五鬆 · Wu Song (5 Relaxation / Loosening / Releasing Methods)

hello back everyone as i  announced already in the previous   video now it's going to be time and go a little  bit deeper into the different methods and   that means you will need to learn just a few  concepts a few ideas about the chinese way   of thinking about the world and thinking also  about the different areas of yourself that we need   to take into consideration so but nevertheless  without confusing you too much at the moment   the methods that we would like  to share with you right now   are going to be the wu song meaning it's the  five loosening or the five relaxation methods after this small theoretical introduction  you will have the chance to simply join in   directly i will demonstrate the practices together  with one of my students with one of my disciples   it's approximately going to be a one  hour session but before we are jumping   into the practice there are a few things that  i would like to share with you so for example the method is called wu song so the  song sometimes translates as relaxation   loosening or releasing or getting rid of something  or also you can name it as being in a state   free of stress free of tension but already with  the first exercise which is to clench the fists   you might ask yourself what does clenching the  fist and relaxation or loosening of the body   or being stress-free within the body has  to do with the clenching of the fists well at the first glance maybe not so much but here  comes the point where i would really like to   point out something which is going to be a quite  common method that you will find throughout the   whole range of practices that exist in the  chinese martial arts so and this approach is also when you look at the monastery everybody who  is coming here into our temple who is dealing with   the different types of methods what we  ultimately want simply is to be free   but the heart structure the way how things  are organized within this monastery at the   first glance that doesn't really look free because  everything has a place everything has a structure   everything has an order but the principle behind  it is we want to have freedom but therefore   we need to learn and deal with the  restrictions and everything that is limiting us in the same amount in the same way  it means we want to have a loose   a relaxed a stress-free state of different  areas of our body and the approach in   order to achieve this is also by using  its opposite so meaning by using tension   in this case now it's very very important  that you use all the tension and   the hardest tension and the highest intensity that  you are also able to generate inside of yourself so there are two things right now  again i need to point out number one is   if you want relaxation you need to learn  what is tension this is the point number one   and the second point is that you also  slowly step by step try and identify   for yourself the existence of  exactly those two different states   in general we talk about a loose state a released  state or a relaxed state a stress-free straight a stress-free state on the other side we have  the part which is full of tension which is all   on fire and which is all about compressing  and stagnating your strength or your energy   now you need to identify in which of  these two states are all your different   parts of the body the more fine the more  detailed you can become in identifying how are your legs how are your arms in  which of both of these states is your chest if you try and feel into your belly  area how does your belly area feel   is it loose is it tense is it something in between  if you think it is loose is it possible that   there is another state which is even more loose  so the practice of the wu song not just only   starts to increase your ability to identify  very clearly those two different states   which are necessary as a qigong practitioner  and as a martial art practitioner   but also to learn after you identify  these states to learn and deepen them   or on the other side strengthen them the  state of release the loosening state becomes   more loose and the strong part the  strengthening state becomes more strong   this is just a small principle but a very very  important one that you need to use the mind and stay also in this way of observing yourself  while you are doing the practices in all   five of these practices it's regardless now how  each of these five exercises looks right now   i am talking about the underlying principle how  you are supposed to practice these exercises so the second area now for example is take your hand yeah it's not only in the chinese martial  arts or in the taoist view of things   about the balance of yin and yang  to go a step more deep also means   that it is about the balance of all  five elements that are being regarded   and are being represented of different areas  of our body that you also find not just in   our organs but also in your fingers and to give  you a small idea what it means for the practice   and also why it is important to slowly also  learn about these concepts i will explain to you   afterwards but number one you take the sump which  is representative for example of the earth element   and one way how you can imagine why does the  earth why does the sun is standing for the earth   because if everything is all right and the sun  is standing upright then you are standing stable   then you are grounded to the earth and that's why  that some is simply a sign of stability a sign   of steadiness a sign of being grounded now the  second one we take the index finger the finger   which is pointing out in different directions  and which at the same time we say in the chinese   martial arts is also very