Updated December 9, 2023
These warm ups are a work in progress. The counts change. Right now we’re going in counts of five for some of the exercises. Whatever count you choose, maintain a rhythm. It helps to keep connected to the dantien.
Some practices are added temporarily. **Those are marked in blue text and with asterisks.**
Begin
Sit, if possible with legs crossed, or in full or half lotus. Place the hands in the mudra of equanimity at the lower dantien/sea of psychic energy, thumbs lightly touching.
Short meditation
Close the sphincter gate, pull in the navel towards the spine, circulate the breath from the base of the spine, up the back, over the head, release the gate, allowing the breath the flow down the front of the body. Practice this for a few cycles.
Release tension
Place both hands at the heart space, throw them down and out. Do this three times.
Honoring our ancestors
Think of a wish. Clap your hands together twice, sharing this wish with your ancestors. Clap once more, the ancestors respond.
Connect
Breathe in and out, connect to space, connect in your home, then you might want more space and go outside, connect. Connect to the people in your home as space congealed and you have the ability to put your hand into space.
Be kind, fill 500,000 cells with kindness. Make the thought, healed within. Dis-ease, may be incurable but can be healed.
Sifu Lu Yang (yours truly) is learning how to heal by bringing energies into balance.
Anxiety is poison. For now let go of anxiety, let the stillness of the mountain arise within.
Open portals, gates, channels. The eyes, one is the sun, the other is the moon and the head is the stars. Bring into balance.
Legs and hips
Legs out, bounce up and down, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle (the legs).
The exercises we do are to create a linkage. Focus on them until they become our foundation.
We want to be like the self-righting toy, coming back to center.
Knees up and down and then bring the legs back into center.
Pulsing, heels fixed—feel this through the to the top of the head
Circle ankles outward and inward
Point left foot, flex right foot, alternate pointing left and right
Point both feet forward, then point both feet out/in pronation/supination
Point toes up to ceiling, then flex them towards you, push the balls of the feet forward while keeping the toes flexed towards you. Once the feet are flexed down to the ground, curl the toes as if grabbing a towel from the floor, and then pull the feet back up, keeping the toes curled as long as possible.
Point toes up to ceiling, turn feet out then back in at ankles
Bounce legs up and down
For these next three exercises, Bring the legs together, tightly. Engage the navel center towards the spine, feel these exercises beginning from the seventh/eighth vertebrae.
- Point the toes forward, then rotating from the hip flexors out to the sides, then up, then forward again. Reverse this process for the same count.
- Lift the left leg up, flex the left foot out, rotated to the 45° angle. Do the same count on the right side.
- Keep the same position, point toes forward, beginning with the left leg, circle in the air 4x, each way, both legs. Lengthen through the leg, as if you’re drawing on a chalk board in front of you. (Drawing the capitol letter D in reverse with the toes on the left, and right reading on the right)
- Heel slide: place the hands on the left knee, slide the left heel towards you, push the heel back out, point the toe forward, then back up again. Do the same count on the right as you did on the left.
Bring feet in towards each other. The knees are pointing out to the sides. Slide the feet towards you keeping the toes on the ground but lifting the heels up as you round your torso down as if looking at the navel.
**Holding left leg up at the knee, and the foot. Circle the leg in the outside direction and then inside. out, Keep holding at the knee, shake leg loose at the, knee back and forth. Do the same for the right side.**
Bring the legs up and back out in front of you.
Breathe in, reach hands out towards toes keeping the arms parallel with the floor. Instead of bending to touch the toes, we’re reaching out over the top of them.
Return legs to regular sitting position
Press down on knees, drop and release the heavy weight of the head, feel its vertebrae. Engage the spine, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out lifting up the head on this exhale.
Massage the key points: knees, then hold the knees; thighs from the hips down then back up, then reverse direction; then circle at the hip joints, both directions; hold the hands at the hips, relax, feel for a connection between the hands.
