"Here is the short list of positive physical changes since participating in bowspring: *symptom free of plantar fasciitis heel pain after suffering with it for over ten years, *no low back pain or chronic muscle spasms in upper back, *no rolling out of bed with a pinched nerve in my neck from an awkward night of sleep, *greater rotational range of motion in the upper back and neck, and *increased overall strength in lower body and core muscles.
These positive physical changes allowed me to participate in physical activities in a different way, one where there was effortless power and the absence of pain." Richard B. (student)
The Bowspring Method is an alternative movement and postural modality designed to encourage balanced pain-free living. Students age 8-80 benefit from the use of bowspring alignment to optimize their health.
The bowspring template describes the optimal neutral alignment for the human spine which has.. 1. A circumferential fullness in the thoracic, 2. A natural curve in the lower back, 3. A uniform arch in the neck.
In this undulating curved shape of the spine and torso, the entire back body is isometrically engaged into a loaded spring of connective tissue (myofascia). From the pads of the big toe all the way up to the sacrum, and from the fingertips all the way down to the sacrum, the bow spring is loaded. Every posture and movement then becomes a dynamic expansion of the bowspring in which the spine is actively decompressed and fully lengthened. The myofascia is concentrically toned around the core of the torso like a unified muscle suit.
What's with all the bouncing?
"What's with all the bouncing? the connective tissue extends and becomes more circulated and spacious. The nervous system attunes and we pay more attention because it's more difficult than holding a sedentary posture. The best part is that bouncing literally lifts the grouch right out of the heart, despite our best intentions to stay down. We become lighter, all the way around. Bouncing helps to align the bowspring, and strengthen our core...meaning not just the abdominal muscles, but the concentric core of our being, inside-out, right and left, top and bottom. Bouncing creates space and space is necessary for new alignment, a new thought, and even the freeing of an old emotional pattern. Bouncing is brilliant! Agility over rigidity. Bouncing makes us youthful & puts the (bow)spring back into our step via our hearts." Vital Yoga
Using the bowspring alignment at any age can create a balanced tonus throughout the body, which creates tensile strength, precise balance, and rooted lightness while using the least amount of physical energy.
The Bowspring Alignment ... 1. optimizes performance, 2. offers powerful therapeutic realignment for the lower back and hips, 3. decreases joint and bone degeneration, bolsters immune system, 4. recalibrates the neuro-glandular, and 5. empowers the spirit of the student to cultivate a positive mindset.
The bowspring shape requires us to access the muscles on the back of our body, including the upward mounding of the Gluteus Maximus.
The Bowspring Method was created by Desi Springer & John Friend.
The key alignment instructions are very different and many times opposite than what is often taught in other schools of modern postural yoga, classical dance, or other postural alignment systems. As the posture becomes second nature, the process of body-mind balancing accelerates. Bowspring Method becomes a life practice of body-mind alignment that can be integrated into a practitioner's daily activities throughout their entire lifetime for the most optimal health, the highest performance, and for a bright vision of life.