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Explore a fundamental aspect of our being and actually of the entire universe.
This aspect is comprised of two opposite qualities:
expand
/ɪkˈspand,ɛkˈspand/
verb
become or make larger or more extensive
condense
/kənˈdɛns/
verb
make something denser or more concentrated
Expansion and condensing happen everywhere and all the time.
It affects all of us, whether we are aware of it or not.
But let me assure you, that conscious work will open for you new dimensions of freedom and expression.
Please let me begin by showing you how this affects the way you move…
fascia – forgotten organ
Most of the time we use muscle contractions to move, but now you can learn to engage the expanding and condensing fasciae!
What are fasciae and what is their function?
A fascia is a sheet of connective tissue beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, muscles and internal organs.
How do we add the power of the fasciae?
Fasciae exhibit different qualities depending on your emotional state.
In a state of fear, the fasciae condense.
When you are happy, the fasciae often expand.
We have the ability to actively control the fascia by becoming aware of their quality.
We can add expanding fascia tissue from the other side of the arm to the standard muscle contraction.
Plus, we can add a third source of power which are the condensing fasciae to the muscle contractions and to the expanding fasciae.
We aim to combine the muscle and fasciae powers into one united, efficient movement.
Because we use less muscle’s power, we become more efficient, and we create less tension.
A liquid quality of body allows us to accumulate and store kinetic energy.
In a similar way that we add this new aspect to our movement, we can integrate expanding and condensing tissue into our stretching to make it more efficient.
The power of the expanding and condensing fasciae is the secret of ‘the superhuman power’ that Systema and Chi Kung masters demonstrate.
We analyse all the aspects involved, to gain a clear understanding of how they operate.
We then synergise all the elements together and create one holistic picture.
This program applies the qualities of expansion and condensing in these aspects of our lives:
In “active mode”, we try to be “not” stiff, rigid, condensed. A healthy body is relaxed and soft but does not passively hang on the skeleton like a jelly or melting ice cream!
A healthy body is expanding, flowing and floating like a fire, pulled by vital energy upwards to the sky.
without gravity, hot air expands but doesn’t move upward
The human body is acted upon, by two main forces:
Gravity pulls you down, fire pulls you up.
How does the aspect of fire affect the quality of your body?
fire energy flows into the body and is known as the Yin energy of Chi / Ki, Prana, or Zhiva
An active body is pulled by expanding and condensing forces.
In essence, there are two biomechanical systems which maintain our posture:
Tensegrity helps to hold your bodyweight. Functional tensegrity allows for less pressure to your discs, vertebrae & joints.
Let’s see what Thomas Myers says about tensegrity:
The power of expanding and condensing is the power on which our tensegrity is based and the Expanz system’s focus is to strengthen our tensegrity.
this pulling of the fasciae generates elastic potential energy, which is then expended in a similar way to the drawstring action on the archer’s bow
The body remains relaxed and retains a liquid quality; able to surf on waves of kinetic energy accumulating speed and power which is then used as a pendulum, catapult, whip etc.
Read more about bodywave and liquid quality…
The bodywave breaks down tension. Therefore if you have a stiff neck, you subconsciously wave it.
How would proper waving workout improve your body?
We develop our internal feelings of kinesthesia and proprioception, which massively affect the intensity of life…
When you feel better, you enjoy your movement more!!
Expanding higher reduces pressure on discs and joints. We can fly..!
Do you wish to have better balance?
By flowing up like fire, you automatically float to your optimum point of balance.
Try to remain static like a statue…
Can you do it?
I bet that you cannot…
You are juggling with your body, trying to maintain the flow of balance.
The flow of balance works for you or against you, it’s just up to you…
No one had to teach you to breathe, it’s something you are born with!
However, awareness of a few new crucial breathing aspects can massively increase the capacity of your breathing!
Breathing aerates your internal fire, your mitochondria in a similar way that oxygen aerates a fire.
Free breathing – breathing which is not restricted and interrupted by undesirable tension makes you look younger, feel younger and live a higher quality of life!
Breathing can relax you, and help to cope with pain and stress.
Breathing is a crucial aspect of meditation.
