How to fix Weak Posterior Chain issues with SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapy

March 6, 2023January 5, 2022 by Thai1on

How to fix Weak Posterior Chain issues with SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapy

Your SomaVeda® Thai Yoga client still has hamstring, hip, and low back pain after sessions or the SomaVeda® Therapeutic Day program!

A review and commentary by Ajahn, Dr. Anthony B. James: Dean of the SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine

The reason may be a Weak Posterior Chain!

What is Weak Posterior Chain?

A weak Posterior chain is the structure and function of the posterior thighs (hamstrings), glutes, and Sacral/ Low Back. They are underdeveloped, injured, weak, uncoordinated, and, worse, subject to atrophy from lack of use. When I say lack of use, I mean it in every way. Too much sitting, short range of motion, and short load-bearing exercise to build and maintain healthy muscle and soft tissue, including connective tissue… Ligaments and tendons etc. This region may be ischemic and low in circulating oxygen, affecting the structure and function of the nerves and soft tissue, creating an inclination to spasm and further reducing the accessible range of motion. Hard to do Yoga when the muscles and tissues themselves are working hard, even at rest, to do the opposite!

Why? Client Compliance and lack of proper, effective home self-care!

What does this mean, and how to improve on long-term issues either with or after a SomaVeda® Thai Yoga program? Rome was not built in a day! As beneficial as a total seven-day+ SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapeutic Day Protocol or program is, it is NOT Magic! Many chronic pain issues develop over many years. They are further complicated by traumatic histories of accidents and injuries accumulated over time and complex with malnutrition and toxicities, years of inactivity and resulting atrophy, energy imbalances, and more. We eventually want to address these as they impact the specific clients’ pain and well-being, moving them toward recovery. However, today I want to bring attention to what the clients can and do have to do on their behalf! The SomaVeda® Thai Yoga technique I am focusing on today is the SOmaVedar Thai Yoga “YaNaKa” or “Push The Leg.” YaNaKa is the essential Thai Yoga technique, representing a three-joint traction and decompression technique. YaNaKa emphasizes the posterior leg lines or Thai Sen lines above the knee to the PSIS pelvis. The three joints affected are the ankle, knee, and pelvis. This is one of the very few techniques in any physical therapy system that can traction and decompress the knee… very important and helpful if there is inflammation, extra fluid, or swelling in the knee.

Watch the 159 Different YaNaKa & Push The Leg video to see the “Hands-On” Chirothesia corrections in our SomaVeda® kit.

We can do fantastic work. The issue always comes back to what is the patient/ client doing between sessions at home. How can the client/ patient comply with their recovery process by addressing some of the actual causes for their “Weak Posterior Chain” issues?

What the client does to support their progress towards reduced pain, pain-free living, or a free and accessible range of motion is vital. Even after a complete program and anywhere from 9 to 12 contact hours hands-on… this pales in comparison to the twenty-four/ seven lifestyle of the client for either excellent or ill.

All pain clients have a “Kapha Dosha” imbalance! No matter their diagnosis, “Vikruti,” elemental imbalance, or body type. How? Why? One of the critical indicators of a “Kapha Dosha” imbalance is IGNORANCE. Ignorance of how the client created the origin of the pain, the injury, the atrophy, the chronic inflammation, and the poor medical or therapeutic choices may not only help but also worsen the pain. This includes delegating responsibility for their healing and wellness to an institutional and corporate medico who proscribed various drugs, steroids, opiates, etc., for “pain management,” but which in the long term did not prove helpful.

Where the SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapeutic Program ends, the client’s self-work and compliance with the therapist counseling and recommendations begin! Yes, the clients need help and need therapeutic programs and interventions. However, they also need guidance in self-maintenance and home practices to educate them in support of their compliance routines…

The SomaVeda® T.A.E.L.R. (SomaVeda® Tool Assisted Energy Line Release) protocol extends the hands-on Chirothesia or manual therapeutic hands-on healing ministry using adjunct therapies and “tools.” One of the most important tools is to educate the client on what they can control, contribute and effectively do at home for themselves as the partner in the therapy.

Consider: Weak Posterior Chain?

More than these? Consider:

Lack of Isometric Strength
Walking with discomfort
Hips locking up
Bad posture leading to injury
Trouble Sleeping
Sluggishness in day-to-day life
Rounded Shoulder
Tight Hips
Compromised Immune System
“Anerobic Lactic Threshold” and why it’s crucial.
Loss of sexual performance
Lack of Explosiveness in Yoga practice, the gym, sports, and or Martial Arts

It’s not enough to know the client’s needs to do their “homework” and self-care; they need proper and sustained, detailed guidance on what to do and how to do it.

You won’t be with them at home, so we need a home study program that targets the issue. You, the SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Certified Practitioner, Therapist, Minister, or Physician, do your significant part. Refer your client (also yourself if you’re with chronic pain!) to the “Ground Control Program” for a fantastic program.