close connected to the  so-called third eye so wherever you are pointing wherever the index finger is pointing it is also  an indication of where your focus of where your   visor is is aiming at and as a representative  our index finger is standing for the   wood element now the third finger yeah it's i'm  not quite sure how i'm supposed to show you now   third finger without insulting you but let's make  it like this so yeah the third finger is if you   watch at all five of them it is the longest finger  it is that one finger which is standing tallest   amongst all other five meaning it is the one  in the first line it is the one which is in the   attacking line it is the one which is  moving forward the first it is the most   active one the most active one being represented  in the chinese way of seeing the elements by fire the ring finger as an element sometimes related with the  element metal or sometimes also other people say   it is gold so you can either remember it is  the golden one because this is where you put   the ring when you are getting married or it is the  finger which is representing the metal element so   one actually very nice way to remember so what  is the ring finger for why is it related to metal   and what is its emphasis it is in a way  when you are putting the golden ring   the golden coat over your ring it  serves as a as a term of of protection   you are protecting yourself you  are having a shield around you   you are having something that gives you external  strength that for example you can just use as an   image to remember that the ring finger is the  metal element and finally what we have is the   weakest one the smallest one the finest one the  most gentle one out of all of these five elements   it is our smallest finger representing  the water element but now nevertheless just take for an example the  process of you closing the fists   now when you watch at your palms when you  watch at your hands and slowly slowly start   to build the strongest structure  of your hand which is a fist   then you will see that the slightest  movement the first movement at all is being guided by the small finger for example first the small finger gets in afterwards  the sump is closing all of this structure   and just as i mentioned in  the beginning of this talk   these are just some indications for you also  to realize to change the understanding of   the mind just because something is represented  as a weak element just because something is   looking the smallest just because something  doesn't look strong doesn't mean we can leave   it away doesn't mean that we can just ignore  its existence because in this example we do need   the weakest parts of our palms the weakest  parts of our hands as it is building the foundation for the strongest  structure our arm our hand can take so now what next yes the second practice of the wu song which  is which is related to the chest area   please keep in mind that after holding the breath  when you are exhaling you are exhaling with an   a sound so listen for example it's like  this you are inhaling you hold the breath and on the exhalation ah so you have to you have the  a from the alphabet it's a this is the sound which is important to  remember when you are practicing the second   relaxation methods now in comparison to the third  exercise there we are using a different tone   and the third exercise which is the the foo song  it is the relaxation the loosening exercise for   your belly area and after inhaling into the belly  area holding the breath compressing the body now on the exhalation yeah pay attention to  the sound in the way that i'm exhaling which is it is i would describe it as  a very hollow as a very hollow it is a stream of air which is coming from the  belly area leaving outwards leaving out the mouth   but when it is traveling  through this through the throat it is the smoothest way of exhaling air out of   any type of sounds that you can speak  out just let me give you if you make ah   you can already feel there is the  vibration already of the throat or   it doesn't matter what sound you are taking  many of them simply have different vibrations   but for the third exercise of the wusson remember  you want the smoothest way for the air to leave   the belly area and that is done by using the sound yes yep so i think at least from my side all relevant theoretical concepts theoretical approachings and and everything that for right now to begin your  practice you need to know i think it is shared   with this video that you just saw in case  something would ever be missing then either   you're going to hear it from me or you're going to  hear it from grandmaster jiang yushan in that case one last thing why these methods are  being released right now and are also why   they can become a quite relevant part in today's community of  practitioners is because you can use all of   these methods in all different types of positions  as well you will see later that my student is   going to stand in the so-called serenbe it is  the natural stance placed on both feet but if   you have problems with standing it's absolutely  no issue if you are also making the exercises   while being seated now let's just take the first  exercise you could just stay with a straight spine   tuck the chin in stand straight and now here  shoulders arms relax and start to clench the fists   now there are small things that you can try  out if they are easier for you which means   you are supposed to clench the fists  clenching the fists feeling inside   the element of each of these fingers  and now important balance them out   so you do not want to feel a different dominance  of the sump of the index finger of the middle   finger ring finger or small finger you do not want  