Waking Energy 7 Timeless Practices Designed to Reboot Your Body and Unleash Your Potential
Hundred The Hundred powerfully increases cardiovascular activity, getting the heart pumping and lungs working, and stimulates the lymphatic system as it strengthens and tones the abdominals and muscles of the arms and legs. It enhances coordination and builds stamina. 1. Lying on your back, draw your knees into your chest and stretch your arms along the mat down by your sides. Inhale deeply. Then, as you exhale, curl your head, neck, and upper shoulders off the mat just high enough so that the tips of your shoulder blades are still connected to the mat. As you do, raise your arms a few inches off the floor, reaching your fingertips as far away from your body as possible. 2. Right away, extend your legs straight up to the ceiling, rooting your tailbone into the mat. Squeeze your heels together as you externally rotate your legs, bringing your toes slightly apart. 3. Then lower and lengthen the legs down as far as you can with control, just to the point where your abdominals are engaged and your lower back is securely rooted into the floor—no farther (your point of control, where your back is connected fully to the floor and your abs are engaged), and start to pump your arms vigorously up and down as if you are slapping the surface of water. In time with the arm movements, use this breathing pattern: inhale, one, two, three, four, five; exhale, one, two, three, four, five. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Because of the rapid arm movements, the breathing in this exercise has an effect somewhat similar to that of the Breath of Fire. When you become more skilled, breathe in and out through your nose only. Do not allow your abdominal muscles to pump in and out with the breath. Maintain your navel-to-spine connection. 4. Pump the arms with real intention and purpose. Each time you inhale, think about bringing new life into your heart, lungs, and cells. Each time you exhale, think about expelling stale, stagnant air and drawing the navel to the spine that much deeper. 5. After completing ten ten-count breaths, curl your upper back just a little bit higher, drawing the abdominals in the most deeply yet, expelling the last thread of breath in the process and stretching your fingertips and toes to their utmost lengths. Then draw your knees back into your chest, hugging them in as you release your head, neck, and shoulders back down into the mat. 6. Repeat for a total of ten sets of ten breaths. Transition: After hugging your knees into your chest at the end of the exercise, do not linger. Move on immediately. With control, using your powerhouse, lower your legs to the mat, and raise your arms overhead and backward, until they come to a position six inches off the floor behind you. Rollup The Rollup assists in spinal articulation, making the spine more fluid and flexible as it strengthens and tones the abdominals and stretches the hamstrings. The trick to experiencing the most accurate and optimal expression of this exercise is to impose your own isometric resistance on it by employing the principle of opposition.
1. Lying on your back, stretch your arms long overhead about six inches off the floor, and lengthen your legs down away from your torso. 2. Draw your ribs together and anchor your back to the mat to the best of your ability, so that there is little space between your back and the mat. Your abdominals should already be fully engaged in order to maintain this starting position. 3. Make sure the legs are fully extended and the feet are flexed, with big toes touching, as you squeeze the inner thighs together. Drive your heels into the floor to activate the backs of your legs, particularly the hamstrings. 4. Inhale with your arms in the overhead position. Then, as you exhale, lift your arms and circle them forward over your chest, peeling your upper torso off the floor as you reach your fingertips forward. Curl your body forward, coming into a deep C shape. Keep going until you are stretched over your straight legs. Your arms will be extended straight out in front of you at shoulder height, parallel to your legs. Your eyes should gaze down at your belly button. 5. As you curl forward into the stretch and deepen the navel-to-spine connection, maintain the feet in the flexed position. Keep your knees as straight as you possibly can and your feet squeezing together. As you round the body forward and stretch your arms and feet away from you, feel as if someone is hugging you around the waist and trying to pull you backward while you fight to reach forward and stretch through your fingertips. In this manner, you’ll feel your core muscles activated in the deepest way and achieve the greatest range of motion and stretch in your spine and hamstrings. 6. Repeat five to seven times. Rolling Like a Ball Rolling Like a Ball massages the spine and related supporting muscles, bringing improved circulation to the nerve plexuses that insert themselves in and around the spine. It also strengthens the abdominals —and sparks laughter, giving you a bonus endorphin and serotonin charge that lifts your spirits instantly. 