Please take a moment to read this critical sponsored message from the “Ground Control” Program.

Have you heard about Weak Posterior Chain?

Your Posterior Chain…

…stabilize your trunk and spine during movement and sitting

…allow you to bend your hips and legs towards your chest

…support your internal organs

…is connected to your diaphragm, enabling you to walk and breathe.

In other words, your posterior chain directly influences your fight or flight response!

The solution? Train Like a Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt! I am 17, dressed in my Gi, competing as a Black Belt in the Seishin Kai Jiu-Jitsu Competitions!

Most of you know I hold Black Belt Rank in Martial Arts and an equivalent in M.A. that does not use the belt system, such as Thai Muay Boran and Krabri Krabong. Click Here to see my Martial Arts Bio… I also hold Black Belt Rank in Go Budo Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu training is related to Judo but with a much wider variety of techniques and training methodologies. Jiu-Jitsu training has the perfect solution to the “Weak Posterior Chain.” I have found an excellent 12-weak HOME STUDY/ HOME Practice Course that is helping thousands of athletes overcome these physical limitations. Do not be intimidated by my reference to “Athletes.” Trust me when I say What Works for Athletes Will Work For You!

Take the challenge to restore the structure and function yourself, or refer your clients using the link below. Let me know if you need this link in an email, and I can forward it separately! Cheers, Ajahn Dr. James.

Suppose the posterior chain gets tight and weak. In that case, it can be a real pain, but working specific muscles and doing certain exercise combinations provide easy fixes for the “At-Home” Compliance and personal self-help program.

So… If you experience…

low back pain

hip pain

stiffness

pain while walking or moving

lack or loss of range of motion in your Posterior Chain (Hamstrings, Gluts, Sacral/ Low Back area)

shortness of breath

You need to start undoing some of the damage done to your body and start helping the body to heal itself naturally.

SomaVeda® Thai Yoga T.A.E.L.R. Practice Adjunct: Your clients hip and low back is aching because…

March 25, 2023December 11, 2021 by Thai1on

Your SomaVeda® Thai Yoga client still has/ hip and or low back pain after sessions or the SomaVeda® Therapeutic Day program!

A review and commentary by Ajahn, Dr. Anthony B. James: Dean of the SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine

The reason may be Pelvic Tensegrity Instability.

What is Pelvic Tensegrity?

“In 1992 and again in 1995 World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain, the focus seemed to be the sacroiliac joint, its mechanics, and its role in generating pain. There are several references to joint injection as the `gold Standard’ for diagnosis and treatment. This needs to stress joint pathology is rooted in the Newtonian concepts that the skeleton and its joints are the frames upon which the soft tissue the idea that pathology is a function of anatomical disease or injury.

On the other hand, tensegrity stresses that the skeleton’s bones are but compression elements `ﬂoating’ in a high structure, self-generating, hierarchical, integrated tension network of soft tissues. The ligaments, muscles, and fascia take a whole new importance, and joint mechanics become soft tissue mechanics. This is consistent with the clinical observations which stressed the play movement of joints as a necessary dynamic function, and Travell, who focused on the imbalance of tension of the muscles and fascia as a source of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. These works echoed the pioneering precepts of A.T. Still, Palmen, and others who focused musculoskeletal system’s dynamic aspects rather than the structures’ anatomical pathology structures.” (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319016548_THE_TENSEGRITY_SYSTEM_AND_PELVIC_PAIN_SYNDROME)

Why? Client Compliance and lack of proper, effective home self-care!

Click Here for a video of SomaVeda® Pelvic Tensegrity Imbalance corrective techniques!

What the client does to support their progress towards either reduced pain or pain-free living is vital. Even after a complete program and anywhere from 9 to 12 contact hours hands-on… this pales in comparison to the twenty-four/ seven lifestyle of the client for either excellent or ill.

All pain clients have a “Kapha Dosha” imbalance! No matter their diagnosis, “Vikruti,” elemental imbalance, or body type. How? Why? One of the critical indicators of a “Kapha Dosha” imbalance is IGNORANCE. Ignorance of how the client created the origin of the pain, the injury, the atrophy, the chronic inflammation, and the poor medical or therapeutic choices may not have helped but made the pain worse. This includes delegating responsibility for their healing and wellness to institutional and or corporate medico who proscribed various drugs, steroids, opiates, etc., for “pain management,” which in the long term did not prove Where the SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapeutic Program ends, the clients self-work and compliance with the therapist counseling and recommendations begins! Helpful.

Yes, the clients need help and need therapeutic programs and interventions. However, they also need guidance in self-maintenance and home practices to educate them in support of their compliance.