that any of these representatives of the elements is dominating any of the other elements what  you want is the feeling that it's all one   it's all full it's all harmoniously filled and  that makes it necessary because the smallest   finger and the ring finger for many many people  anyway already is the weakest part that means   you must learn and use your mind intent the  mind intent in order to nourish the strength   to nourish your or to place your focus  more in the direction more in the intent   of the water element and the metal element  meaning more in the direction of the small finger   order that this complete fist  becomes one harmonious unit   so it is about balancing and what you want to  balance out is to have a strong strong strong   clenched fist but the rest of the body shoulder  biceps triceps forearms if you want and you are   seated you can also rest them here just  on the legs so you can better concentrate on the fifth only and this goes for the first exercise it goes for  the second exercise where the main focus is the   chest area in the third practice your main focus  is the belly area then the fourth exercise it is   the buttocks and the fifth exercise it  is your size that you are focusing your   your strength and your willpower on so that was it for today's serie lesson and  i'm wishing you all have a nice training   and see you soon again so hello everyone um as you see i brought  some friend today which is actually not   this one but it's one of my disciples and this  is going to be a special video because um as for   the wish of zhang shifu i would like to share with  you today one method that i also learned from him   and these methods are called wu song wu song means  it's the five loosening exercises or sometimes you   can also translate them as the five relaxation  exercises without too much talking right now   let's directly go in to the exercises and how to  start with it there are going to be five areas   on ourselves that we are going to take  care of the first exercise is related   to the hands the second exercise is going to be  the chest the third exercise is for the belly area   the fourth exercise is for the buttocks  and the fifth exercise is going to be for   your legs so number one is i'm going to  demonstrate it on my student but anyway   for you you can directly join this session as uh  we're going to make it in real time so you can   just join the instructions and i'm guiding you  through these exercises all right feet together   feet together okay bring hands in front  of the chest catch your attention in take a deep breath inhale exhale one more time inhale and exhale and bow   okay inhale lift the elbows left foot step out and exhale arms sink okay you  can come more in the middle   so my student is going to stand doing  all these exercises but nevertheless   you can practice all of them while you are also  seated or sometimes also when you are lying just   depending on the condition that you are in yes  and before i forget it was also the wish that   this particular video we are starting to publish  it already right now especially for that one   person within the group you will know who is  meant with that it's cosmo from the group so take these exercises and try what you can still do  to yourself with it so number one open your palms open your palms okay ah watch your  hands small finger ring finger   middle finger index and sump one time turn around thump index finger middle finger  ring finger and small finger yeah   make clear for yourself you have 10 of them  feel your fingers and then slowly start   and clench the fist close the fist  now watch the thumb is here touching   the inside of the other fingers it's not here  on top it's not in between it's on the side   of the other fingers now the exercise is very easy  because start clenching the fists and we are going   from here hold the tension clench it as hard as  you can for two minutes and three two one and go yeah concentrate clench the fists   all ten fingers five on the right  five on the left keep the fist closed with your mind concentrate on your  fist concentrate on all five fingers   observe your arm now observe your fist and  feel if there is any weakness if any of your   fingers is starting to become weak as soon as you  realize it's about to become weak you squeeze new   try and concentrate two minutes long stay  with the fists closed close the fist and keep   clenching them concentrate with the mind  observe at the same time all your fingers   and fill all the fist up at all times yeah  continue we still have one more minute to go stay focused stay concentrated  and clench the fists at the same time also shoulders arms  biceps triceps forearm all of this   try to stay relaxed only the fists  are tense keep going 20 more seconds keep going and 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 one slowly  release the tension and open some very very   slowly index finger middle finger ring finger  small finger open one time the palms stretch them okay now just a very very short  break so take two deep breaths inhale   exhale and one more time inhale and exhale and now starting the second round open the palms small finger ring finger middle  finger index finger sump again on the side and three two   one and go start squeezing again and we go another  two minutes now stay focused stay concentrated only the fist forearm biceps triceps shoulder  the rest of the body try to stay   relaxed so don't tense up anything else it's  just the fist keep holding even if it's starting   to become very exhausting stay focused  concentrate and keep stay with the willpower don't let any weakness enter into  the bones enter into your fist observe yourself go inside each finger and feel if there is space for