1. Sitting just behind your tailbone, round your spine, and pull your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around your knees. Lift your feet away from the floor and balance on your buttocks with your toes pointed down toward the floor, making yourself as compact as possible and assuming a shape that resembles a small ball. Keep your knees shoulder-width apart, your navel drawn deeply toward your spine, and your head tilted downward, eyes gazing at your navel. 2. Do your best to squeeze your heels as closely to your buttocks as possible, bringing your heels together with your toes slightly apart and pointed down to the floor. 3. As you prepare to roll back, draw your shoulders down away from your ears. Also press your knees into your elbows and your arms against your knees to create your own isometric resistance. Again, make sure that your head is down and your eyes are focused on your belly button. 4. Inhale, then rock back, going only as high as the base of your neck and no farther. Always take care not to rock onto the cervical vertebrae (which can be delicate). Then, using your
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Hundred<br />
The Hundred powerfully increases cardiovascular activity, getting the heart pumping <strong>and</strong> lungs<br />
working, <strong>and</strong> stimulates the lymphatic system as it strengthens <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>nes the abdominals <strong>and</strong> muscles<br />
of the arms <strong>and</strong> legs. It enhances coordination <strong>and</strong> builds stamina.<br />
1. Lying on your back, draw your knees in<strong>to</strong> your chest <strong>and</strong> stretch your arms along the mat down by<br />
your sides. Inhale deeply. Then, as you exhale, curl your head, neck, <strong>and</strong> upper shoulders off the<br />
mat just high enough so that the tips of your shoulder blades are still connected <strong>to</strong> the mat. As you<br />
do, raise your arms a few inches off the floor, reaching your fingertips as far away from your<br />
body as possible.<br />
2. Right away, extend your legs straight up <strong>to</strong> the ceiling, rooting your tailbone in<strong>to</strong> the mat. Squeeze<br />
your heels <strong>to</strong>gether as you externally rotate your legs, bringing your <strong>to</strong>es slightly apart.<br />
3. Then lower <strong>and</strong> lengthen the legs down as far as you can with control, just <strong>to</strong> the point where<br />
your abdominals are engaged <strong>and</strong> your lower back is securely rooted in<strong>to</strong> the floor—no farther<br />
(your point of control, where your back is connected fully <strong>to</strong> the floor <strong>and</strong> your abs are engaged),<br />
<strong>and</strong> start <strong>to</strong> pump your arms vigorously up <strong>and</strong> down as if you are slapping the surface of water.<br />
In time with the arm movements, use this breathing pattern: inhale, one, two, three, four, five;<br />
exhale, one, two, three, four, five. Breathe in through your nose <strong>and</strong> out through your mouth.<br />
Because of the rapid arm movements, the breathing in this exercise has an effect somewhat<br />
similar <strong>to</strong> that of the Breath of Fire. When you become more skilled, breathe in <strong>and</strong> out through<br />
your nose only. Do not allow your abdominal muscles <strong>to</strong> pump in <strong>and</strong> out with the breath.<br />
Maintain your navel-<strong>to</strong>-spine connection.<br />
4. Pump the arms with real intention <strong>and</strong> purpose. Each time you inhale, think about bringing new<br />
life in<strong>to</strong> your heart, lungs, <strong>and</strong> cells. Each time you exhale, think about expelling stale, stagnant<br />
air <strong>and</strong> drawing the navel <strong>to</strong> the spine that much deeper.<br />
5. After completing ten ten-count breaths, curl your upper back just a little bit higher, drawing the<br />
abdominals in the most deeply yet, expelling the last thread of breath in the process <strong>and</strong><br />
stretching your fingertips <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>es <strong>to</strong> their utmost lengths. Then draw your knees back in<strong>to</strong> your<br />
chest, hugging them in as you release your head, neck, <strong>and</strong> shoulders back down in<strong>to</strong> the mat.<br />
6. Repeat for a <strong>to</strong>tal of ten sets of ten breaths.<br />
Transition: After hugging your knees in<strong>to</strong> your chest at the end of the exercise, do not linger. Move on immediately. With control, using<br />
your powerhouse, lower your legs <strong>to</strong> the mat, <strong>and</strong> raise your arms overhead <strong>and</strong> backward, until they come <strong>to</strong> a position six inches off the<br />
floor behind you.<br />
Rollup<br />
The Rollup assists in spinal articulation, making the spine more fluid <strong>and</strong> flexible as it strengthens<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>nes the abdominals <strong>and</strong> stretches the hamstrings. The trick <strong>to</strong> experiencing the most accurate <strong>and</strong><br />
optimal expression of this exercise is <strong>to</strong> impose your own isometric resistance on it by employing the<br />
principle of opposition.