Next time you have to sit for an extended period of time like driving or flying, notice what happens once you’re able to get up and move. At first, you might be aware of how stiff your muscles are. Next, you might instinctively begin to stretch throughout your body, much like the full body movement a cat indulges in when it wakes up from sleep. Perhaps you want to reach further and further. Notice how good it feels, and how the body feels refreshed and energized. Or picture you’re on a swing, and every pull through your hands and stretch through your legs swings you higher and higher. That power you can generate on a swing, that jolt of freshness and energy after stretching through your entire body, this is the feel of Potency Energy!
Potency is a high-voltage muscle stretch (like the yawning cat) that vitalizes the body with a sense of robustness and strength. It relaxes as it empowers, creating optimal efficiency in the body-mind. It is power without pain and relief without strain. To engage with Potency, try this: stand in front of a wall or closed door, place your hands on the surface and lean in and then push yourself away from the wall. Do this several times to feel the sensation of it. Now, repeat the first step, but muscle-yawn, or engage your entire back, between your shoulder blades, and along your spine before you push away from the wall. As you engage or muscle-yawn, you will feel that your body wants to move away from the surface on which you are leaning, you may feel as if your back is leading the movement, and your arms will have to work less. Your abdominal area is slightly concaved, while your back is rounded. Notice if muscle-yawning away from the wall or door feels easier and more efficient than just pushing away with your arms. When we use the muscle-yawn of Potency, the muscles engage more optimally with a balance between extension and contraction relative.
During the months of winter, we often see the physical and mental contraction associated with the stress of holidays, travel, and difficult weather. The antidote? You might try to tap into the intentional extension or reach associated with Potency. When we engage Potency, we both lengthen and widen without causing breakage or strain. Potency is one of the three body energies that we re-discover and experience in Lessac Kinesensic training. For more inside discussion on these and other principles of Kinesensics, become a member of the Institute and gain access to members-only content via email and social media.