improvement then improve  squeeze more yeah 50 more seconds to go keep going squeeze concentrate keep going squeeze harder as hard as you can 30 seconds keep going concentrate concentrate on the fist 10 9 8 seven six five four  three two one and slowly release the tension open the thumb open the  index finger middle finger ring finger and   small finger one time open and now again two times  take a deep breath inhale and exhale one more time inhale and exhale   and last round for this first exercise close small  finger ring finger middle finger index finger   at the end close the thumb on both hands and three  two one and start squeezing uh two more minutes keep going relax the forearm biceps triceps  relax shoulders don't tense up only the fist   keep squeezing and one and a half more minutes  concentrate with the mind go into your fist go   into the bones go into each single finger and feel  if there is any space to squeeze more this is the   third round it's a little bit more exhausting  but keep going just 60 more seconds to go 50. concentrate focus stay inside the fist keep squeezing your  breath keep it calm and steadily breathe deep and 10 seconds 9 8 7 six five four  three two one and slowly release   the tension from the fists and open thump index  finger middle finger ring finger small finger one time stretch your palm open and then just rest them left  and right from your legs   relax don't touch the body let the fingers hang   and take two more breaths and one more time okay so very good this was the first loosening  exercise in regards to our palms in regards to   our fists and our hands now let's move on to  the second exercise which is aiming on your   chest area now before we start with this  just place both your hands on the chest inhale and make sure that  you feel your air is enter so inhale into the chest area exhale   second time inhale exhale and one more time inhale chest area and then exhale okay so for the next  exercise i'm going to show you first   what you are going to do we are  focusing the mind on to our chat   then you are inhaling through the nose slowly and  concentrate on the expansion of your chest so you   inhale into the chest area until you feel that  you cannot inhale anymore from that moment when   the chest area is filled i'm gonna count you down  from nine seconds where you are holding the breath and after the nine second when you are exhaling   we're exhaling with a a sound so it's  like this you inhale into the chest then you directly continue  second time fill up the chest   and then again nine seconds holding  and we are repeating this exercise   eight times so we are starting right  now and fill up the chest inhale then hold the breath and now one two  three four five 6 7 8 9 and exhale with ah and so second breath inhale again into the chest   hold the breath and again one two three  four five six seven eight nine and exhale ah the third cycle in fourth time inhale chest area and one two three four five  six seven eight nine and exhale okay number five inhale into the chest one two three four five six  seven eight nine and exhale okay and six one more time inhale chest area slightly lift up the chin hold inside  the chest and one two three four five   six seven eight nine and exhale and two more times same exercise inhale in slightly lift up the chin inhale yeah shoulders neck throat relax it  hold the breath and one two three four   five six seven eight nine and exhale   and one final time inhale into the chest fill up the chest fill up the chest then hold  the breath relax the shoulders relax the neck   and nine seconds one two three four five  six seven eight nine and exhale with the ah okay very good then just two times  normal breathing regulate yourself   breathe deep inside your body belly first  chest second fill up the body exhale one more time inhale and exhale   good this was the second loosening  exercise emphasizing our chest area   next exercise is our belly region it's our  belly area therefore as a small preparation   just put both of your palms onto your belly   in case you're practicing this exercise in  the standing position the feet a little bit a   little bit more together okay stop yeah you can  place both fists in between the feet the spine   is standing straight the head is slightly lifted  up so arms are resting on the belly area and now   first of all make sure that you know or that you  practice to understand what means belly breathing   nevertheless no matter how you're breathing the  air is going to end up in your lungs but dependent   on how much tension you are carrying uh in your  in your diaphragm area when the diaphragm is   relaxed and loose it feels like the air would  enter into your belly area and that's why   during the inhalation if you're focusing on  your belly area and you're staying relaxed   so the complete upper torso is relaxed it feels  like the air is entering into the belly area   and therefore this abdomen area at the same  time is inflating while you are inhaling so just   two three times take it slowly stay relaxed  in the mind stay inside of your body inhale   through the nose and feel focus that the air  is entering into the belly area okay and inhale exhale yeah maybe you can see it here now my  hands are on the belly when you inhale and out on the inhalation the belly expands on the exhalation  the belly becomes flat again and two more times inhale belly area exhale and one more time inhale  into the belly area inhale and exhale so for the next exercise for the third loosening  exercise with the emphasis on our belly area   the breath is you're inhaling in to the belly  then just similar like you did in the previous   exercise inhale into the belly area stop the  breath focus inside on the belly area and then   