Primal Release Pose addresses two of the major
blocks in the body armor--The two areas in the bodymind where the reins
on our spirit are pulled most tightly by the entrenchment of ego's
defenses are: The diaphragm and the Iliopsoas muscle complex. If we can
release these, we can free ourselves from the crippling effects of
trauma, denial and the accumulation inner and outer negativity. It is
these two somatic blocks that lead to the unconsciousness and inertia
resulting from dissociation. Since these blockages are set up in order
to curb emotion, we cannot be emotionally authentic without opening up
these two neuromuscular areas...and in doing so the Heart is then given
preeminence in our psyche. This primal contraction release for the
lower body involves contorting the body in a yogic pose to compress the
diaphragm and psoas, waiting for an emotional discharge to occur, then
breathing and pressing into the muscular spasm that occurs when the
pose is dropped.
Figure 3: Primal Release Pose
- Warm up: First lie on your back, kick your legs over your
head carefully (do it harshly and you will strain your neck muscles).
Knees lightly bent, legs in the air. Put your weight on your
thoracic/shoulder area, cross feet, put your hands over the top of your
head and rock back and forward, pulling gently on the head to extend
the neck, thus rolling the neck and thoracic into the floor. The spine
will probably crack.
- Pose: Put your elbows on your thighs about 4" above knees,
while still holding the head and rest in this position with maximum
body weight on the shoulder-back. Drop all the weight from the legs
directly down in a line of gravity to the spine at the back of the
chest. Breathe deeply and stay in this position, gently moving as
desired for around 10 mins.
- Enforced Spasm: Lie flat on your back, holding the muscles
of the small of the back, either side of the spine with the fingers
splade out. After a minute these muscles will spasm after having been
over extended in the pose position. Press into the spasm with fingers
and breathe into the belly until it subsides. The more one does the
exercise the less spasms will occur. If spasms are too much to handle,
lift knees to relax spine and press into spasms with fists.
- Integration: To finish roll back and forth to loosen up spine again.
This technique provides a gentle cathartic release of the charge
from the muscles. The discharge is interesting its like a rolling wave
of energy-emotion coming from the diaphragm, often associated with a
contemporary thought of sadness or self pity, however the thought is
only what the psyche is using as a vehicle for the discharge to happen.
The more this is done, the more the diaphragm is released and this
straightens the spine and softens the belly allowing full breath. The
PRP releases chronic contraction in the lumbar muscles...the innermost
layer of these being the psoas. This contraction and release allows
more space inside, and more conductivity through the pelvis and into
the legs, better grounding and more connection between the top half and
the lower half of the body. This pose is excellent for "getting stuff
to the surface" ... So we could call this pose the upside-down
insight-out pose.
This pose is ideal for contemplating ones "Fundamental Doubt" over whether the Universe is indeed supportive of you.
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