These are some of my last personal notes while primarily training with the Stillness module. I had already finished the videos at this point for a while and had begun revisiting the Standing materials to help my mind further differentiate the couples by going back and forth between the two with other movements I was familiar. I think it gives a good picture of what was going on with me as I was about to enter Pearls. It's also kind of interesting how relatively quickly what I was experiencing at that time assembled into the subtle sensations of the Pearls couple after sifu introduced it and this exactly what happened with the Pelvic couple if you look at my previous post. It's pretty fascinating how developing the perception of one really does lead to the possibility of perceiving the next.
SanTi, Planking and the Breath
Some fun new methods for my daily practice. The SanTi and the planking in particular have had some really interesting effects. The planking, I've noticed, increases the sensations of the front and bsck of the U in a way that makes Standing afterwards feel extremely supportive from the back and front, as if im being held up and held in place at the same time. This often highlights new areas of resistance that when released produces some really interesting adjustments/cracks in my lower back. What's interesting about them is that I can in no way affect them, like a normal habitual adjustment of the neck or shoulder. They can only happen by allowing the breath to fill spaces that had just been stretched and conditioned from the planks and they are always spaces I don't normally have that kind of activity without something like a chiropractor. It feels very much like getting out of the way.
Similarly, when practicing SanTi, the extra sensation of stretch from the U helps me feel the cavities of the torso and is slowly beginning to clarify the cavities of the legs to where im beginning to feel the master cavity pull on the leg cavities while bending. The pulling in the foot almost produces a suction like feeling against the floor which after a while really increases signals from the foot couple which, when integrated, really increase the sense of ease from the smiling down and makes the practice of SanTi much more enjoyable than expected.
All of this has set an interesting stage for Sifu introducing his breathing methods as the increased internal context makes breathing practice not only more interesting, but also more full of information regarding these deeper resistances.