tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post7502147511546779668..comments2023-10-11T10:15:08.092-04:00Comments on Internal Gong Fu: Lower Back: Arch, Drop, and TuckMike at internalgongfu.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16522311573919277909noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post-8224946116012626822011-10-30T02:54:30.948-04:002011-10-30T02:54:30.948-04:00Very helpful post. I Study Yi-Chuan. Hurt lower b...Very helpful post. I Study Yi-Chuan. Hurt lower back recently shoveling, yard work last week. <br /><br />My teacher only encouraged the 'tuck' first couple of years, as back loosened and 'dropped' he stopped mentioning it to me. <br /><br />My injury though felt like a ligament, a connection below the spine on the left, top of the pelvic girdle. Probably part of the psoas. I'm wondering if I over extended something that I've recently loosened from 4 years of zan zhuang. <br /><br />The folks who do Rolfing talk about releasing habitual tension in the tendons and ligaments. I think that happens with zz, too, and that we have to be careful as we retrain our 'connections' for inner strength. <br /><br />Thanks for this post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post-50805780467835154282011-07-11T12:10:57.657-04:002011-07-11T12:10:57.657-04:00Learner,
I hear you! The pelvis is a really tricky...Learner,<br />I hear you! The pelvis is a really tricky area to figure out! <br /><br />As your relaxing progresses, the arch in the lower back can flatten naturally. I think many teachers try to force this flattening by forcing the other direction. You can't force relax!<br /><br />Connection throughout the body is achieved through relaxing with intention. Drop is achieved through relax.<br /><br />When tuck is forced and not relaxed, tuck introduces a break in the "connection chain" between top and bottom and so those who tuck can actually have weaker structures than those who drop/relax.<br /><br />MikeMike at internalgongfu.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16522311573919277909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post-24523745523085467142011-07-09T01:49:20.773-04:002011-07-09T01:49:20.773-04:00The tuck is supposed to help you connect the top h...The tuck is supposed to help you connect the top half of your body to the body half. Does doing the drop achieve the same effect? Does the body structure hold up to a push? I'm also having difficulties around these same points? Thanks ofr sharing.TheLearnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post-62967789802976570892010-04-01T13:02:32.936-04:002010-04-01T13:02:32.936-04:00Ulyart,
I played with what you described and it fe...Ulyart,<br />I played with what you described and it feels like tucking tends to tension and concavity in the front pulling the head forward, and arching tends to tension and concavity in the back thrusting the chest out and head back. Both these positions feel "natural" to me probably due to my particular muscular holding patterns and habits.<br /><br />I played combining these two structures; with tucking and pushing the chest out with head back and with arching and hunching with head forward, and in both, I feel quite a bit of "un-natural" tension.<br /><br />What I'm looking for is that place where the muscle balance is equally relaxed because the more the top relaxes (without losing structure), the more weight sinks into my legs.<br /><br />MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3926482844100900134.post-30392994632417673282010-03-24T07:31:22.680-04:002010-03-24T07:31:22.680-04:00Thanks for sharing this. The stick figure drawings...Thanks for sharing this. The stick figure drawings are very helpful. <br /><br />There's something I've noticed in my practice, and was wondering if this corresponds to your experience... (and I ask this because you don't explicitly show it in the stick figures) <br /><br />... and that's that the tuck tends to co-exist with a tendency to bring the head forward to compensate, while the arch leads to the head leaning slightly backwards.<br /><br />My Alexander Technique teacher doesn't use the terms "Tuck, Drop and Arch". Rather, he speaks in terms of the dangers of excessive concavity in the back, and how a slight intention of convexity is healthier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com