Yoga Meets Martial Arts Practice: Silky Force

http://yogea.org/silky-force/ This Yogea practice fuses Martial Arts, Yoga and Qi-Gong as it provides a sense of grounding, a general awakening of the joints, and spaciousness in the mind. Fluid breaths ignite the arms to recall a cascading waterfall. The nature-induced imagery follows with moves like "stirring a wheel"; "hopping praying mantis"; "gazing behind the dragon's tail"; "cloud arms"; "bow-shooting"; "caressing the lion's mane"; "hand-kissing the Earth and Sky"; "willow branches drooping" and "thunderbolt lightening". The visual references to natural phenomena create an opportunity for the body to depict a moving canvas and to physically, side bend, twist, forward bend, roll up and down, arch, balance and invert. The energy centers are awakened as the movements happen from within and unfold without. Every joint gets a proper treat, while coordination enhances. The practice trains subtle weight-shifting, teaching students to yield and advance. The few yoga poses provide a healthy contrast between kinetic meditation and static oppositional pull. The pulsing and repetitive execution of the movements on either sides helps refine the quality of weight transfer and articulation through the extremities. A Qi-Gong longevity series concludes the practice, introducing techniques of tapping, pounding and magnetizing breath to boost vitality, stimulate the glands and harness internal power. Due to its universal benefits this practice is suited for all purposes and can be done at any time of the day.