This Practice can give you a first hand experience of how you can use your own personal speed governor to regulate the overall speed of your system. Coming in touch with “too much and too little” will help you to find the Goldilocks place of “juusst right.”
In Seishindo workshops we usually work with people sitting on large rubber physiotherapy balls. Use a ball for this Practice if you have one. If not simply sit on a regular chair. Sit approximately half as far back on the chair as you usually would when resting against the back of the chair.
Read through the instructions once or twice or more before actually doing the Practice. You will usually get the best results once you are able to do the Practice without needing to read the instructions as you perform.
1. Bounce you torso up and down in small but energetic bounces. There is no need to have your butt leave the chair or ball, but small energetic bounces are what you want.
As you bounce quickly, slowly and deeply breathe in and out. Continue bouncing and breathe in and out slowly and deeply for a second round.
2. On your third round of bouncing and breathing, inhale and then hold you breath as you continue to bounce. Don’t overdo it, but hold your breath as you bounce until you feel like you really need to let it go quickly, and then do so.
3. Perform step 1. again, and this time on the third round of breathing, fully exhale and hold your breath when you reach the end of your exhale. Continue bouncing, and just like before, don’t overdo it, but hold your breath as you bounce until you feel like you really need to all of a sudden breathe in, and then do so.
4. Sit up straight, and sit calmly for one full minute, breathe as you like, while noticing the feeling of your body, and your surroundings.
5. Now slump over a good amount and sit in a slumped, passive posture. As you sit there slumped over count from one to fifteen as you blink your eyes to each count. Count slowly in the following fashion, “One thousand one (blink), One thousand two (blink), One thousand three (blink).” Two counts for an inhale, and two counts for an exhale.
6. When you reach “16” keep your eyes shut inhale fully and hold your breath as before, until you feel a strong need to exhale. As you exhale open your eyes.
7. Stay slumped and run through the same pattern from 1-16, but this time when you reach 16, keep your eyes shut, exhale fully and hold your breath as before, until you feel a strong desire to inhale. As you inhale open your eyes.
8. Sit up straight, and sit calmly for one full minute, breathe as you like, while noticing the feeling of your body, and your surroundings.
9. Sitting up straight, bob your head two times towards your left shoulder as if you were very lightly trying to touch your left ear to your left shoulder (as you count internally “1, 2”) and then bob your head two times towards your right shoulder as if you were very lightly trying to touch your right ear to your right shoulder, (as you count internally “3, 4”). As you head bobs to the left and you count “1, 2” you inhale. As your head bobs to the right and you count “3, 4” you exhale. Be certain to continue to sit straight as you do this.
Continue with “5, 6” to the left again, then “7, 8” to the right, breathing all the while, and continuing all the way until you go back and forth and reach “15, 16”.
10. Sit up straight, and sit calmly for one full minute, breathe as you like, while noticing the feeling of your body, and your surroundings.
11. Now bob your head and touch your chin twice to your chest, as you count “1, 2” and inhale. Then bob your head back being careful to stay within your range of comfort, as if you were lightly trying to touch the top back of your head to your spine, and you count “3, 4” and exhale. Bobbing back towards your chest with the count of “5, 6” and you inhale. Bobbing back towards you back with an exhale and the count of “7, 8”. Continue all the way through until “15, 16”.
12. Sit up straight, and sit calmly for one full minute, breathe as you like, while noticing the feeling of your body, and your surroundings.
13. Briskly turn your head twice to the left as if you were wanting to look over your left shoulder, as you inhale and count “1, 2”. Then briskly turn your head twice to the right as you exhale and count “3, 4”. Continue back and forth until you reach “15, 16”.
14. Sit up straight, and sit calmly for one full minute, breathe as you like, while noticing the feeling of your body, and your surroundings.
For each person this experience will be different.
If you are feeling in a calm, relaxed “steady state” rejoice in the feeling.
If not that is also fine, because it gives you the opportunity to cycle through any or all of the above protocol again.
Eventually more or less, depending on where you start from, you will reach a steady state for today, and then you can do it all over again tomorrow and reach another steady state.
The experience is in the Practice, not in reaching a state of completion.
Cycle through this Practice over and over again, for a long time to come.