use all the muscles that are surrounding  your lower torso which means rib muscles   abdomen muscles back muscles and squeeze  squeeze the body so i show you how it looks you inhale into the belly area so slowly inhale hold the press and start compressing all the muscles everything  around this abdomen area and again hold it   for nine seconds okay so my student is already  holding it but nevertheless we continue now nine   one two three four five six seven eight  nine now on the exhalation with the oh so with the sound not like previously with the  ah this time with the oh yeah so watch also and   pay attention to the sound that you are exhaling  so now we are starting inhale into the belly area stop the breath and squeeze all the  muscles squeeze focus on the belly area   and now now one two three four  five six seven eight nine and second time inhale through the  nose fill up the belly area inhale stop the press compress and one two three four  five six seven eight nine and third cycle inhale slowly fill up the abdomen area inhale hold the breath and compress one two three four five six  seven eight nine and exhale and continue inhale into the  belly area once again inhale hold the breath compress again nine one two three four five  six seven eight nine and exhale and continue four more inhale belly area inhale stop the breath compress all the muscles around  the torso so front side ribs back side close   everything also from down from up close it and  one two three four five six seven eight nine   and exhale three more times inhale into the belly area inhale and two more times inhale belly area in stop compress all the muscles surrounding  your belly and one 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 and and one final time inhale into the belly area  yeah body stay relaxed at this moment inhale stop the breath and compress very good so these were eight  repetitions eight cycles and now just   regulate your body breathe two times just  naturally deep inside your body inhale exhale and one more time inhale and exhale okay so this was already the third loosening  exercise emphasizing the belly area and we move on   there are two more to go the fourth exercise  actually the the explanation what you're   supposed to do is quite simple imagine you  have a walnut that you are trying to crack   with your buttocks so so that means yeah  your butt your your buttocks behind stand and tense up those two yeah one two tens  up tense them yeah so turn around   okay here this one and this one in between  you have the walnut and now squeeze   yeah start squeeze so if i touch  here yes this is now hard it's hard   so and important now for two minutes now  this is just the first round we continue this   three times but again we are holding this tension  in the buttock area for two minutes this is the   beginning so let's just start and three two  one and go yeah for two minutes right now you just keep holding the  tension here in the buttock area   imagine you are trying to crack a  walnut which is placed in between there   so keep pushing just like in the first loosening  exercise of clenching the fists this time you are   clenching your buttocks and at the same time it  also means at if you are realizing any of your   buttocks any weakness is starting to enter use  the mind use the will power and keep squeezing   keep holding sometimes if you hold very very  strong you realize your body will start shaking so   keep squeezing hold it one  more minute to go don't relax   don't be passive your mind focus stay with your  butt yeah keep cracking keep cracking that nut   you go yeah your butt in in and squeeze squeeze keep going 20 seconds for the first  round then two more rounds to go   now keep going don't let loose  harder keep squeezing harder five four three two one and relax a moment take two deep breaths in between relax the  body take two deep breaths inhale exhale and one more time inhale and exhale and we go to the second round and start  three two one and squeeze squeeze the butt   and now hold for two minutes now when it gets weak then directly use  the mind use the willpower keep it in keep squeezing keep squeezing one more minute concentrate as soon as you feel any weakness  is entering keep keep pushing harder 20 seconds and 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 three  two one and release inhale exhale one more time inhale exhale and the third round three two one and  squeeze again squeeze the buttock muscles   left and right and go two minutes   yeah on the one side it's closed in this  direction at the same time also in this direction   keep it in keep it in pull all the muscles  make them strong pull it inside of the body now hold the sexual organs keep them  in pull it in don't let the body leak practice to hold this type of tension as soon as  you realize there is some weakness trying to enter   use the mind power and go in squeeze keep going one more minute to go   go harder don't let the weakness enter 30 seconds more to go and 10 9 8 seven six five four three  two one and relax and two times inhale exhale one more time inhale and exhale okay so this was exercise number four emphasizing  on the buttock area for you to hold the tension   hold the strength and don't let the body leak  every time just like also in the first exercise   with clenching the fists the fourth one you  clench the buttocks hold up the strength   of the muscles yeah hold the power in if you  realize while you're observing your buttocks while   you're observing the fingers and the fist as soon  as you realize some weakness is about to enter   which is going to happen no matter who's making  it but you practice to make it strong again   use the willpower and keep the strength  in so let's move on to the final