Creating Space for Change: Passive Traction of the Neck
Create Space First!
A key principle in shin tai is to create space in the body by releasing restriction. This allows life force that was previously held within stress matrixes to once again flow through the meridians, joints, tendons, ligaments, organ tissues, chakras, etc. This increase of space and life force, or energy, is accompanied by increased motion.
Motion = Basic Life Function = Meridian
Shizuto Masunaga, the founder of Zen shiatsu, a style practiced through much of Europe and the US, said that motion enables basic life function in the primitive cell. Basic life function refers to the requirements of a cell to survive, such as digestion, elimination and reproduction. He considered a complex organism (like a person) to have the same life requirements as a single cell. He also said that in the primitive cell, motion equals meridian. In shin tai this was taken further to say that motion = basic life function = meridian.
So we could say that space, motion and life force are the same thing at the same time. Facilitating their activity in the body will enhance the functioning of the entire system. Holding this principle in your awareness as you treat brings potency into each technique. From applying pressure to a tsubo or doing a meridian stretch, the priority is to bring intention and attention to the increase of space and motion in the body.
Passive Neck Traction
Let’s practice doing this with something you may have learned in various bodywork classes, passive neck traction. This naturally increases mobility and alignment of the cervical spine. The following video is a short clip from the upcoming online course ‘Governing Vessel V: The Neck.’ See if you can experience how even a simple technique can have a different effect on the body when you focus on the idea of space in order to accommodate motion and life force. Click the play button below to watch: