Arky Chu Gong: Chateau morning exercise regime

SMM said:
In the video, there was no mention of water and drinking it, either before, during or after the routine. Is drinking water as needed during the routine/in between steps helpful at least when starting out, and at least for some (all factors - such as environment and physiology - considered), listening to our bodies throughout?

For the BBS exercises, I didn't drink water during a 15 minute routine, and drank after as needed. The same with other exercise done usually. The first morning I did this exercise, I took a break after the Tibetian Rites to drink water.

For the time being, practicing regularly so as to learn the steps and paying attention to posture are what I'm focussing on. I'm curious, as when you're at a gym, there are people drinking water in between steps or routines, and similarly when people go running. Overall, I drink quality water, as good in quality as possible, as needed throughout the day. FWIW.
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I'd say it's probably best to listen to your body and drink water as you need :-)
 
Thanks a lot for showing us this as its a toolkit I probably never would've had the discipline or wherewithal to put together alone but have been applying it with some success in life since I learned it.

There are a whole bunch of potential mental/spiritual benefits already mentioned such as working on core strength -> working on core being, flexibility of body -> flexibility of mind, good balance -> balance in all things and moving away from black&white thinking.

Adding to this, on Saturday I really went quite hard and pushed myself on the head-to-knees hamstring/psoas stretch. This has always been one of the most painful and nasty for me but I just kept breathing through it and pushing more - like way beyond the point I would usually stop and give it a rest.

Following this I had some uncontrolled shaking, some real sadness and a bit of crying for a good hour. I kind of mentally attached some reasons or baggage to it as a narrative such as despairing at the state of the world, lamenting my own sad moments and some awful suffering I've seen in life in others or animals even. But really I think it was just an over all emotional release that I've never had to such an extent with any physical therapy. Afterwards it felt like I really needed it.
 
Thank you for this cheerful video, your routine is great and from tomorrow I will follow you with pleasure! I already started my morning exercises with Sun Salutation, 5 Tibetan Rites and Qui Gong but your seems valuable especially with legs stretching and balance positions so I will add them. At what time are you exercising? Maybe I can do it with you! Thank you for this post and video and for reply :)
 
Carl said:
Following this I had some uncontrolled shaking, some real sadness and a bit of crying for a good hour. I kind of mentally attached some reasons or baggage to it as a narrative such as despairing at the state of the world, lamenting my own sad moments and some awful suffering I've seen in life in others or animals even. But really I think it was just an over all emotional release that I've never had to such an extent with any physical therapy. Afterwards it felt like I really needed it.
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That's very interesting, because me too I'm experiencing an emotional release of sorts since doing the exercises. It's more of a slow-burning thing though with me - like a background depression/sadness with varying intensity throughout the day. I feel more connected to my emotional body, if that makes sense, everything feels a bit lighter. But this also means that old crap is coming to the surface! Overall, it feels like a much-needed emotional cleansing taking place, and I'm sure it shall pass.

We're doing the exercises for ~3 weeks now almost daily, and the effects are pretty amazing - my body just feels so much lighter, especially my problem areas like head, neck and shoulders. Body is kinda shaping up, too!

I do feel kind of tired though - as in a little exhausted physically. It definetly feels as if some kind of cleansing is taking place, not only emotionally, but also physically (which are related anyway). Again, I think that's a good thing and I'm glad. Hopefully it will de-crap me down the line :)

As a tip for those who (like me) are not natural Yoga talents: you can look for good YouTube videos that explain Pilates breathing/Pilates for beginners. Pilates is similar to Yoga, but it is more about very small, gentle movements that anybody can easily do. The reason it works well is because you very carefully work with and train your breathing and body awareness. It's all about strengthening the core through proper breathing. When I first learned this, it made all the difference for me, and since then I have much less trouble doing Yoga exercises without breaking my bones, getting cramps etc. Caveat: the better you get at proper breathing and "core activation", the harder all the exercises become - because you do them properly!!
 
Thank you Chu for sharing the exercises with us, i'm tempted to give them a try ;-D as soon as i will have some free time. Usualy i'm working out in the gym, about 3 days a week, lifting weights, it helps me a lot to reduce psychological and emotional stress, though just recently i've began to understand that lifting weights only is not enough if you want to have a strong and resilient body. A couple of weeks ago i've starded to do daily a series of exercises for abs that are stimulating the entire body rendering it much stronger since those are pretty intense exercises. So to make the story short i've noticed that by combining the exercises for the abs with lifting weights and with doing exercises by using your body mass helped me to develop body strength and endurance and i'm feeling a lot better now. Of course being careful of what you are eating is very important, though to be honest sometimes i'm falling and eating some crap food but i'm working to change this aspect since i don't like it at lot because it makes me feel bad.
 
I'm impressed how seemingly effortless Arky did the exercises. I just tried the leg/head belly exercise for fun (21 times) and it sure isn't as easy as it looks in the video! After the third or fourth round I already look like a dying Eurasian crane in stark contrast to you guys in the video... You all just look like as though it is the easiest thing in the world.
 
