Lecture 3: Unmeśas with Springing & Momentum

Spring up with Unmeshas

It’s no coincidence that unmeshas are said to “spring up”, because this in between space is also where we can find our spring.

The reason for this is that transitioning between Shakti flows implies a larger swath of movement than we usually encounter when transitions between poses on the same level— ie. Going from seated to to kneeling requires more body parts to move than simply moving around on your seat.

To make these larger movement transitions we need to unite our fascial lines and utilize their natural springiness— this kind of efffortless effort is primarily accomplished through working with momentum and spiraling.

At first you might think that springing, spiraling and momentum are something that only an acrobats or advanced practitioners can do— but you might be surprised to find out that this is actually the most natural and supportive ways you can move, and are accessible by all ages of practioner when taught skillfully, and are in fact easier on your joints, muscles and ligaments, as well as more engaging to your awareness.

Springing & Swinging are the building blocks of our fascia

Fascia is composed of collagen, which has the unique ability to both provide strong structural support while also allowing for stretch and spring. For example, the kind of steel used in a sky scraper is called 'mild steel' and it's strength is measured both by it's ability to withstand pressure, but also it's ability to bend and move under pressure. This allows the tall buildings to literally sway a little with earthquakes or big winds, instead of break.

The collagen of our fascia is much the same, providing both structural integrity as well as structural mobility.As fascial researched David Lesondak writes, "Gram for gram, Type 1 collagen is stronger than steel, thus it can withstand tremendous force and still be able to bend with the wind."

This elastic material, collagen, is organized in wave like patterns, like a spring, in order to enable it to store and release energy mechanically as we move. This is the magic that makes walking an almost calorie free movement-- the energy used to take one step is literally rebounded through your fascia to take the next step, like a ball bouncing on the ground. Once the ball is bouncing we only have to apply a little energy to keep it bouncing.

The rebound quality in the tendons of animals like Antelopes, gazelles, kangaroos allow them to perform at levels far beyond their muscle strength could ever explain. But moving with spring is not just about feats of strength, it's also about sustainability and everyday health.

you are familiar with the usual transitions and could probably string your shakti flows together without much effort

belly push back to kneeling

step forward lunge

stand-up

these standard transitions are actually quite challenging for a lot of people because they rely on pure muscle and coordination without the benefits of spring or momentum which would naturally endow their movement with those qualities.

So instead of blaming the student for an inability to perform a ‘standard linear movement’ we can actaully look back at the movement itself and make sure it is working with, not against, our natural abilities.

Our fascial system is built to spring, and when that spring isn't there we might be able to muscle our way through it for a while, until something gives out.

We've all witnessed this natural spring by simply watching kids "bounce off the walls," quite literally. Their fascial collagen is loaded with spring and well organized in its wave like patterns.

As we grow older, we somehow expect to lose this spring, but like any well designed mechanical apparatus in your home, if you take care of it it can last a lifetime.

What we see in our fascia is that when we don't move, it loses it's patterning, and thus it's spring. WIth just 5 minutes a day, you can repattern the spring in your fascia and bring the spring back in your step on and off the mat.

a few fun examples of individuals putting the spring back in their fascia

In World War Two, women joined the factory work force and at first had trouble moving the heavy objects using the methods developed by men. They soon discovered that if they could use momentum, and spring the boxes from one spot to another, their productivity was just as good as their male predecessors.

wing chun is the only martial art form created by a woman, one of it’s most famous students being Bruce Lee, and it is world renowned for its strength and power, and it is based on the spring strength in our fascia.

Ways we can incorporate springing/swinging into our classes via transitions

Arm Springs

from table to kneeling

from table to facing a different direciton on mat

Leg Springs

From tadasana to straddle

from one edge of mat to another

from one direction on mat to another

Crouch Springs

down dog to lunge springs

Anjaney stand up spring

rolling up from back springs

seated kneel to parighasana