CHI KUNG en CENTERED RIDING #2
Centered Riding is een methode binnen het paardrijden en rijinstructie, dat de ruiter tracht te helpen door deze gecentreerd en uitgebalanceerd is in het zadel te laten zitten. Centered Riding bevat elementen uit de traditionele martiale kunsten, Feldenkrais en Alexander Techniek. Het werd ontwikkeld Sally Swift (1913-2009). Vier essentiele componenten van Centered Riding zijn ‘zachte ogen’, ademhaling, balans en centreren.
Met een goede, diepe ademhaling komt je zwaartepunt lager te liggen en kan de energie ongehinderd door je lichaam stromen. Hierdoor beweeg je soepeler en blokkeer je je paard niet. Wanneer je je adem inhoudt, bijvoorbeeld onbewust of wanneer je iets spannend vindt, creëer je spanning in je paard. Wanneer je je ademhaling onder controle heb kun je deze gebruiken om je paard harder of zachter te laten lopen of terug te komen in gang. Hulpen worden efficiënter en onzichtbaar, en je paard wordt rustiger. https://natuurlijkpaarden.nl/centered-riding/
De onderstaande tekst komt uit: The Dynamics of Standing Still door Peter den Dekker
AN ICING SYRINGE
The oxygen which gives life to your body is absorbed into your blood through the delicate membrane of your lungs. Besides that, carbon-dioxide is exchanged with the environment. But while the lungs absorb the oxygen, they are not responsible for the movement which makes the inbreath possible. The lungs themselves contain no muscles.
Some of the breathing movement comes from small muscles around the lungs, located in between the ribs, and from certain muscles in the shoulders and upper back. However, the main force behind the breathing comes from the diaphragm - a dome-shaped structure just below the lungs, and above the abdominal organs, attached at the inside of the ribcage. the diaphragm functions like a piston in a cylinder. When contracting and moving down it creates a vacuum in the lungs, thus creating the inbreath. When it relaxes, it returns to its dome-like shape, pushing air out of the lungs as you breathe out. This simple cycle of contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm is what creates full and natural breathing.
MUSHROOM AND STALK
A closer look at the anatomy of the diaphragm reveals a form similar to a mushroom. The muscular stalk (there are actually two stalks, named crura) is attached to the front of the lower spine. When the muscular tissue of the hood contracts and the crura contract, the diaphragm moves downward. As a result of the downward movement air flows straight down into the lungs.
When you stand or sit with a straight back and breathe in deeply, you will notice the forward curve of the lower spine increasing slightly. This is because the crura are attached at the front of the lower spine (around the upper four lumbar vertebrae), and pull it forward.
A LONG BREATH
Looking even deeper inside the body structure, you will see that the crura, at their attachment-point at the front of the spine, are intertwined with a muscle called the psoas (pronounced ‘so-ass’). These muscles are very closely related, sharing the same alignment and connective tissue. Functionally the two strands of the psoas assist the breathing function of the crura and diaphragm by stabilizing the lower back. The correct function of the psoas results in deeper and even more effortless breathing.
In the traditional somatic disciplines of the Far East, the midpoint of the two psoas muscles is seen as the lowest focal point for breathing. Together with other central body tissues it forms the lower dan tian, the vital centre where breathing and physical movement really start from, not only for martial artists, but for dancers, singers and athletes too. In the Gathering Posture the two hands lay on the lower dan tian, and at the same time the hips sit down. This dual action activates the psoas and awakens this low breathing centre, making the breath longer and deeper.
