the exercises yet (last time we only made it through twice, and only kind of on the second go). The lack of rest is a killer. Even now (about an hour later), typing this is brutal on my exhausted hands.
The goal, which seems reasonable enough, is to get through the routine three times in under forty(-five?) minutes without compromising quality. At that point, we'll be qualified to up our training to "Level 2," which is the same routine with more repetitions of each exercises. There's a "Level 3" also, which will be worse (more repetitions again and a reorganization of the drills to be in a more demanding order). It's going to take a while to get to that point, particularly at the two-days-a-week training pace on the circuit.
According to my sheet, I'm not done because I didn't turn yet today. I'd better get on that.
Basically, the first time through the routine, it took us about 12-13 minutes to complete all of the exercises, resting as little as possible between them. We essentially failed on the third time through, with 43 minutes on the clock, but we weren't done with all of the exercises yet (last time we only made it through twice, and only kind of on the second go). The lack of rest is a killer. Even now (about an hour later), typing this is brutal on my exhausted hands.
The goal, which seems reasonable enough, is to get through the routine three times in under forty(-five?) minutes without compromising quality. At that point, we'll be qualified to up our training to "Level 2," which is the same routine with more repetitions of each exercises. There's a "Level 3" also, which will be worse (more repetitions again and a reorganization of the drills to be in a more demanding order). It's going to take a while to get to that point, particularly at the two-days-a-week training pace on the circuit.
According to my sheet, I'm not done because I didn't turn yet today. I'd better get on that.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thanks Berry
Last night was awesome. Scott Berry was making his way through from Michigan to Florida for some work-related fun-times, and he stopped by in Knoxville to treat Bradley and I to how much improvement our basics need. It was way good. Everything hurts vastly more than it did before (particularly the next morning). I also have a SUH-WEET new YSB hoodie (cf. Matt Bild modeling a sweet YSB hoodie on top of a mountain in Vermont holding a shiny DaDao).
Scott, or anyone else that does YSB, feel free to stop by and share your wisdom or borrow from ours (if you're newer to this than we are) any time you pass through Knoxville. Good times will be had by all, and I might bring more beer-infused peanut brittle.
Scott, or anyone else that does YSB, feel free to stop by and share your wisdom or borrow from ours (if you're newer to this than we are) any time you pass through Knoxville. Good times will be had by all, and I might bring more beer-infused peanut brittle.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Snow Circle, Mark 2
It snowed again today. I took advantage to make a better snow circle, since it snowed (read: still is) harder today than last time, making a nicer picture for my winter-themed bagua hijinks.
An observant person will notice a few things: first that this picture is taken from the opposite side as the previous snow circle since the gash made by the truck is on the right now. It's hard to see that gash, but I stepped on it and slipped about four times in the twelve minutes I turned (the slipping got old, and painful). The truck left a rut through part of my circle that makes a sudden, sharp drop of a few inches, which when wet (seeing as our "soil" is clay) is very slippery/dangerous. Cuidado! Circulo mojado! Further, the twelve minutes will likely be called into question because of the smatterings of snow all over the circle (particularly on the left). Lo, it was snowing (hard) when I turned, and in the two minutes it took to grab my camera, the snow did some damage to my muddy rut. Here, in fact, is exactly (I timed it) five minutes later:
Even the quite unobservant can see here the mark of the tire, most damaging in the upper right (northeast corner) of my circle. Some of the contour is also visible along the entire eastern edge. Awesome. As of now, it looks like I never stood on it, save for a red-orange-brown spot in the northeast corner where the wet earth keeps bleeding that staining mud up into the still-falling snow.
The crazy part is... it was almost 70 F here yesterday. The sad part is that it might stop us from being able to get together to train tonight....
