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the range where it cracks it will feel sore if held in that position These areas feel brittle
because they are frail from disuse Once you have found a position like this you want to gently
contract the muscles involved while engaging in paced breathing
At first it feels unnatural to hold a posture that cracks for a prolonged period Your impulse
will be to achieve the crack and allow the muscles to relax immediately thereafter Avoid this
inclination Whether the joint cracks is not important What is important is that you take your
time stretching and flexing into the joint configurations susceptible to cracking Cracking
provides temporary relief from joint pain through the release of endorphins but does not heal
tension You want permanent relief that is provided only by strengthening the joint and the
muscles surrounding it
Antirigidity Protocol
Find a contraction or active stretch that feels stiff and achy when held This often
involves an unfamiliar position or posture and leads to cracking at the joint The point
where this configuration cracks is the most in need of rehab Engage stabilize and hold
the position until it fatigues This usually takes between five and seconds
Hold the general parameters of the posture while varying others Move the joint
dynamically utilizing its range of motion in every possible vector flexing into the ones
that seem the stiffest or sorest If you can continually reposition you can approach the
problem from different angles Antirigidity can be done with concentric contractions
in which the muscle shortens eccentric contractions in which the muscle lengthens
or isometric contractions in which the muscle does not change length
Allow the area at least seconds of complete rest before you try again Use this respite
to recognize what the muscle feels like when it is completely resting
Stimulate dormant muscles throughout the body in this way while breathing correctly
As long as you are breathing diaphragmatically you should feel the ache diminish in a
matter of seconds At first the ache may be so intense that it makes paced breathing
difficult In that case just ensure that you are taking long passive exhalations You can
facilitate this by taking deep inhalations through the mouth and then puckering your lips
and blowing out for as long as possible to reinforce the relaxation response
After your antirigidity training session it is essential to allow these muscles to relax
completely so lie down employing the corpse pose body scan or progressive muscle
relaxation from Chapter and let the contractions subside
Start by targeting raw and achy areas in your shoulders neck back and hips This achiness is
the deep somatic pain and myalgia that we discussed in Chapter Search for this discomfort
within your unexplored end ranges of motion It helps to position yourself in ways that are out
of the ordinary Wiggle and writhe in these positions as you hunt for tissue to restore
Chapter Antirigidity Therapy Bring Dormant Muscle to Fatigue
Gently jostle the muscles to get them moving Start with what you can find and then spend the
most time in the configurations you would like to heal You are hunting for that crick in the
neck tweak in the shoulder and twinge in the lower back By the time you have used anti
rigidity to dispel all the achiness from your body your posture will be statuesque
Antirigidity Activity Sense the Tightness in Your Shoulders
Stand or sit with your hands on your hips Keep your hands there and press your elbows out
in front of you You should feel a tight stiff sensation in your upper back shoulders and
arms This is the aching sensation that am asking you to locate throughout your body Play
with the posture gently shrugging bending your elbows and flapping the arms Use the anti
rigidity protocol above to find sore muscles while stretching and contracting within this pose
Ilustration Antirigidity for the shoulders
Antirigidity Activity Contract Dormant Muscle in the Neck
Locate the achy muscles in your neck There should be many uncomfortable positions that
feel sore and crack Try looking up as far as you can while rotating your head to both sides
Try looking down as far as you can and then to both sides Try touching your chin to your
chest and then tilting your head to each side Try touching your chin to each shoulder
repeatedly When you find an uncomfortable position hold it for several seconds while
maintaining paced breathing
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Illustration Antirigidity for the neck
As you work through these tender areas integral sections of your body will start to
open up You might ask yourself Is this whole region going to become unlocked and available
to me Yes it will If you keep practicing eventually it will all come unglued Below are
illustrations of some antirigidity poses that will help you to expose and recondition frailty
As you practice these you will inevitably come up with poses of your own that are better suited
for your particular strain pattern
igue
tirigidity Therapy Bring Dormant Muscle to Fat
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PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
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Chapter Antirigidity Therapy Bring Dormant Muscle to Fatigue
At first antirigidity work feels unnatural but after a while your muscles will thirst for it
and you will find yourself doing it without realizing it Relish the alleviation of the ache Bask in
the sensation of sending fresh blood through dormant tissue Memorize the sensorial signature
of tensity It feels a little like the gnawing burn that accompanies lactic acid buildup It is also
similar to the soreness you feel when massaged Antirigidity will help you locate the best
candidates for compression and percussion If for example you used antirigidity to identify
the precise location of tightness to the right of your lower cervical spine you should then try to
compress it Using massage to release muscles after antirigidity training will allow them to fully
relax so they can heal
After antirigidity the muscle you treated will have increased blood flow for several hours
This means that any other activity or exercise you perform during this time will recruit that
muscle and condition it to be more easily recruited in the future However within just a few
hours of disuse the muscles will stagnate again The more frequently you refresh dormant
muscles with antirigidity the faster they will come out of dormancy recommend using it
before and after long periods of sitting upon waking before bed and after your usual
exercise routine
Using antirigidity you teach your brain to control muscle that it has come to ignore
through learned disuse You are actively relearning how to incorporate these neglected muscles
into your daily routines and overall posture This will develop your proprioceptive awareness
knowledge about where your muscles are in space and kinesthetic awareness ability to
coordinate muscles cohesively while enhancing neuromuscular coordination and agility
Antirigidity will also reduce the fidgeting and restlessness that painful dormant muscle causes
It might look strange to others but dont worry about that Feel comfortable performing
antirigidity training wherever you go whether in front of friends or in public believe that
antirigidity therapy is one of the most beneficial somatic selfhealing techniques available
How Antirigidity Works
Antirigidity causes mechanical deformations in muscle that result in cascades of beneficial