Feel and Know Your Center
Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:53 pm
Throughout the ages, wise people have spoken about the need to "be centered", to "move from the center", to "react from the center". The Chinese call that place the Dan Tien, and sometimes refer to it as the "Sea of Chi". In Japan it is called "Hara", and the great samurai and Zen masters felt their very Being as emanating from that sacred, psychic place. Mystical and elusive, it is a place that can be sensed in fear, e.g., a "gut" feeling, a feeling of dread in the pit of the stomach, etc. Many who practice various types of meditation or martial arts have worked to become conversant and aware of our centers, knowing and trusting that our core/center will not steer us wrong, although our mind may.
For the next part, you will need to pull out an anatomy book, because to feel your center you need to be able to know where everything is located. The spine, the viscera, and organs of the body are all very closely related"”they are the elements that ARE the center/core. But we do not need to know every part of the body for this training, only some essential parts. First off, it is a good idea to relax and be aware of the spine. The spine is not really those bony things that protrude from the back"”those are the transverse processes. The spine, especially the lumbar (lower) part is more located in the center of our body. Now, look at your anatomy chart. There is a muscle which connects at T12 (12th thoracic) and along the five lumbar vertebrae (L1-5). This muscle, called the psoas, goes down through the pelvis and connects on the inside of the femur (thigh) bone by the greater trocanter. The psoas muscle is the only muscle in the body that connects the leg to the spine and is responsible for important movements like, walking. And many other. The psoas muscle is around 16 inches long, and is located almost perfectly in the center/core of the body. This muscle is closely related to the feeling of fear, and is the muscle that contracts to cause the body to assume the fetal position. It is an instinctual muscle, and contracts when we feel fear of any kind, especially the fear of falling, since the psoas stabilizes and keeps the body from falling. As one might imagine, the psoas muscle gets a LOT of work; and as a result, the psoas is generally in a state of contraction in most people. Without learning the location of the psoas, and gradually learning to release and lengthen it, our center/core can never know true peace.
Contrary to the belief of many a well-meaning massage therapist, the psoas cannot be released by any kind of manual pressure or stimulation. As stated before, it will contract automatically, and will not respond to "logical" mental messages. The psoas can only be released through specific postures (and later, exercises) that ALLOW the psoas to release on its own. Releasing the psoas, then, is essentially releasing of years of contracted, shortened lean muscle tissue located in the very center/core of our body. With its release we can let go of accumulated fear and armoring, a glorious and worthy undertaking.
Later, I’d like to share the postures I’ve learned for self psoas release.
For the next part, you will need to pull out an anatomy book, because to feel your center you need to be able to know where everything is located. The spine, the viscera, and organs of the body are all very closely related"”they are the elements that ARE the center/core. But we do not need to know every part of the body for this training, only some essential parts. First off, it is a good idea to relax and be aware of the spine. The spine is not really those bony things that protrude from the back"”those are the transverse processes. The spine, especially the lumbar (lower) part is more located in the center of our body. Now, look at your anatomy chart. There is a muscle which connects at T12 (12th thoracic) and along the five lumbar vertebrae (L1-5). This muscle, called the psoas, goes down through the pelvis and connects on the inside of the femur (thigh) bone by the greater trocanter. The psoas muscle is the only muscle in the body that connects the leg to the spine and is responsible for important movements like, walking. And many other. The psoas muscle is around 16 inches long, and is located almost perfectly in the center/core of the body. This muscle is closely related to the feeling of fear, and is the muscle that contracts to cause the body to assume the fetal position. It is an instinctual muscle, and contracts when we feel fear of any kind, especially the fear of falling, since the psoas stabilizes and keeps the body from falling. As one might imagine, the psoas muscle gets a LOT of work; and as a result, the psoas is generally in a state of contraction in most people. Without learning the location of the psoas, and gradually learning to release and lengthen it, our center/core can never know true peace.
Contrary to the belief of many a well-meaning massage therapist, the psoas cannot be released by any kind of manual pressure or stimulation. As stated before, it will contract automatically, and will not respond to "logical" mental messages. The psoas can only be released through specific postures (and later, exercises) that ALLOW the psoas to release on its own. Releasing the psoas, then, is essentially releasing of years of contracted, shortened lean muscle tissue located in the very center/core of our body. With its release we can let go of accumulated fear and armoring, a glorious and worthy undertaking.
Later, I’d like to share the postures I’ve learned for self psoas release.