Primal Release Pose addresses two of the major blocks in the body armor--The two areas in the bodymind where the reins on our spirit are pulled most tightly by the entrenchment of ego's defenses are: The diaphragm and the Iliopsoas muscle complex. If we can release these, we can free ourselves from the crippling effects of trauma, denial and the accumulation inner and outer negativity. It is these two somatic blocks that lead to the unconsciousness and inertia resulting from dissociation. Since these blockages are set up in order to curb emotion, we cannot be emotionally authentic without opening up these two neuromuscular areas...and in doing so the Heart is then given preeminence in our psyche. This primal contraction release for the lower body involves contorting the body in a yogic pose to compress the diaphragm and psoas, waiting for an emotional discharge to occur, then breathing and pressing into the muscular spasm that occurs when the pose is dropped.

Figure 3: Primal Release Pose

1. Warm up: First lie on your back, kick your legs over your head carefully (do it harshly and you will strain your neck muscles). Knees lightly bent, legs in the air. Put your weight on your thoracic/shoulder area, cross feet, put your hands over the top of your head and rock back and forward, pulling gently on the head to extend the neck, thus rolling the neck and thoracic into the floor. The spine will probably crack.



2. Pose: Put your elbows on your thighs about 4" above knees, while still holding the head and rest in this position with maximum body weight on the shoulder-back. Drop all the weight from the legs directly down in a line of gravity to the spine at the back of the chest. Breathe deeply and stay in this position, gently moving as desired for around 10 mins.



3. Enforced Spasm: Lie flat on your back, holding the muscles of the small of the back, either side of the spine with the fingers splade out. After a minute these muscles will spasm after having been over extended in the pose position. Press into the spasm with fingers and breathe into the belly until it subsides. The more one does the exercise the less spasms will occur. If spasms are too much to handle, lift knees to relax spine and press into spasms with fists.



4. Integration: To finish roll back and forth to loosen up spine again.

This technique provides a gentle cathartic release of the charge from the muscles. The discharge is interesting its like a rolling wave of energy-emotion coming from the diaphragm, often associated with a contemporary thought of sadness or self pity, however the thought is only what the psyche is using as a vehicle for the discharge to happen. The more this is done, the more the diaphragm is released and this straightens the spine and softens the belly allowing full breath. The PRP releases chronic contraction in the lumbar muscles...the innermost layer of these being the psoas. This contraction and release allows more space inside, and more conductivity through the pelvis and into the legs, better grounding and more connection between the top half and the lower half of the body. This pose is excellent for "getting stuff to the surface" ... So we could call this pose the upside-down insight-out pose.

This pose is ideal for contemplating ones "Fundamental Doubt" over whether the Universe is indeed supportive of you.

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