Chinese Healing Exercises (16 page)

Get the movement to flow smoothly. Your arms should always be rotating, your hands should always remain in contact, and your elbows should come into contact (or as close as possible) whenever you return to or pass through the starting position. Do your best to keep your shoulders from lifting toward your ears throughout. That keeps the focus of the shoulder movement within the shoulder blade region. There is no set number of repetitions for this exercise. Work on it until you get completely comfortable with it (may take a few weeks), and then do it as long as you like until your arms, shoulders, upper back, and neck feel more open and relaxed. As with all the exercises here, there should never be a sense of strain or overwork during or after the exercise.

Notice that in this variation, you've done 25 percent of your arm rotation during the first 180-degree arc, from where your hands are palm up in front of you through where the backs of your hands are together with fingertips pointing toward your chest. The remaining 75 percent of the arm rotation occurs during the second 180-degree arc as you return to starting position. While you have to rotate your arms faster during the second half, this is a slightly easier variation, better for someone who is unfamiliar with these types of body movements and therefore whose body is probably less open. With some practice, as you become more familiar and your body opens more fully, you can try a second variation. The only difference here is that the arm rotation fully matches the bending and stretching of the arms so that when your fingertips are pointed toward your chest, your palms again face fully upward. The difference is that when your arms are straight in front of you, the index finger sides of your hands are together, and when your fingertips are facing your chest, the little finger side of your hands are together.

Tip:
Advanced practitioners familiar with neigong can add two more components for markedly increased benefit. A spinal C curve can be added to the arm movement, so that the spine is curved when arms are extended in front of you, and straightens as the fingertips point toward your chest. Add reverse breathing, inhaling as the spine curves, exhaling as it straightens. This markedly increases the gapping of the vertebrae, stretches the spinal cord to improve its elasticity and discharge nerve tension, strongly massages the internal organs, increases benefit to the Heart and Lungs, and increases qi and blood circulation through the arms, back, and spine.
Caution:
Do not attempt this variation unless you have neigong training specifically in the C curve and reverse breathing. They are not practices than can be safely and accurately learned from a book or video.

9. Kneeling Forearm Stretch

Purpose

Physical:
This is one of the few stretches that targets the forearms, lengthening those muscles. Additionally, this opens the hands and fingers. Most of the hand and finger muscles attach somewhere in the forearm, so the stretches are mutually supportive. Almost all daily activities involve grasping or otherwise closing the hands, which over time can tighten and shorten the muscles of the hand and forearm. This stretch, opposite to the grasping and closing movements, reverses that tendency.

Energetic:
Stimulates qi flow through the forearm portion of the arm meridians, primarily opening the Arm Yin meridians (Lung, Heart, Pericardium), while temporarily closing the Yang meridians (Large and Small Intestines, Sanjiao); opens and stimulates the Ying Spring, Shu Stream, and Jing River points located around the hands and wrists, and the He Sea points around the elbows; energetically benefits the whole body through the Daoist Five Element correspondences with each of the five fingers. See Finger and Hand Exercise 2: Backward Finger Extension and Stretch for more details. Opens the Laogong point at the center of the palms.

Techniques used

Extension and stretch, tissue lengthening, focused breathing.

Method

Kneeling with your knees close together, on a mat or other soft surface to protect your knees, place your hands palm down on the ground, fingers pointing toward you, with the little fingers of each hand touching
(
Fig 5.8
on next page
).
The closer you place your fingertips to your knees, the easier the stretch will be. The farther away, the greater the stretch and so the greater the difficulty. To begin, place your fingertips very close to your knees, even touching them if you want, with your body leaning forward so that your forearms are perpendicular to the ground. Gradually move your butt to your heels, increasing the stretch in your forearms and hands
(
Fig 5.9
).
If you can easily sit on your heels, lean forward to your starting position and move your hands farther from your knees. Again, gradually move your butt toward your heels, increasing the forearm stretch. When you reach the current limit of your stretch where it just begins to be uncomfortable, use guided breathing to relax in that posture, releasing the discomfort along with any tension on each exhale. You may find that you can slightly increase the stretch as you become more relaxed. You should not feel like the backs of your wrists are jammed tightly shut, like bone is pressing on bone. If that happens, lean your body forward just enough to open the backs of your wrists a bit while keeping the stretch in your forearms and hands.

