Improving lower back problems with Toe Tapping

Most abdominal exercises, such as the standard floor crunch, work your abs through an active contraction -- the muscles contract, or shorten, to perform the movement. The toe tapping exercise that is a simple Chinese exercise and is part of Dahn Yoga, is a basic abdominal movement that works your abs isometrically, or statically. Your abdominal muscles are not the primary movers, but they do engage during the toe tap exercise.

Toe tapping is an ancient practice that helps balance the energy between the body and head while it dramatically stimulates energy flow in the legs, allowing you to become connected to the larger energy field of the earth. Because of this, I found this exercise extremely helpful with lower back pain, back tensions and with serious case of stenosis. Don't get disheartened if when you try this simple exercise first time that every healthy person can do hundreds of them right away, you can't even move your feet, your lower back goes into spasm right away and can't move or your legs get so stiff when your try this simple repetitive movement that you only can do 2-3 of the tapping. Even that is just a pathetic effort of what you supposed to do... This is how I started! Just trying it again every other day. This is how I worked my way up to 150 taps within two weeks! So there is hope! Don't give up!

Do not do this exercise if you have had a recent knee or hip replacement or if you are pregnant.

Find a comfortable place on the floor.

The legs rotate from the hips, like windshield wipers on a car. Lie flat on your back. Allow your hips and legs to rest easily, hips loose and feet apart. Rotate or rock your legs and feet, in and out from your hips, leaving your heels in one place on the floor. Roll your legs, first tapping your big toes together and then letting your legs and feet roll back out. Keep your legs straight.

The faster you tap, the easier it will be to do this exercise, because you will be using momentum from the previous tap as well as the rotator muscles in your hips and thighs. Continue the tapping for five minutes at first, then work up to longer periods. The demonstration video I included later is fantastic, the music is great, very rhythmical and easy to work with! Once you stop, rest on your back. Notice how you feel and relax in this position for a moment.

Watch and use this video to develop your daily routine of Toe Tapping

How does Toe Tapping work:
Your abdominal muscles do not actively contract, or shorten, during the toe tap movement. The iliopsoas, or hip flexor muscles, are the primary movers. These muscles connect your hip bone to your thigh bone and are responsible for pulling your thighs toward your hip. The rectus abdominis, your main ab muscle, isometrically contracts to stabilise your torso during the toe tap movement. Your ab muscles contract without a significant change in length.

A variety of factors can impede the flow of energy, such as stress, lack of sleep and dehydration. As you tap your feet together, the Liver Meridian, Gall Bladder Meridian, Bladder Meridian, and Spleen Meridian as well as various acupressure points may be stimulated. These are part of an invisible network of pathways within the body through which Chi energy travels. Toe Tapping helps open these pathways to clear any blockages that may be affecting the balance and flow of energy in the body.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine we should have cool head, neutral heart, and a warm pelvis. And in our culture, we’re flipped: we often have a cool pelvis, neutral heart, and a hot head. As you tap your toes together, fire energy is drawn downward and your natural state of a cooler head will be restored. This desirable state is known as “Water Up, Fire Down.” This means that any tension and stress induced energy in the head area is directed down into lower parts of the body to help energise the circulation of both blood and energy throughout the whole body as it also strengthens the lower body. The tapping of the toes will stimulate some meridian points to bring energy up, and also it opens the hips.
Dr Chiasson writes that "I can teach it to just about anybody, because people who can’t get out of bed can do it; I’ve even taught it to hospice patients. It also works extraordinarily well for some of the things that we’re not very good at, like restless leg syndrome, peripheral neuropathy. It’s very, very simple. And kids do it naturally. I was teaching it the other day to a group of older people, and they were laughing, some of them were saying, “Oh, I do this sometimes without even thinking about it.”

Toe Tapping for Pain Relief
Toe tapping also comes with a variety of physical benefits. It can relieve headaches and lower back pain in addition to easing irritation in the hip joint. This is particularly useful for people who spend much of their day at a desk and, in effect, suffer from stiffness and soreness in the back, neck, shoulders and other parts of the body.

The exercises helps to relax the entire body and allows energy and blood to flow, thus raising the body temperature for optimal body function and healing, and offer new confidence for creating positive change in your life. Give it a try.

Toe Tapping for prevention
The tapping method was described by Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. For her own patients with high blood pressure, Dr. Chiasson has adapted a tapping technique that is part of the ancient Chinese practice called Qigong.

Qigong involves simple movements, including tapping on the body’s meridians, or “highways” of energy movement. These meridians are the same as those used during acupuncture and acupressure treatments. According to a review of nine studies published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, qigong reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number) by an average of 17 points and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of 10 points. Those are big reductions! In fact, they are comparable to the reductions achieved with drugs—but the qigong had no unwanted side effects.

Though Dr. Chiasson has not conducted a clinical trial on her tapping protocol, she has observed reductions in blood pressure among her patients who practice tapping. The technique she recommends also could conceivably benefit people who do not have high blood pressure if it reduces stress and thus helps lower the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Conducting Toe Tapping Exercises at Work
You can practice toe tapping while sitting at your desk to find relief from stress and pain associated with sitting at a desk. To conduct this Dahn Yoga exercise, follow these steps:
Start in a seated position with your legs extended as much as possible while still keeping your feet on the ground.
Put your heels together and keep them touching throughout the exercise.
Tap the big toes together.
Open your feet by rotating the heels until the little toes touch the ground. The motion should resemble a butterflies wings flapping.
Repeat the movement as fast as you can 100 times. Use music if you prefer!

The more you practice toe tapping, the more you'll notice the benefits of this Dahn Yoga exercise. You can increase the number of motions each time to enhance the benefits slowly. Toe tapping may be low-exertion, but it can help to improve circulation in your legs and relieve tension and soreness throughout the body. It even has the ability to calm your mind and provide a better night's sleep. This wide array of benefits can, in turn, work to improve your job performance, as you find yourself feeling more awake, aware and vibrant throughout the work day and ready to take on new and challenging tasks.

More on Meridian Tapping and Energy Flow Techniques: http://www.holistic-mindbody-healing.com/meridian-tapping.html