An observant person will notice a few things: first that this picture is taken from the opposite side as the previous snow circle since the gash made by the truck is on the right now. It's hard to see that gash, but I stepped on it and slipped about four times in the twelve minutes I turned (the slipping got old, and painful). The truck left a rut through part of my circle that makes a sudden, sharp drop of a few inches, which when wet (seeing as our "soil" is clay) is very slippery/dangerous. Cuidado! Circulo mojado! Further, the twelve minutes will likely be called into question because of the smatterings of snow all over the circle (particularly on the left). Lo, it was snowing (hard) when I turned, and in the two minutes it took to grab my camera, the snow did some damage to my muddy rut. Here, in fact, is exactly (I timed it) five minutes later:
Even the quite unobservant can see here the mark of the tire, most damaging in the upper right (northeast corner) of my circle. Some of the contour is also visible along the entire eastern edge. Awesome. As of now, it looks like I never stood on it, save for a red-orange-brown spot in the northeast corner where the wet earth keeps bleeding that staining mud up into the still-falling snow.
The crazy part is... it was almost 70 F here yesterday. The sad part is that it might stop us from being able to get together to train tonight....
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thesis Adviser
Last night I dreamed that I was having to walk the circle to please the whims of my thesis adviser (whom I think is angry with me constantly now), though he has nothing to do with bagua whatsoever. The catch was that I had to do it in a field full of tall grass, barefoot, and in the middle of the night (1:27 am, actually), i.e. in the dark. He had set it up intentionally that I'd run into a fence after a few go-arounds (?) even though the guy he watched before me had no such obstacle (and is a semi-nutter I knew in college that also has nothing to do with bagua or with my thesis adviser or even the school I'm attending for grad school). Then he yelled at me for running into the fence he put there. He also sternly bade me to wash my feet before and after doing it and sent me to this huge, elaborate fountain (conveniently located right by this otherwise desolate field) to do so.
I have no freaking idea. None.
I have no freaking idea. None.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Plantar Fascia
The bottoms of my feet are rejoicing, after much swallowing of the bitter. I hope it translates into improved training. Time (and having time) will tell.
Due to my persistent low-back pain/problem, I've sought a variety of treatment options and modalities and have found the largest degree of success so far with trigger-point release and patient yoga type stretches. Combining the two did more, it seems, in two or three weeks than anything I've tried in years. Since starting this trigger point adventure and getting more keenly aware of what one is and feels like, particularly when it releases, I decided to re-re-re-restart my quest to release my plantar fascia (connective tissue in the bottoms of my feet). For the endeavor, I enlisted a trusty sidekick, and I've used it as one of my excuses to get out of my chair (my prison: see any post where I talk about my dissertation) and get the blood flowing properly through my body. My sidekick is a golf ball. I stand on it. It hurts.. a lot.
I've done this every day in a row now for seven, save one day of rest because I went too deep (in the wrong place) and awoke a demon (like Tolkien's Dwarves, though the Balrog here is a mildly bruised heel). Otherwise, it's been a delightful (read: very awful but worthwhile) experience. My feet feel amazing, and I feel generally lighter and freer of movement. Whether due to the stretching, the other trigger point therapy, the greater mindfulness of the amount of time I spend in this chair, or just the feet (most likely some combination of all of those things), my back is slowly starting to give up on its seemingly unrelenting quest to ruin my life. It's by no means fixed, but it's much less broken. Most noticeably, I can almost stand on one foot on a golf ball on one of my feet (the other is tighter and has more work to be done still) without it being unbearable. That would have been unthinkable a week ago. The pain was in-tense.
There's a really neat secondary effect with the method I'm employing: heat. My feet get hot and give off heat like little radiators while doing the treatment and for some time afterwards. It's a very potent sensation that I'm sure is caused by "enhanced circulation" but I'm chalking straight up to qi. It's most pleasant, and my feet have this well-massaged feel for quite a while after the treatment. So here's what I do. Be warned, it takes 10-20 minutes to do the whole thing, but it's SOOOO worth it.
Step 1) Get a golf ball (or tennis ball if you want to start out lightly) and get ready to swallow bitter, probably a substantial amount. Put the ball on something relatively soft (a rug or carpet is ideal, a spongy mat like a yoga mat works too but makes the experience a bit more intense).
Step 2) Start just behind the ball of your foot in line with the split between your big toe and second toe and sink your weight slowly down onto the ball (it's nice to have a chair to lean on). Feel what there is to feel. Put enough weight down to make it quite uncomfortable but not completely awful. Stay still and wait until that spot isn't so awful (20 seconds to 2 minutes, probably). It will probably still be bad, but that's okay.
