Omega Institute Tensegrity Workshop - May 26-29, 1995
Part VII - May 28 & 29
Sunday and Monday Tensegrity Instruction
by Corey Donovan

Sunday Morning Session

18. Mixing the Left and Right Energy

Minor. Begin with the usual Tensegrity "horse" stance, hips facing forward throughout. Start with the left hand up, waist level, palm facing right. [As my friend Janie commented, "like the robot in 'It Came from Outer Space,' Klatu Barada Nicto."] Bring the right hand, palm down, up to about shoulder level in front of the body, and then quickly dive down with it, then over to the left and up part way and back to the right (about level with the solar plexus), all in a continuous, swirling motion, with a jerk out in front of the body on the left. The right hand should now be horizontal.

Push the left hand toward the right, across the body, twisting the torso (they urged us to "really use the stomach"), with the right hand leading. The parrying hand is held perpendicular to the body and perpendicular to the diving hand. Then bring the left hand back to the left to shoulder level to make the same diving, circling motion with the left hand. Dive, lock and push, very quickly and forcefully. Keeping the wrists tense creates force in the pulling back of the hand. The fingers should be kept fairly stiff and the thumbs locked. Do several times.

19. Twirling Energy

Minor. Start with the left arm curved in front of your body, as if you were holding an imaginary partner. Bring the right arm in front of you, then up over the head and out, twisting the wrist as the hand slices forward, so that the hand assumes a position with the fingers pointing forward and the palm facing out, like you were on a horse lassoing a steer. The movement ends when you "slap" an imaginary wall in front of you (hand position ends up facing to the left) like you were "beating a rug."

At the same time as you are bringing the right arm forward, pivot your left arm around to your back and, with a backhand, slap the wall behind you just as the right hand is slapping in front. Maintain a forward gaze throughout. Relax before tensing the hand. Whip it very forcefully, exhaling on the strike. "This is a natural movement." Then switch and hold the right arm curved in front and do the same movement with the left hand to the front and the right hand to the back. Repeat several times.

20. Pulling the Horizon

Major. This starts out with feet shoulder-width apart. There are three segments to this pass.

(1) Start with both arms down at the sides. Looking to the left, slowly raise left arm, palm down, to shoulder level. Flip palm up and tighten chest, and pull left arm in tight to the side, with fingers of the left hand pointing forward. Then look to the right as the right arm begins to rise, palm down, to shoulder level. Flip palm up and pull right arm in tight to the side, with fingers of the right hand pointing forward. Slowly bring your gaze back to the center. Then bring the left hand forward, as if it were scooping up something in front, continuing until the arm is straight up. Then bring the arm to the back, with the palm now facing the ceiling. Bring it all the way back and down, turning the hand so that the palm is facing the floor. Then scoop up with the hand and bring it back by the side.

Then bring the right hand forward and make the same motion. (Essentially vertical circles with each hand.) Then bring the left hand forward and flip it over, palm down. Move it across the front of the body, scanning the horizon, eyes following the hand. When it has gone as far as it can on the right side, curve it around and back, now moving from right to left. When it gets to the left side, make a wide curve around the left side, flipping the hand over again and bringing it in to the left side. Repeat this scanning motion with the right hand, and when the right hand gets to the right side, as it scans the horizon in front, bring the left hand around from the back, as if following after the right hand. Bring the right hand to the back until the left hand catches up.

Meanwhile, once the left hand gets to the right side, curve it around and scan the horizon from right to left. (These horizon scans should be very purposeful movements, without bending the wrist--only bend the elbow.) Scoop the left hand back in to the left side, and scoop the right hand in to the right side. Bring both hands back in to the waist, and make them into fists.

(2) With all the weight on the left foot, shift the left heel slightly inward, so as to enable the body to turn to the right more easily. Take one step to the right and face right with the arms forward. Then make three small inward circles with the right foot, keeping the sole of the foot on the ground. Step forward with the right foot, dragging the heel of the left foot forward. Now make three outward small circles on the ground with the right foot. Step forward again with the right foot, the heel of the left foot sliding forward. Now take five "jump" steps, like a boxer, and while taking the steps, hit out with the fists circling around each other. (Think of a boxer pummeling a boxing bag.)

