I'd like to do a seated Dao Yin practice with you that is called Shaking the Heavenly Pillar.
That's the original name for it.
Actually,
There's not a whole lot of shaking going on.
Did I just make that up?
But there is a turning of the spine.
There is a way in which this practice is working with some of the gestures that we've connected with today.
And it's wonderful for the heavenly pillars,
The golden column of the spine into the head.
So this is a wonderful variation of spinal spiraling and has its own unique features to it.
This especially opens up the cervical vertebrae,
The head and the neck.
So honor your body.
We're not forcing any particular features here.
Let me share this practice with you and show you the dynamics of it,
And then we'll do it as a flow.
So we're going to begin here with extending out to the side and pressing the palms lightly to the back.
And we're going to lightly turn to one side.
So in the same way that we did Dancing Crane like this,
We're keeping the arms long,
But I'm turning the pillar of the spine like a spinal staircase.
Now I'm only coming a few degrees to the side to feel with the arms extended the whole spine opens up very nicely.
Don't force anything.
Listen to your own body.
So we turn to the side.
There's an exhale.
As you come to the front,
You're going to bring the side that we were turning to that's on the top.
So we have the dragon's pearl here.
We're going to press both palms down straight to the center.
So that sequence,
Once again,
Is the in-breath,
Exhale,
In-breath.
And as you in-breath and come to the center,
There it is.
Press,
Connect with the palms down.
Then what we're going to do is bring this cradle to kind of the hip socket of this side.
And you'll lightly press down now as you look to the opposite side.
So you're pressing here,
Not with a lot of strength and lifting the shoulders,
But just a little press.
Return that to the center.
In-breath.
Then we do the other side.
You can practice this part with me and then we'll do it as a flow in just a moment.
So the palms are facing backward.
Exhale.
As you in-breath,
Now this side is on top,
This side's on the bottom,
And you exhale down.
In-breath.
As you take this cradle over to this leg,
This kind of this hip joint,
As you press down and exhale,
You look to the opposite side.
So that's pressing down palm against palm,
Not with a lot of strength.
And then in-breath.
Then we'll open out and do the other side.
The reason I wanted to show that to you is because you're going to be turning a little bit from the side to side,
So it's hard to see and do the practice at the same time.
This is a good way to learn it.
Let's practice this golden pillar,
The central column balancing heaven and earth here inside the body.
So it begins here.
In-breath.
Palms spiral to the back.
Exhale.
In-breath.
As you return to the center,
Exhale palms,
Palm to palm,
Down.
In-breath.
Flow that cradle to the side and press down lightly.
Lengthen the spine and look to the side.
Easy does it,
Always.
In-breath.
Rest the palms out.
There's your exhalation.
Now we're spiraling to this side,
Completing the exhalation.
In-breath to the center.
Exhale.
Press down.
In-breath.
Now,
Cradle.
Press on that side.
Exhale.
Lengthen the spine.
Look a little bit to the side,
Best you can.
Not overdoing.
In-breath.
And exhale.
In-breath.
Palms to the back.
Exhale.
Spiral to the side.
In-breath to the center.
Exhale down.
In-breath.
Ex.
In-breath.
And ex.
And ex.
In-breath as you return to the center.
Exhale.
In-breath.
And now exhale as you spiral.
Lengthen the spine.
Turn the head.
Let's do this sequence one more time.
In-breath.
Ex.
Ex.
In-breath.
And ex.
In-breath.
Exhale down.
Good.
In-breath.
And now exhale as you spiral.
In-breath returns you to the center.
Exhale.
Ex.
As you spiral to the side.
In-breath.
Exhale.
Press down.
In-breath.
Exhale.
Spiral.
So now relax along that central column.
Feel how these various gestures connected with the breath kind of enhance the warmth,
The openness of the spine.
Energetic central column.
Just sit with this feeling the the radiance,
The warmth,
The energy of the central column.
Of course in the manifest it is connected with the brain and nervous system,
The fluid space,
The tensile space of the bones,
Muscles,
Tendons,
Fluid,
Myofascial features.
Just easy in here you can take a moment to feel the natural abdominal breathing and the golden radiant nature of this central field of the body.
Connect with this as a healing meditation.
Relaxed presence of clear open attention in the field of the radiance of the central column.
You may like to relax the focus of your attention from the field of the head and the eyes and the jaw through the heart,
The lungs,
Resting now in the lower dantian.
Natural abdominal breathing in itself a premier practice for us.
For just another minute or so staying with the waves of the breath,
Staying with the rhythm of the breath.
As if you were watching the waves of the ocean as you're sitting on a gentle shore of the ocean listening,
Watching,
Being present to the waves flow in,
The waves flow out.
Now it's the breath.
The radiance of this central column connects us with earth,
Connects us with the sky,
With the universe,
Between proverbial heaven and earth.
We find ourselves in this mystery of life.
Practicing with the skills of our ancients,
Making them our own in our own time.