Step 3) Roll the ball a little bit toward your heel with some pressure on it, trying to follow the tendons of the feet (looking these up in an anatomy book or online is helpful). Stop and repeat the pressure above about every half inch or any time you feel any particularly bad sensation like more intense pain, a resisting knot in the tissue, little electrical crackling feelings (that kind of hurt and feel hot). Proceed until you get close to the beginning of your heel. Spend more time there like at the ball because it's an attachment area.
Step 4) Go back to the ball of your foot, this time nearer the middle (near Kd-1, for you acu-buffs). Repeat, spending time on purpose at Kd-1 (you should know it when you feel it, in the hollow just behind the ball of your foot near the middle). Go all the way down toward your heel, pausing just like before as needed and near the attachment area.
Step 5) Go back to the ball of your foot, this time nearer the outer edge but not all the way out. Repeat all the way down toward your heel, coming in a bit toward the center as you go. Just like before. Good times. Your foot will probably be quite hot by this time. I find focusing on enjoying the heat takes my mind off the pain/discomfort.
Step 6) I know there's another band of fascia in the bottom of the foot; skip it for now. Repeat the WHOLE process on the other foot and let the one you just worked rest a bit.
Step 7) Go back to the first foot and work the shorter band of fascia on the midfoot (more toward the back) on the outside edge. Give it the same attention as the main part of the foot.
Step 8) Do the same to the other foot.
Step 9) Go back to the first foot and slowly roll the ball the other way, starting near the heel and going toward the toes, stopping at knots. You'll find knots that you didn't find the first time because of the change in direction. Enjoy them. Do the outer tendon too, if you like.
Step 10) Do the same to the other foot.
Step 11) Pause and analyze: which direction seemed to benefit me more? Focus on that direction in the future (do it first and spend longer on it).
Step 12) Sit on your knees with your toes dorsiflexed (bent up toward your head, so they're on the floor and the balls of your feet are trying to get there). Sit back on your heels with as much pressure as is comfortable and deep-stretch your feet. This is important and valuable to do, though it's not fun. It's more important, I'd say, than going both ways on the tendons with the ball. Hold this stretch for as long as you can (it can be BAD, esp. at first), aiming within a few sessions for a minimum of 1 minute but preferably closer to 2 or 3.
Step 13) [I haven't tried this but it's apparently awesome. I'll try it soon and report.] Plunge your feet into cold water (icy, if you can take it) for 30 seconds or a minute. Towel off.
Step 14) Do it again tomorrow, every day until it's not awful to do it in any particular spot. As you get better and better, with time, you can do it more quickly and focus only on the tighter spots. Chances are, unless you do this kind of thing anyway, your feet are probably almost 100% trouble spots. If they're WAY sore, take a day off of everything but the stretch, maybe rubbing them firmly with your hands instead of the ball of terror. Be careful not to bruise yourself by going too deep too soon (use your chair!).
Step 15) Get to where doing this once a week, then once a month/as needed, is more than enough to manage your good foot health. Awesome. I'm not there yet.
The plantar fascia connects, one tissue to another, through the heels to the Achilles tendon, up the calves, behind the knees, up the hamstrings, through the butt and the back side of the pelvis, across the tissues that stabilize the sacrum and lumbar spine, up the spine, across the occipital, over the crown, and to the muscles that lift your nose when you crinkle it up. That's a lot of connection, and all of it benefits from treating problems in the root (which affect bit by bit everything above with every step you take). I understand that this process can help tremendously with chronic headaches, but I don't have them, so I don't know.
I also like to add hamstring stretches when I get done with my feet, seeing as that's close-kin kind of tissue. It's an interesting experiment, by the bye, to "release" one foot and then stretch before releasing the other. There's a definite difference. Oh that reminds me: this is deep, hard therapy, so it's critical that whatever you decide to do to one foot, you should do to the other to prevent imbalances from coming up (in flexibility and usage) that could make for some nasty problems if you're lazy. Drinking a lot of water afterwards seems to help too. Some people say it releases toxins trapped in that tissue, and the extra water helps flush it.
