Matt Hill
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Matt Hill last won the day on March 19 2018
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Well, I guess I've got a bunch of reading to do! I can't say I have had a direct experience of this during practice, although some interesting things have been discovered. Intellectually I think I understand the concept. We are constantly moulded by the unfolding present. Every deceivingly small event we experience impacting our thoughts and behaviours in some way. Reminds me of Heraclitus - 'A man never enters the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man'. Perhaps a misunderstanding, but in my mind anatta also has some meaning related to the interconnectedness of all things?
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Kit could you please expand on this and also send me towards books that could broaden my understanding on this subject? I've heard similar sentiments echoed in Alexander's work (Alexander technique) about movement patterns, which makes some sense... But I have a fuzzy appreciation for what exactly this means.
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Yes. I understand what you mean, that is what I took away from the workshop I did with him, compared to my time with Kit. ST system is a little more complete from my perspective. The roots in eastern philosophy shine through, which really make a huge difference in this practice. Focus on breathing, relaxation and sensations are where it is at. FRC was good at explaining principles which can be applied creatively to solve problems, allowing experimentation in multiple areas with a little thought... But I agree, lots of jargon and (what felt like) unnecessary deviations from pre-existing terminology. Perhaps the ST teacher training delves more into principles which can be applied? Regardless of it does or doesn't, I plan to take that in the near future. Both are great systems with a lot of similarities and some distinct differences. I think the areas where they don't overlap complement each other very nicely.
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My apologies, I wrote most of this pre-morning coffee and I think it was a little bit incoherent/ what I wrote was incongruent with what I wanted to express. Phrased like this, it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for your thoughts and putting this into perspective of the ST system for me!
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I feel this is just semantics. Perhaps I poorly phrased what I wanted to say. I more so meant that sometimes 'nerve stuff' does come up and if it doesn't leave any negative impact (massive tingling), it can be stretched through in this system. Yes, I figured it was less to do with stretching the nerves and more with the surrounding structures. I've used some of Jen's nerve flossing before, quite useful. This was exactly the instructor was trying to say was bad - a gymnastic pike position. He was against any straight leg forward bend for that matter, because of the sciatic nerve involvement. He advocated that general population should avoid this kind of position and it should only be used by circus artists. Still leaves me a little puzzled as to what he was getting at.
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I recently attended a FRC seminar… Interesting event. Very similar to ST methodology in some ways, with a few fancy names and a slightly greater emphasis on active mobility (pretty cool) and less emphasis on sensations/posture (a little less cool). The lead instructor mentioned something to the effect of "you shouldn’t stretch nerves, unless you’re a trained therapist”. I asked the instructor what he meant by this exactly, but he replied with a rather unconvincing “it’s a freaking nerve man”… I believe he was a bit sleep deprived/jet lagged, so I decided to cut him some slack and leave it at that. This seems to run contrary to how things are done here. As far as I’m aware, we actively hunt after some nerve stretches (e.g. single leg downward dog seems to have a sciatic nerve component... I've also felt some 'nerve stuff' in some of the upper body stretches this system uses) What are the potential risks involved in nerve stretching and what is the correct approach to mitigate these risks?
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I just finished reading a couple older books by Mr Pilates. What strongly worded and interesting reads. The man was clearly very intelligent and has a sound grasp on bodily movement. There were a few affirming head nodding moments, a few thought provoking moment... yet In other places, I can't help but feel he is misguided (from my current perspective). I'm wondering if anybody can save me some time and put the following in context for me:- Pilates focusses on breathing in during flexion movements and breathing out during extension movements. This runs contrary to what I know about the diaphragm's effect on breathing and how other disciplines sequence movement (yoga for example). Pilates noted expending the chest during inhalations and drawing the abdomen in. It seemed as though he didn't believe in breathing into the belly? I have always focused on the breath coming from the stomach predominately, sometimes moving into the chest (aka the yogic complete breath). Pilates contends that the average human spine is deformed - "95% of every 100 persons examined are afflicted with an abnormal spine curvature". I can follow this train of thought, spinal deviations from norm are very rife in our western, sitting, culture... But the following part leaves me at a loss " Anatomists are lead to the false conclusion that since so many have this curvature, that represents the ideal and therefore the normal condition of the human spine " and "the spine of every normal child is straight, the back is perfectly flat". It seems as though he is arguing against the existence of "natural" lordotic and kyphotic curves shown in the spine? Many thanks
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Agreed H2T feels much more calve intensive - also with some sensations running into the glutes for me personally. H2T was only used for a few days of the ballistic work. I achieved it (almost... Leg was still a bit bent) indirectly. Just to clarify for anyone reading - The majority of ballistic was done in a pike position, alongside slower pulses in supported front split.
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Okay, It's been 30 days now since this plan came to action. Wow, time flies by so fast... This has been a great lesson in itself. I'm making a big resolution to myself to optimise my time better and not waste it with unfulfilling actions. I've tried to make the results as objective as I can. I found a video of myself doing a Jefferson curl shortly before this experiment to compare against. There is a mild, yet noticeable difference. Before (left) the box I'm standing on is in-line about an inch or so above the wrist. After the box appears to be in-line with around mid-forearm level. Could I have made the same progress with a 1-2x a week approach? Perhaps. Yet this has been an interesting experiment either way, at the very least for the mental challenge & lessons learned throughout. Subjectively, there is a huge difference in the feeling of moving into end ROM now. It is much more relaxed and pleasant than it has ever been before.