The SomaVeda® T.A.E.L.R. (SomaVeda® Tool Assisted Energy Line Release) protocol extends the hands-on Chirothesia or manual therapeutic hands-on healing ministry with adjunct therapies and “tools.” One of the most important tools is to educate the client on what they can control, contribute and effectively do at home for themselves as the partner in the therapy.

Consider: Chronic Low Back Pain, Chronic Hip Pain?

More than these? Consider:

Nagging joint pains in your legs, lower back, or hips
Walking with discomfort
Hips locking up
Bad posture
Trouble sleeping
Sluggishness in day-to-day life
High Anxiety
Digestive problems
Compromised Immune System
Circulatory issues
Loss of sexual performance
Lack of Explosiveness in the gym or sports

It’s not enough to know the client’s needs to do their “homework” and self-care; they need proper and sustained, detailed guidance on what to do and how to do it.

You won’t be with them at home, so we need a home study program that targets the issue. Refer your client (also yourself if you’re with chronic pain!) to Critical Bench for a fantastic program—you, the SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Certified Practitioner, Therapist, Minister, or Physician, a significant incredible part.

Have you heard about Hip Flexors?

Hip Flexors are long muscles in the body and the only muscle that connects the upper body and lower body, also known as the psoas (pronounced flexors?) These muscles are unique in combining the torso and abdomen with (What are the Hip Flexors?)the legs!

Your psoas…

…stabilize your trunk and spine during movement and sitting

…allow you to bend your hips and legs toward your chest

…support your internal organs

…is connected to your diaphragm and allows you to walk and breathe.

In other words, your psoas directly influences your fight or flight response!

If the psoas gets tight and weak, it can be a real pain, but working specific muscles and doing certain exercise combinations provide easy fixes.

So… If you experience…

low back pain

hip pain

stiffness

pain while walking or moving

trouble sleeping

shortness of breath

You need to start undoing some of the damage done to your body and start helping the body to heal itself naturally.

DAK WUKAO – The King of SomaVeda® Hip Opening, Thai Yoga Therapy Asana

February 20, 2021 by Thai1on

DAK WUKAO – The King of SomaVeda® Hip Opening, Thai Yoga Therapy Asana

by Ajahn, Dr. Anthony B. James

of the SomaVeda College of Ayurveda and Thai Yoga Center

In traditional Hatha Yoga parlance this posture is know commonly as the “Sleeping or Half Pigeon Pose or asana.

In the SomaVeda® Thai Yoga applications or clinical usage we add the “facilitated” as it would be very difficult to perform this yoga therapy posture on yourself. Yes, it is easy and possible to do the generic Hatha Yoga version by yourself, on yourself… using your own body position and body weight to create downward pressure on the pinned leg.

The SomaVeda® Thai Yoga based clinical application rotates the affected leg through four or more positions individually in sequence to progressively release obstruction in the hips. Each of the incremental position emphasis are designed to create a wave or progressive release of not only the hip but all connected joints, below and above the pelvis it’s self… i.e. from ankle, knee, pelvis (anterior and posterior), sacrum, S.I, and low back! Not only it the art of the positioning complex on behalf of the therapist, but there are further considerations of Energy, Attention, Consciousness, Breath and Pressure which the therapist co-facilitates as they guide the patient, receiver through the process of receiving! One example being the use of Prana Yama technique specifically appropriate to the release and desired outcome.

(Facilitated Ardis Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Sleeping or Half Pigeon Pose: Four Positions)

Each of the four primary positions is meant to be only an ideal application and not precisely an outcome in and of it’s self. Each progressive positioning creates it’s own corrective stress and opportunity for either the release of obstructed Prana, Chi, Breath and or the energy coirculating through the Thai Sen Lines (Kalarthari, Ittha, Pingkala, Sahatsaransi, Thawai, Nantakrawat and Khitchanna) as well as the primary meridians of the lateral, medial and posterior leg… ( Gall Bladder, Bladder, Liver, Spleen and Kidney).

Additionally, The progressions of the four primary positions act as “Open the Wind Gate” or “open the Lom” technique for several Ayurveda Marma or “Thai Lom” of the ankle, lower leg, upper leg, hip and lower abdomen (Gulpha, Indrabasti, Janu, Vitapa & Basti).

This beautiful sequence based progressive rotation into the four positions also acts as a traction and decompression technique for the joints involved themselves as well as for the major tissue, muscle, connective tissue and fascia! It can be especially powerful in decompressing the knee and the hip facilitating fluid transfer, reduction of inflammation and exchange of vital energy and nutrients which may have become stagnant due to injury or atrophy from lack of use.

According to one source looking at it from a physical therapy lens “It intensifies the action innthe hamstrings of the front leg because of the deeper hip flexion and more compression over the front leg. At the same time, it dminishes the action in the back hip and spine. By adducting the front leg, the piriformis is brought into lengthening action”, {Kaminoff}.