exercise   the fifth loosening exercise now for this one  let's just make a small preparation exercise   so you understand what you are making now yes okay  look okay first of all knees are just lightly bent   and here just your sides they  are relaxed yeah relax the sides   relax the sides so when you're standing you can  feel they can move around quite quite loosely keep your hands on the sides and just bend  the knees a little bit more so that the body   starts to move down and you realize that the  muscles are starting to engage which means   your muscles start to tense up automatically  this is the important part right now that   the tensioning of your leg muscles  right now it's coming automatically   so move again a little bit up everything is  loose and just because we are starting to lower   our position you realize the muscles they are  starting to tense up by themselves automatically   so now this time we don't want the muscles to  activate automatically you want to activate   your muscles you want to activate the  size consciously which means right now   go back in the position where  both the sides are loose and now without going lower so  stay in the position where you are   tense up your leg muscles activate them activate yeah when you activate them even without lowering  your posture you realize still the muscles are   tense but this time they are not tense because  you are lowering they are tense because you are   choosing to do so you are consciously engaging you  are consciously activating the thigh muscles so   again you are not passively observing anything you  are actively engaging you are actively grabbing   your size and tense them up tense the size this  is number one first part of this exercise so   tense up the side muscles here this is all strong  front back yeah both left and right tense up for the complete duration of this exercise  right now we are only going to make it   yeah let's make it let's make it 10 minutes  together and zhang shifu suggested at least   you should go for 15. so everything above that i  think is fine for the purpose of this video right   now so you start to get the feeling what type of  exercise is it let's go for 10 minutes right now   and keep the size engaged actively once again  you have to use your willpower you have to be   focused and concentrated and keep the  size engaged so we go three two one and ah go yeah tens up the size yeah  tense them up first so and now   comes something additionally  while you have them tensed up   start yeah straighten the knees straighten  the knees so that means you move up just maybe   like two three centimeters it is straighten the  legs while you keep the size engaged straighten remain active with the size  and the mind and slowly   sink a little bit down slowly bend the knees then again start to straighten the knees and then very little bend the knees again keep the mind engaged keep the muscles tense keep  the size strong and straighten up the body again you don't have to make big movement the height difference between straightening  the legs and bending the legs is about five   centimeters yeah not much more than that so don't  make big movement the important part once again is   keep the mind focused keep the psi muscles  activated consciously activated don't let   loose of the mind keep going keep going we still  have seven minutes to go keep going activate the   side muscles keep them engaged hold them  and just straight turn the legs and bend straight and bend straighten the legs and bend straighten the legs and bend continue keep the legs the  size engaged straight and bend so don't drift away keep the mind activated  keep it strong stay inside straight and lightly bent straight and bent and four more minutes straighten the legs and bend stay focused keep the size engaged actively close the muscles and bent tense up the thigh muscles consciously move up  straighten the knees keep the tension in the legs even if you bend the knees  keep the tension in the legs one and a half minutes to go and straighten the knees straighten  the legs keep the tension in and sink   and last minute to go keep activate keep active stay active same here in the moment you realize the weakness  enters into the legs use the will power keep   staying strong and 30 seconds more to go   and 10 seconds oh and one final time straighten the legs and bend the knees and then release inhale exhale one more time inhale exhale and one final time in and out left foot return back to the center both arms front of the heart and bow okay so this was now the introduction into the  five loosening exercises their name is in the future there will come some more  explanations maybe some more detailed explanations   in what you are actually doing there but for  right now you can use this video integrated to all of the previous qigong practices that i  have shared already with you it's perfectly fine   to use this one hour video right now and just  integrate it to all the practices that you also   did before because when you are starting to dive  deeper into the qigong practices and then also   to the martial art practices you can never be  loose relaxed and released enough because this   is the state where our energies can freely flow  and therefore increase your abilities to learn and   relax the body more these were the five exercises  and i'm wishing you a lot of fun exercising them   and don't thank me for them thank you foo for  sharing all of this with you so see you soon again   and enjoy your training and don't  let the weakness enter into your body   hmm oh

Channel: Shi Heng Yi Online

Views: 23,838

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Id: d1EHSYWS1B4

Length: 88min 46sec (5326 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021