This is a very nice motivation, thank you!! I guess it will be afternoon for me as I work every morning.
I'm personally out of shape, but still consider I might get it all with time except the headstand, as I used to be more flexible few years ago.
I've always had fear trying headstand or even handstands, somehow think I would snap or hurt my neck. :) You said in the video be ready to roll if needed, but any more tips regarding the headstand?
 
PerfectCircle said:
You said in the video be ready to roll if needed, but any more tips regarding the headstand?
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I do not do the headstand either (or at least not yet) while doing the exercises. It was mentioned, as far as I remember, that you can also practice it on the wall so you have something to "hold" you. Also, there may be some YouTube videos on how to do it properly (and how to do it step by step). Hope this helps! :-)
 
I am doing the exercises since around 3 weeks as well by now, with skipping some days in between. Well, there are some things that by now still seem "hopeless", especially like accomplishing even a single push-up, sitting on my legs while leaning back, the leg stretches, the yoga willpose ("the bridge") and the headstand of course (which I am leaving out for now anyway; living space is a bit too tight for that as well with more risks of hurting myself in case of falling). But I am optimistic that I will eventually "get there" (minus the headstand maybe)! :-D

When reading the experiences of Carl and luc, I thought, "well the exercises seem to fulfill a function of body work / body therapy!" When doing the exercises yesterday, I thought something in that direction as well. My body felt quite stiff and resisting during the workout, as if it wanted to keep something (emotional) in that it was anxious to release (and it was like it "knew" the exercises would probably make it do that). Later in the day, a sense of depression and other negative emotions & thoughts came up (but that could also be due to some hormonally related mood swings).

The connection between doing these exercises, the breathing (something I am still about to figure out how to do it properly) and Carl's mentioning of the psoas muscle, that seems to be engaged a lot by these exercises, brought me to the following two articles about that muscle - also called "the muscle of the soul":

Keys to releasing stress and trauma stored in our physical body -- Sott.net

Understanding the Psoas Muscle

Much of the tension we store occurs in our muscles, one of them being the psoas muscle. This can result in an ugly downward spiral that becomes a source of anxiety and stress in and of itself.

The psoas muscle is the largest muscle in our bodies, running through the entirety of our trunk.
"Because the psoas is so intimately involved in such basic physical and emotional reactions, a chronically tightened psoas continually signals your body that you're in danger, eventually exhausting the adrenal glands and depleting the immune system," explains Liz Koch in her book, The Psoas Book. "As you learn to approach the world without this chronic tension, psoas awareness can open the door to a more sensitive attunement to your body's inner signals about safety and danger, and to a greater sense of inner peace."
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Also called the "muscle of the soul," stretching the psoas muscle does more than just release tension. This muscle is where we often store stress or trauma that can influence our mood and perspective on life. Built-up stress can biologically manipulate our wellbeing, and even advertisers and politicians take advantage of it to brainwash humans. Called the "lizard brain," it is the oldest part of the brain, the brain stem, that is responsible for primitive survival instincts like aggression and fear ("flight or fight") [or "freeze"].

If we store negativity, like fear, we cannot think clearly, as fear has the ability to shift our lifestyles, even control them. That's why it's so important we become aware of where fear is stored and how to release it.

The psoas muscle stretches from the lower trunk through the hips and into the top of the thighs, and is used for core stability and the fight flight reflex. When we see something that creates fear in us, our brain sends signals to the body to respond by releasing adrenaline. When we don't respond, this stress hormone gets stored up in the body and can result in such health problems as insomnia, lowered immune system, anxiety, eating disorders, depression, and living in a constant state of fear or alert.
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At the end of the article, among the recommendations are (daily) yoga exercises.

Then, in the other article, there is this video which displays a yoga pose (called "Warrior Pose") for psoas stretch (it emphasizes the legs & the core muscles):

 
Thank you for the Video. I enjoyed watching it and tried twice during he last 5 days. First day I tried up to 20 min and couple of days later i tried for 23 min. Interestingly, I found my body muscles to be little sour after the first day, but after 2nd try after 2 days, sourness is not that much. I have known to have some flexibility issues before when I tried Yoga, but I still have flexibility issues with lower abdomen, ankles etc. It also needs to get some practice with headstand before I can lift my legs. One thing I realized is the increased energy and found anxiety triggers were reduced. I plan to continue to try more slowly and steadily. :thup:
 
Thanks so much for the video everyone who worked on putting it together! I've been through it twice now, and feel it's so balancing. Thanks for the cheat sheet as well Scottie. Now I'll be able to do it outside on the grass (at least until the rains start) and not worry if I've forgotten something. I've been doing HIIT and sweat way more with these exercises. Used to do a lot of yoga in my 40s and 50s (60s now) and although I still can't do a full push-up to save my life, I'm finding the plank and other Tibetan exercises are really helping with strengthening those areas so I'll keep on. I sweat a lot more doing this than I do with the weight training but I've been very conservative in increasing the weight due to ligament issues in my elbows and knees and it feels like this series of exercises is the perfect compliment.
 
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