Monday, October 21, 2013

don't spill a drop of tea!



According to a Chinese legend, the Bagua tea cup movement was made famous at the dining hall of the emperor's palace. The emperor was very impressed by a waiter who in the midst of a crowd avoided contact by spiraling his arms in all directions. Not a drop of tea spilled.

At play bodies, we haven't yet tried holding tea cups for this movement. We prefer to hold a squash ball or tennis ball with the palm up. The movement can be done with an empty hand, but it's more fun to hold a small ball.

With the tea cup movement the shoulder, spine, elbow, and wrist move as one unit. Some therapists teach this to patients with rotator cuff problems and shoulder impingement. As the saying goes, "movement as medicine." We all need freedom of mobility.

"You need humility to climb to freedom." - Rumi

We document and share a catalog of movements. This blog and the videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only. Please seek guidance from a qualified instructor to be sure you move with proper biomechanics and safety. 







Tea Cup Exercises 1 & 2 (whole body mobility) by CHW55555

photo above scanned from the book, Japan and Japanese (1902), courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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