It feeds your internal power.
The way we breathe has a massive effect on our immunity system and the healing processes of the body.
With condensed – focused (tunnel) vision, you can see the sharp details of a small object. Your view is narrower. Your attention flows to one point.
With expanded – peripheral vision everything is a bit blurred, but your view is much wider.
Your attention expands – you are able to work with more perceptions and impulses.
Focused vision is good when you need to focus on one thing, for example, one arm, one ball or one body. The problem arises when with a focused vision you try to keep track of more than one object for example 3 limbs, 8 balls or a crowd of people. Peripheral vision is much more suitable for multitasking. You have much better spatial awareness in the expanded vision mode.
Vision is a gate into the mind, therefore it is good to be aware of your vision during meditation.
Your vision definitely deserves to be developed and consciously controlled!
Focused vision leads to focused awareness.
Peripheral vision leads to expanded awareness.
Attention flows out from awareness, similar to the way water gushes out from a spring.
Your awareness is the primary source of your power, attention is your power.
Where you aim your attention, that is where your power flows – that’s where something happens.
Focused awareness – logical thinking is a great tool for tactics, plans and strategy, but not the best tool for initial reactions. In focused awareness, we perceive the world in a more linear fashion, in fragments.
Focused awareness is analysing the past and planning for the future.
Chronic stress is a product of focused – condensed awareness all the time.
In expanded awareness we are not actively thinking, we just flow at the moment. Therefore, we are more sensitive, we process information quicker from our senses (we feel more kinetic energy, rhythm), and we are able to multitask more efficiently. Our reactions are quicker, they are natural and more instinctive. We are working with our intuition.
Expanded awareness is great for creative activities, e.g. dance, play, making love, combat, sports etc.
In expanded awareness, we perceive the world holistically as one unit.
Expanding and condensing qualities span the emotional, mental and physical aspects of the human body.
To close is to condense.
To open is to expand.
By expanding yourself, you open yourself to others.
Shaking someone’s hand is an act of opening and expanding your attention to others.
Opening up makes us more emphatic and nicer to each other.
You can open yourself to the Sun, to the wind, to all of nature…
By expanding ourselves we are connecting with other people and with the entire universe.
Open – expanding is the energy of unity which leads us to see ourselves as part of one being.
Condensing – closing is the energy of separation, which leads us to individualism.
This energy creates fear, stress, anxiety and often leads us to fight or war.
Condensing is the energy of materialism.
Expanding is the energy of the Light and Spirit.
Expanding energy unites. It allows us to see ourselves as part of a family, town, country, human race, nature, mother Earth – Gaia – an inseparable part of the whole Universe.
This perspective affects relationships within your family, team – within every society.
As a part of the Universe, you cannot be alone…
Awareness of unity brings you inner peace and makes you really and truly happy. 🙂
Just from the points that we have mentioned, it is obvious that studying and implementing the aspects of expansion and condensing into your life creates a positive cascade effect on your health, longevity, how young you look and feel.
We are living in a condensed pandemic!
Let’s take a look at some of the symptoms and visible properties.
Stress, intensely focused vision & awareness, tension, individualism – which are all condensing power.
In order to bring effectiveness and balance into our lives, we need to pay more attention to expanding power.
The Expanz system is a result of many years of research and the synergy of different disciplines of motion: physical, emotional and psychological.
Expanz synergises ancient knowledge and experience from Russian Systema, the Cossack tradition, Vedic culture, and Chinese Kung Fu and Chi Kung (Qi Kung).
From the dance world, we have added elegant flow with an emphasis on personal creativity.
As you see, we draw a lot from modern physiology (Anatomy Trains, DNS etc.), massage therapies, Yoga, Pravilo, Pilates, stretching etc.
However, as I study from the best masters on the planet, I conduct my own research on human motion, based on deep feeling and sharp awareness.
Our program leads you to step by step to create your very own personal experience from our exercises and dynamic meditations.
Through conscious and dedicated work you will open new and heretofore undiscovered paths and ways to study yourself and embark on a wonderful journey of growth.
Feel free to contact me, if you wish to expand your life into this new dimension, wherever you are…