In my opinion this then greatly reduces any direct impingement or pressure on the sciatic nerve reducing sensitivity and or “sciatica” type of pain.

DAK WUKAO (Facilitated Ardis Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Sleeping or Half Pigeon Pose:Four Positions)

“Working the first position in Dak Wukao”

Dak Wukao is a passive range-of-motion type of therapeutic hip opening posture (asana) working the hip, lower back, ankle, and knee. This posture is 180 degrees rotation of the classic Yoga

Therapy posture. Instead of the client facing down they are supine. Instead of the client’s body weight providing the pressure necessary for the release, the practitioner’s body weight emulates the floor!

Position: Move up close to the hip, positioning your body with knees spread in such a way as to frame the hip. Raise the client’s knee upright and have their shin parallel to the floor.

The first three positions are set up the same way, with only the active hand (Live Hand) moving or changing position. Additional emphasis is to direct the knee towards or slightly outside of the shoulder on the same side to avoid binding the lower abdomen.

Position 1. Wrist: The practitioner takes the bent leg of the client with the lower hand and places the wrist of the top hand tight behind the knee. He then leans forward bracing the shoulder against the outer knee of the client. Pressure is applied by simply leaning farther forward, pushing the bent leg downward toward the client’s chest. Hold the bottom most position 5 seconds, then slowly release by backing up.

Position 2. Middle Forearm: The practitioner takes the bent leg of the client with the lower hand and places the middle forearm of the top arm behind the knee. He then leans forward bracing the shoulder against the outer knee of the client. Pressure is applied by simply leaning farther forward, pushing the bent leg downward toward the client’s chest. Hold the bottom most position 5 seconds, then slowly release by backing up.

Position 3. Upper Forearm: The practitioner takes the bent leg of the client with the lower hand and places the upper forearm of the top arm behind the knee. He then leans forward bracing the shoulder against the outer knee of the client. Pressure is applied by simply leaning farther forward, pushing the bent leg downward toward the client’s chest. Hold the bottom most position 5 seconds, then slowly release by backing up.

Dak Wukao Straight Arm

Position Four. Straight Arm Press:

The last and final position is to remove (roll out) the top arm entirely from behind the knee, and with one hand holding the foot and one on the knee, with straight arms, press the leg as far toward the body as possible, by leaning forward, then release slowly.

Indications: Provides the external rotation and flexion that your hips need to remain agile; releases tension in your hips from sitting all day. Stretches the thighs, groin and Psoas muscles, abdomen, chest and shoulders, and neck, compresses and stimulates the abdomen, abdominal organs and the energetic structures of the Chakras, Sen Lines,Lom/ Marma from the feet to the core of the body.

Contraindications: Sacroiliac injury, Ankle injury, Knee injury, Tight pelvis, hips or thighs.

In traditional application we work the affected side asymetrically and emphasis the affected side (male or female) with whatever is the appropriate Dosha balancing emphasis of Vatta, Pitta or Kapha indicated. The means either faster,

repetitively, deeper, slower or even holding each position longer with counterpart Prana Yama emphasis.

Because of the powerful and specific energetic and core focus, the client will often experience emotional release and or the triggering of Old Unresolved Negative Emotional Issues “NEMO’s”. Now is a good time to manifest the hand of healing!

Add or emphasize this SomaVeda® Thai Yoga “King of Hip Opening” your Ayurveda and Marma Chikitsa / Traditional Thai Nuad Therapy toolkit!

The illustrations included in the article are from the book by Ajahn, Dr. Anthony B.James “ Ayurveda of Thailand, Indigenous Traditional Thai Medicine and Yoga Therapy” Meta Journal Press © 2017 All rights reserved.

Thai Yoga Rocking into Dak Kha

January 5, 2016 by Thai1on

Thai Yoga Rocking into Dak Kha

By Anthony B. James DNM(P), ND(T), MD(AM), DPHC(h.c.), DOM, RAC, SMOKH Academic Dean SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine and Thai Yoga Center (SCNM).

The Southern method Vinyasa (SomaVeda® Ayurvedic Thai Yoga: Level Two) offers the Thai Yoga practitioner a gold mine of breakouts and emphasis which can be accessed to bring relief and increase well being for an individual client. The Vinyasa (Yoga Therapy Flow) are divided up into five major attitudes such as the Supine Position, Side Lying Position, Prone Positio, Second Supine (Abdominal/ Leg Stretching) Position and Seated position.

Thai Yoga Rocking into Dak Kha (Inward Bent Knee/ Hurdlers Stretch) is a transition from the Sao Nong (Raised Bent Knee) into the Inward Bent Knee posture in the Supine position… The reason I want to bring attention to this transition is the Rocking position is what we call a Master Release position. My definition of a Master Release position is any position or Asana that when done by it’s self long enough will effect a full body release and other benefits.