Happy standing on a ball to you!
PS: In other health-related news, I'm going to be starting my kombucha-brewing adventure within days. I've been wanting to for a few years, and now it's go-time. I really recommend the stuff.
Due to my persistent low-back pain/problem, I've sought a variety of treatment options and modalities and have found the largest degree of success so far with trigger-point release and patient yoga type stretches. Combining the two did more, it seems, in two or three weeks than anything I've tried in years. Since starting this trigger point adventure and getting more keenly aware of what one is and feels like, particularly when it releases, I decided to re-re-re-restart my quest to release my plantar fascia (connective tissue in the bottoms of my feet). For the endeavor, I enlisted a trusty sidekick, and I've used it as one of my excuses to get out of my chair (my prison: see any post where I talk about my dissertation) and get the blood flowing properly through my body. My sidekick is a golf ball. I stand on it. It hurts.. a lot.
I've done this every day in a row now for seven, save one day of rest because I went too deep (in the wrong place) and awoke a demon (like Tolkien's Dwarves, though the Balrog here is a mildly bruised heel). Otherwise, it's been a delightful (read: very awful but worthwhile) experience. My feet feel amazing, and I feel generally lighter and freer of movement. Whether due to the stretching, the other trigger point therapy, the greater mindfulness of the amount of time I spend in this chair, or just the feet (most likely some combination of all of those things), my back is slowly starting to give up on its seemingly unrelenting quest to ruin my life. It's by no means fixed, but it's much less broken. Most noticeably, I can almost stand on one foot on a golf ball on one of my feet (the other is tighter and has more work to be done still) without it being unbearable. That would have been unthinkable a week ago. The pain was in-tense.
There's a really neat secondary effect with the method I'm employing: heat. My feet get hot and give off heat like little radiators while doing the treatment and for some time afterwards. It's a very potent sensation that I'm sure is caused by "enhanced circulation" but I'm chalking straight up to qi. It's most pleasant, and my feet have this well-massaged feel for quite a while after the treatment. So here's what I do. Be warned, it takes 10-20 minutes to do the whole thing, but it's SOOOO worth it.
Step 1) Get a golf ball (or tennis ball if you want to start out lightly) and get ready to swallow bitter, probably a substantial amount. Put the ball on something relatively soft (a rug or carpet is ideal, a spongy mat like a yoga mat works too but makes the experience a bit more intense).
Step 2) Start just behind the ball of your foot in line with the split between your big toe and second toe and sink your weight slowly down onto the ball (it's nice to have a chair to lean on). Feel what there is to feel. Put enough weight down to make it quite uncomfortable but not completely awful. Stay still and wait until that spot isn't so awful (20 seconds to 2 minutes, probably). It will probably still be bad, but that's okay.
Step 3) Roll the ball a little bit toward your heel with some pressure on it, trying to follow the tendons of the feet (looking these up in an anatomy book or online is helpful). Stop and repeat the pressure above about every half inch or any time you feel any particularly bad sensation like more intense pain, a resisting knot in the tissue, little electrical crackling feelings (that kind of hurt and feel hot). Proceed until you get close to the beginning of your heel. Spend more time there like at the ball because it's an attachment area.
Step 4) Go back to the ball of your foot, this time nearer the middle (near Kd-1, for you acu-buffs). Repeat, spending time on purpose at Kd-1 (you should know it when you feel it, in the hollow just behind the ball of your foot near the middle). Go all the way down toward your heel, pausing just like before as needed and near the attachment area.
Step 5) Go back to the ball of your foot, this time nearer the outer edge but not all the way out. Repeat all the way down toward your heel, coming in a bit toward the center as you go. Just like before. Good times. Your foot will probably be quite hot by this time. I find focusing on enjoying the heat takes my mind off the pain/discomfort.
Step 6) I know there's another band of fascia in the bottom of the foot; skip it for now. Repeat the WHOLE process on the other foot and let the one you just worked rest a bit.
Step 7) Go back to the first foot and work the shorter band of fascia on the midfoot (more toward the back) on the outside edge. Give it the same attention as the main part of the foot.
Step 8) Do the same to the other foot.
Step 9) Go back to the first foot and slowly roll the ball the other way, starting near the heel and going toward the toes, stopping at knots. You'll find knots that you didn't find the first time because of the change in direction. Enjoy them. Do the outer tendon too, if you like.
Step 10) Do the same to the other foot.
Step 11) Pause and analyze: which direction seemed to benefit me more? Focus on that direction in the future (do it first and spend longer on it).
Step 12) Sit on your knees with your toes dorsiflexed (bent up toward your head, so they're on the floor and the balls of your feet are trying to get there). Sit back on your heels with as much pressure as is comfortable and deep-stretch your feet. This is important and valuable to do, though it's not fun. It's more important, I'd say, than going both ways on the tendons with the ball. Hold this stretch for as long as you can (it can be BAD, esp. at first), aiming within a few sessions for a minimum of 1 minute but preferably closer to 2 or 3.
Step 13) [I haven't tried this but it's apparently awesome. I'll try it soon and report.] Plunge your feet into cold water (icy, if you can take it) for 30 seconds or a minute. Towel off.
Step 14) Do it again tomorrow, every day until it's not awful to do it in any particular spot. As you get better and better, with time, you can do it more quickly and focus only on the tighter spots. Chances are, unless you do this kind of thing anyway, your feet are probably almost 100% trouble spots. If they're WAY sore, take a day off of everything but the stretch, maybe rubbing them firmly with your hands instead of the ball of terror. Be careful not to bruise yourself by going too deep too soon (use your chair!).
Step 15) Get to where doing this once a week, then once a month/as needed, is more than enough to manage your good foot health. Awesome. I'm not there yet.
The plantar fascia connects, one tissue to another, through the heels to the Achilles tendon, up the calves, behind the knees, up the hamstrings, through the butt and the back side of the pelvis, across the tissues that stabilize the sacrum and lumbar spine, up the spine, across the occipital, over the crown, and to the muscles that lift your nose when you crinkle it up. That's a lot of connection, and all of it benefits from treating problems in the root (which affect bit by bit everything above with every step you take). I understand that this process can help tremendously with chronic headaches, but I don't have them, so I don't know.
I also like to add hamstring stretches when I get done with my feet, seeing as that's close-kin kind of tissue. It's an interesting experiment, by the bye, to "release" one foot and then stretch before releasing the other. There's a definite difference. Oh that reminds me: this is deep, hard therapy, so it's critical that whatever you decide to do to one foot, you should do to the other to prevent imbalances from coming up (in flexibility and usage) that could make for some nasty problems if you're lazy. Drinking a lot of water afterwards seems to help too. Some people say it releases toxins trapped in that tissue, and the extra water helps flush it.
Happy standing on a ball to you!
PS: In other health-related news, I'm going to be starting my kombucha-brewing adventure within days. I've been wanting to for a few years, and now it's go-time. I really recommend the stuff.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Snow Circle
It's rare here, and the picture is ugly (no less because of the truck that ran over my circle last week and made it all warped and bumpy or for the uneven snowfall due to my circle being rather near a tree), but I can start my "a circle for all seasons" project with my first picture of a snow-circle. It's snowing here today with the snow actually sticking, which happens once or twice a year typically, usually with less snow than today, and so I took the opportunity to go turn in it, setting aside my dissertation for a bit while I toiled in the cold and wet. At the end, I took a picture of my circle. Here's the result:
The goofy left side is where the truck's massive-assive tires ran through it, leaving ruts that I've tried to pound down a little bit and wrecking some of the hard-earned symmetry of my circle. Still, I now have a snow-circle photo. I'll see about creating an album on here over the next year: a circle in all seasons. Maybe I'll follow through on that, and maybe I won't take time to take the pictures.
The goofy left side is where the truck's massive-assive tires ran through it, leaving ruts that I've tried to pound down a little bit and wrecking some of the hard-earned symmetry of my circle. Still, I now have a snow-circle photo. I'll see about creating an album on here over the next year: a circle in all seasons. Maybe I'll follow through on that, and maybe I won't take time to take the pictures.
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