When most people think of yoga, they think mostly of stretching and static poses, to achieve strength and flexibility. Yet at the heart of yoga, there is something more subtle, and that is qi energy. I’ve written about the concept of body awareness with the ideal being the ability to feel and use all muscles within the body properly. Almost nobody has close to a perfect ideal in this respect, and sometimes what is standing in the way of an improved condition are so called “energy blockages”.
There are two things that are very difficult for the body to do. One is to get a muscle that is chronically tense and tight to actually relax and release. And the other is to get a muscle that is chronically dormant to engage. I think of so called “energy blocks” as one of those two forms. In both cases, a muscle has lost or has never been developed enough to contract and release in a healthy way.
The problem then with corrective exercises involving some diagnosed “weakness” is that the weak link in the chain in its current condition cannot properly participate in any exercise designed to strengthen it. What often happens when performing a so called rehabilitative exercise is that the exercise is performed with some small, subtle flaw.
In terms of neurology, tight muscles can block nerve impulses that cause other muscles not to be able to fire or release properly. One such condition that is common enough to have a name is called “thoracic outlet syndrome”. Basically tight scalene muscles in the neck impinge on a nerve complex called the brachial plexus. This nerve complex innervates (sends nerve impulses to) several important muscles in the shoulder complex including the rhomboids, serratus anterior, and rotator cuff muscles. So tight scalene muscles can inhibit the movement of the entire shoulder complex by blocking the nerve impulses that direct the functioning of these muscles. The principle here is what is important, as it relates to the concept of energy blockages, which on a muscular level means a muscle that is “blocked” from engaging, or releasing. Sometimes the real problems with a shoulder issue may originate with a blockage somewhere else (neck, or even hip). It is impossible to have a high functioning shoulder complex when the nerve impulses to the muscles are impaired. Acupuncture has been around long enough and certainly validates the concept of energy blockages. Once these “energy blocks” are released, the flow of energy in the body improves and can be felt as a sensation of warmth and aliveness within muscles of the body that are effectively “new” to a person’s awareness. I believe the flow of qi energy corresponds to restoration of proper nerve impulses.
Asymmetrical Awareness 