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I could hug you guys. This has just solved a tight line in my body I have been struggling to unlock for around 2 years (a source of great mental frustration). I was starting to submit to the 'fact' that I would just have to live with this. I have ventured many methods to release this tension, but have never found the key to the lock. I have even done this position before in some yoga classes, but apparently it was taught in an incorrect manner. The cue to pull the hip to the floor changed everything. I got a strong sensation into the TFL & Iliacus on the side with knee on the ground & into the piriformis/glutes on the other side. Exactly where I knew I was tight, but haven't been able to target with other positions! I've also suffered from hip impingement, it got really bad at one point where sitting/walking was a chore. While it is become more manageable nowadays after lots of work, it is still present as a pinching sensation in deep ROM. 2minutes in this stretch & I re-tested a deeper hip flexor stretch - no pinching! I then retested a deep squat - the pinching has almost completely disappeared! I'm quite excited to see how the next few months unfold now. My body is going to be a much happier place. Many thanks.
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Day 21 - Progress seems to have slowed down a bit in the pike ballistics. I'm not reaching any further. However, there is definitely a difference in the feeling of it. The ballistics have become slightly more controlled to the same target. Some experimentation with a new stretch today. Placing a leg high up on stall bars, while staying on the toes of the back leg. Pulsing, by bouncing the heel of the back leg towards the floor. This has unlocked parts of my hamstrings I've never felt before. I'm likely going to replace the bent leg split with this for the remainder of this experiment.
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Day 17. After bent leg splits today, my leg just didn't feel fully comfortable in a straight leg position. Rather than force myself into it, I decided to take heed. Out of interest, I tried a couple sets of head to toe. To my surprise (and delight) I managed to get my head there on the left leg, albeit with the bent knee. The right leg still has an inch to go. An interesting mental development - I'm starting to become extremely comfortable with discomfort. In some ways, I'm getting a sense of joy out of it. It's an odd thing. It seems slightly perverse. Yet, I found myself with a huge grin on my face during yesterdays stretching session & a very warm happy feeling. I've had this spontaneously occur in yoga practice before, but never when experiencing this magnitude of discomfort. There isn't any suffering at all going along with the rather intense sensations, I can just see them for what they are - sensations.
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Hello people. It's my first post here, I'd like to start by expressing my gratitude. I've been dwelling the forums for a little bit of time now & there is an amazing wealth of information here. Besides the direct content discussed, theres been a lot of links to other sources which I doubt I would have fallen across myself. Okay, now into the fun stuff. I've been doing a little experiment upon myself, so far, for the last 14 days. I intend to last at least 30 days & if I can stomach it, longer. Pretty high volume, ballistic stretching on the superficial back line. Part of me wants to extend this experiment to other lines in the body, but, with a history of hip impingement which I only recently overcame, I'm very reluctant. Initially this started off as 3 x 60-100 pulses from a pike position. Grasping the elbows and aiming for a target - a stack of books, yoga blocks etc Somewhere down the line, I think around day 6-7, I decided to throw in another 3 x 60-100 pulses from a supported bent leg front split position, on top of the pike pulses. The Pulses here made by leaning the body slightly further across the front leg, while trying to keep a neutral spine. A very small motion. So far it has been going great! Albeit, painful. Some thoughts on this experiment so far:- ROM is steadily improving despite already having already made a lot of headway in the past months. Much faster progress than I had anticipated. My previous practice involved an intense session with Jefferson curls, CR work 1-2x a week. Alongside a 6x a week ashtanga practice There was a mild back ache initially. This was relieved by balancing with more backward bending work & introducing some hanging work to de-compress the spine. I haven't had any major complaints here again since. The first set of pulses are becoming extremely challenging now. The initial level of perceived discomfort is high. Ashtanga yoga seems to have prepared me mentally for this one. I am able to breath and relax, despite the rather intense sensations. My passive flexibility seems to have come much further ahead of my active, which I've heard is a recipe for disaster. It seems my pike compression is what is lacking here, HF strength especially. On this note, what would constitute 'too much' for compression work? I'm willing to push it a little bit here in this experiment, just out of personal interest. If someone has heard of success with high volume here, I'm willing to do high volume... Maybe I've got a couple screws loose in my head from my powerlifting days. Or, perhaps I’m just being naive… But a small part of me thinks more could really = more results here, since we’re dealing with a small muscle group and it’s not going to be particularly stressful to the CNS. Pure strength of course is going to come from lower reps. But in pike compression, am I correct in thinking that the hip flexors/core are acting more in an endurance fashion? (Please someone correct me if I’m going crazy in my train of thought here) My right leg seems to be stuck in external rotation. I can't quite get to the root of this yet... But it's making stretching the hamstrings on this leg more difficult & impeding progress. Probably related, I struggle to get sensations in piriformis/glute stretches on this leg. Find below where I was bouncing to in day 1 vs day 14. Also a slightly sloppy pike (legs apart), after being squashed down a little by my girlfriend , no-way I could get this deep into the position myself yet.