Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Interlude

I've changed the name from "Massage Blog" to something a little more evocative of the way my writing seems to be developing.  Originally, my intention was to keep things strictly business, but the nature of massage therapy and my tendency to think laterally make it hard to keep my thoughts rigidly businesslike.

"Life, Massage and Everything..." as a title also gives meaning to the blog titles.  Douglas Adams (author of "Life, the Universe and Everything") was the writer for the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series on the BBC.  The episodes were names "Fit the First", "Fit the Second", etc.  Hopefully that helps to clarify my odd titling choice!

Sadly,  I'm not the most prolific blogger on the planet, but hopefully quality counts for more that quality and those of you reading this will continue to enjoy my posts as I manage to gather my thoughts into some semblance of coherency.

My thanks to Carrie Anne for putting up with my verbal ramblings on the days when my thoughts are more scattered.  Being able to talk out loud helps me bring sense to the chaos and organize things into a format that can be written down and followed by (hopefully!) anyone.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

blog the ninth: The Barefoot Experiment, part 2

This has been a long time coming, but I seem to be having a day of decent mental activity, so I think I'll use it to write!

I haven't been able to run yet, so I'm still doing a lot of walking, and as much as possible barefoot. After a few months, people are telling me I've lost weight, my posture's improved and that I look as if I've been working out again. The only accurate observation there is my posture, but I certainly don't mind giving the perception that I'm more active and stronger than I actually am!

The best compliment I've received so far was at a visit to the Hapkido club last week. For the first time in quite a while I worked out a little bit with one of the only students who's been there longer than I have, and is now one of our small number of black belts (I'm still a brown belt, though hopefully that'll change if I can keep taking those baby steps towards a proper level of performance!). At any rate, Mario and I have been training together for over 15 years. We kicked in rhythm for a few minutes and he told me I was lighter on my feet and moving better than he's ever seen me. Quite the compliment considering my lack of direct martial arts training the past few months. I can't help but attribute this to the biomechanical and energetic changes that have occurred since I started barefooting.

Several weeks ago, I tweeted that I'd rediscovered the value of an old martial arts lesson while walking barefoot. That lesson was given by the late GrandMaster Chong S. Kim.

Since 1999, I've been to Los Angeles three times with my instructor, Kieth Stewart, to visit martial arts masters residing there. I have to admit that of the Hapkido masters I've met, Master Kim best embodies the spirit of the lifetime martial artist. Friendly, genuine, dedicated, and above all, open with his teachings. On the last two visits we had with him, Master Kim shared some advanced knowledge from his Dan Ki Woon Gong system of meditation and breathing.

I have to admit that the first lesson he gave us was largely lost on me at the time. Master Kim gave us so much information in so short a time, that I lost track of individual techniques and when attempting to practice on my own, made quite a mess of it! The last time we visited was a few months before his death, and we were able to spend over two hours going over much of that same information. This time we made sure to make a record so we could revisit his lessons and make the most of them over time. As with all martial arts, but particularly with "internal" exercises, the experience of learning happens with time and practice. The techniques are a way of beginning a particular path of knowledge that reveals itself very gradually.

In the early weeks of walking barefoot, I began feeling quite energized. My legs, and even my forearms would feel quite tingly and alive. This recalled two lessons from Master Kim. The first came from our second visit (and first lesson), involving seated breathing. He told us to never cross our limbs, and to feel the ground with the balls of our feet, rather than the heel or the sole proper. His explanation was that we could connect to the ground better this way. Experimenting with different motions of my feet in those early walking sessions, I found myself naturally gravitating to a forefoot strike, and actually keeping my heel just a little of the ground while in motion (and often even while standing still, I tend to bounce a fraction of an inch without actually putting my heel fully down). I started to feel a steady flow of "chi" (More on this in a later blog... I have some fairly detailed ideas of what chi is and is not that differs from both "believers" and "skeptics", so stay tuned!), bringing to mind that early lesson. This led me to treat every walk as an energetic exercise as well as a physical one.

One of the last techniques Master Kim showed us, was to breath deep into the dan jun (Anatomically, breathing with the pelvic diaphragm and inflating the space just below and behind the belly button. Also known as the tan tien or dan tien. In yoga, it is the navel chakra or manipura.) and walk with fists clenched and turned out, on the balls of our feet. His words on the benefits were "better than jogging!". After practicing it for a couple of months I can certainly understand why, though I suspect using this technique WHILE jogging will be even better...

I've been gradually incorporating lessons learned from barefooting into the remedial exercise I assign to patients. I'm gaining more and more insight into the nature of posture and the potential for rehabilitating poor posture simply by relearning how to walk. It's not necessary to be barefoot to benefit (though it certainly makes it easier!), but it does require some preparatory exercise for particularly difficult cases. The capacity to walk on the forefoot with knees unlocked is necessary before even beginning to consider barefoot technique.

That's enough for today I think. I'll post more insights as I have them. Send any questions my way if you have any!