Once you are able to do this stretch comfortably with your fingers a few inches in front of your knees, sitting all the way back on your heels, you can combine this with the seated toe stretches in the Seated Foot exercises section.

10. Prayer Hands Behind Back

Purpose

Physical:
This is a continuation of the previous exercise. Initially, you may not be able to do this one, but after practicing the Kneeling Forearm Stretch for some time, it will become easier. The next exercise, Interlocking Fingers behind Back, can also help you with this one, depending on where your particular restriction may be.

The previous exercise addresses the forearm and the entire front of the wrist. This one has a slightly greater focus on the little finger side of the wrist and forearm, in both the muscles and the joints. As such, it is more useful in addressing ulnar nerve problems. This also opens the front of the chest and stretches the front of the shoulders, benefiting the anterior deltoids (front shoulder muscles), the pectoral muscles (upper chest muscles), and the joint spaces where the front of the ribs attach to the sternum (breast bone).

Energetic:
Same as for the Kneeling Forearm Stretch. Additionally, this has a stronger focus on the Heart and Small Intestine meridians, providing more of a benefit for those organs and energy systems. Opening the front of the chest in this way, the front of the Shoulder's Nests are opened, and energetically benefits the Lungs. Opening the front of the chest further benefits the heart, and opens the acupuncture point called Tan Zhong, at the center of the chest. That too benefits the Lungs, and positively influences the qi of the entire body.

Techniques used

Extension and stretch, tissue lengthening, Daoist yoga, focused breathing.

Method

Standing, or seated with no back obstructions, place the backs of your hands on your low back, fingertips touching. Keep your fingertips touching, and gradually move your hands up your back. You will naturally begin to point your fingers upward, and move your palms closer together. Your goal is to move your hands high enough up your back so that you can touch your palms together completely, in a prayer position, with the little finger edge of your hands staying in contact with your back
(
Fig 5.10
).
Once you attain that position, begin focused breathing, breathing into the stretch and releasing any tension you may feel with each exhalation. Gradually increase the stretch by moving your elbows rearward. That will further open the front of your chest and shoulders, and open the little finger edge of your wrists.

11. Interlocking Fingers behind Back—A Shoulder Stretch

Purpose

Physical:
Opens the front of the shoulders, provides a rotational stretch to access muscles that are more difficult to stretch in other ways.

Energetic:
Opens the Shoulder's Nests, benefits the Lungs, releases local channel obstruction (shoulder pain from qi and blood stagnation). Opens the armpit (the bottom portion of the Shoulder's Nests), benefits the Heart. The external portion of the Heart meridian enters the torso at the center of the armpit.

Techniques used

Standard stretch, rotational stretch, tissue lengthening, Daoist yoga, focused breathing.

Method

Standing, or seated with no back obstructions, place the back of your left hand on your low back, palm facing rearward. Keeping the back of your hand in contact with your back, move it upward as high as possible so that your fingertips point upward toward the sky, or as close as you can get to that. Hold your right arm straight up, by the right side of your head, fingers pointing to the sky. Then bend your right elbow so that your hand can reach behind your back, palm touching your back, with your right elbow now pointing upward. If the fingertips of each hand can touch, curl the fingers of each hand into hooks, so they interlock
(
Fig 5.11
).
This will pull your left arm higher up your back, increasing the stretch to the front of your left shoulder and the rotational stretch inside the shoulder joint. There will also be an increased stretch in your right armpit and along the right triceps.