**(We do this occasionally) Place palms high on rib cage, press in and feel bones, expand, feel the rib cage expand and release/contract the breathe in and release @ end.**
Kidney massage:
- With light fists tap up and down the back in the kidney area, down to the tail bone.
- Then circle outward and then inward along the spine, in the kidney area.
- Place palms on the kidneys, also feeling the lowest rib. Lean slightly forward, breathe in, feel that area expand into the hands. Breathe out, with pursed lips, as if through a straw, feel that area contract. Do this 3 times and then one last time with a relaxed breath.
Belly massage:
- Circle belly starting at the lower sternum, moving to the left and down to the lower tantien 5x in a circle and then 5x to the right (the opposite direction).
- Press in, rubbing lower tantien 5x left to right, 5x right to left
- Tapping lower tantien area all over with a beak fist
- Hands on lower tantien, contracting lower gate, breathe in/out contract
Thoracic area:
- Wrists together, up the center line, and down the pectoral channels 3x
- With arms out to the sides, rotate the hands, then the wrists, the lower and then upper arm, engage the scapula and rib cage and spine at the seventh and eight vertebra. 3x
- Flick out fingers to balance energies
- Clap hands together
- Rub hands together, then fingers too
Face Massage
- Massage face using fingers of both hands (counts of 6 normally or 3x one way and 3x the opposite way)
- circle outward and inward on forehead
- rub inside ear, make circles, squeeze (along top edge of ear and flick down?)
- relax/slack jaw, press in with fingers and circle on joint, both directions
- circle from jaw to chin along line of jaw
- circle are the base of the teeth/chin area outward and inward
- circle above the upper lip, outward and inward
- circle outward along either side of nose and also check bone area
- circle outward around the orbit of the eye
- circling between the eyebrows, 3x counterclockwise (from the right eye brow towards the left and around and then 3x the other way)
- press between the eyebrows, feel it melting to the back of the head, draw a line with the fingers to the top of the head:
- for this series, start with the top of the head, then sides, back, behind the ears (mastoid protrusions) occipital area, and neck
- start with fists to wrap on the head
- then blade of the hand
- then pats
- cupped hands
- tap all over head
- make circle with thumbs and pointer fingers, place on the top of the head and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze
close the circle, lift up hands, breathing in move the hands up, out and breathing out and down, creating a protective circle, (iron shirt) all around you - rest hands on knees
Golden Elixir
- tapping of the teeth to create the golden elixir (you’re own saliva!)
- circle the tongue to the left then to the right to gather the saliva,
rinse back and forth, - close the lower sphincter gate, swallow directing the elixir down to the lower tantien.
- keep the lower gate closed and
- circle the belly 3x to the left and 3x to the right
- 3x up the back and down the front
- 3x pull up from the lower gate and the navel in towards the spine
- 2 breaths in
- release, connect to the effect
Pelvic
- pelvic plate, circle 3x in both directions, counterclockwise first then clockwise
- Place both hands on left knee, circle left hip back 3x then forward 3x, then switch and place hands on the right knee and do the same to the right hip
- 3x incline forward and at back and left to right from the pelvic area, keep the back straight
- Lean forward and 3x pull naval in slightly, funnel circle first to the left, then to the right, straight back
Neck
- Hands or Vadra fists on knees, breathing out, drop head, circle up and over to the left 3x, then to the right 3x
- Come to a pause in the circle, release the shoulders.
- Crane neck, move the head up and back then up, forward and down. On the last one, pull up to the top of the head
- Rotate neck and look with the eyes 3x each direction
- Circle neck down to the left, then to the right 3x each direction (ennalay sp?)
- Pull up, release though the spine
Eyes
- open eyes wide
- look left and right 6x
- then look up and down 6 x
- circle to the left 3x and
- circle to the right 3x
- blink quickly
- breathe in, release
To be continued!
May these be of benefit,
Sifu D’Arcy