(3) With the right fist strike out fast directly to your right (but don't extend the arm fully). You should now be standing with the right arm extended to the right in a fist, and the left arm flexed in a fist over the middle of the upper chest. Now pivot the right heel to the right, bringing the left foot back, even with the right foot, still about one foot apart. At the same time strike out to the left with the left fist, bringing the right fist in to the upper chest. Then pivot with the left heel to the left, moving the right foot back, even with the left, and strike out with the right fist, at the same time bringing the left fist to the chest.

Face front. Pivot on the right heel facing left with arms forward and hands in fists shifting weight to the right foot. With the left foot make three inward circles. Step forward with the left foot dragging the heel of the right foot forward. With the left foot make three outer circles. Step forward with the left foot heel, sliding the right foot forward. Do five jump steps forward while rolling the fists forward as at a punching bag. Shift your weight to face front. Strike the left side with backhand/bent arm. Pivot on the left heel. Slide right foot around and strike with the right hand. Pivot on the right heel. Slide left foot around and strike with the left hand.

Questions

Someone asked (again), 'What's the difference between martial arts and Tensegrity? Kylie answered, "The Tensegrity movements allow your body to move in new and different ways. These are the things we will focus on in the six-week workshop. Tensegrity is not martial arts, although some of the old naguals were martial artists. When they went into dreaming, they brought their basic intuition about martial arts and used it. But their intent was not the same as with martial arts."

In response to a question about remembering the movements, Kylie suggested "as you are practicing the movements, call intent to help you remember more. Your body remembers. But we usually don't allow ourselves to remember. Tensegrity forges the discipline to fight off the flyers."

21. Aligning the Energy Body

Minor. Pull back the right arm like stretching a bow (or like aiming a rifle along the shoulder), with the left palm straight up toward the ceiling. Push out with the left as you pull back with the right. Bring the right shoulder back as far as you can. Then strike out with the right arm. With the left elbow bent and back and the left hand held up, palm up, further extend the right arm and hand to the front, and with the first two fingers extended, scoop outward three times. Then flatten the right palm, lean in to the right and move the right hand inward. Snap (or flick) out to the right once with the wrist, without moving the rest of the arm, and exhale. (Note: This pass is only performed on the right side.)

22. The Seesaw

Major. Starting with the right hand in a fist down at the thigh (thumb not locked), bring it up with a jerk. Then bring the fist to the "small" of the back with the "hole" in the top of the fist pointing up. Bring the left fist to the right shoulder with the "hole" facing the shoulder as if a rope is going through the collar bone. Then bend forward and imagine pulling this invisible rope (one end pulling through the left fist, the other being pulled in the right fist) so that in the bent-over position, the left fist slides down toward the stomach while the right fist slides up as high as you can go on the upper back. As you straighten up, bring the fists back to their original positions. Breathe in on bending over and exhale on straightening out the body. Do this up-and-down-movement a total of three times.

Then bring the left fist back over your head behind you ("as if unwrapping a bandage from right ear to left ear") and place the fist on your left hip. Bring the right fist along exactly the same path over the head, ending up on the left shoulder. As the left fist goes to the left shoulder, the right fist goes to the small of the back. Make the "see saw" movement three more times (again inhaling on bending over and exhaling on standing up). Bring the right fist over behind the head (unwrapping the bandage from left ear to right) and around in front of you--extending your arm, fist down. Bring the left fist over the head (following the exact path of the right) and extend in front parallel to the right fist (fist facing down). Both fists are now in front. Then open your hands and apply the energy to any area of the body you want. Finally repeat the whole procedure, starting this time with the left fist jerking up at the left side of the waist.

Commentary

Kylie told us we should "do something," meaning at least some of the Tensegrity passes, "every day." She also explained that "inner silence is not just stopping the internal dialogue." She claimed that we need to "get out of the way so that something very abstract can take place."

A woman asked a question about how to perform Taisha's wrist flicks, mentioned in The Sorcerer's Crossing. Kylie explained that those passes were particularized for Taisha. The Chacmools "don't do them and weren't even taught them. We were given some of the particular passes given to don Juan's disciples as components, and have integrated them into something that can be publicly taught." Kylie further claimed that Tensegrity "forges the 'weird discipline' and energy around us that makes us distasteful to the Flyers." We then broke at noon for lunch.

On returning at 3 PM, Nyei said the Chacmools wanted to respond further to requests for a list of the movements they were instructing us on. She explained that "things come together in the moment for us" [i.e., the decision to teach us the 23 new passes was apparently fairly sudden and last minute], so it is hard to know in advance what might be needed. She said there would be a booklet of instructions with the next video. "The booklet may even come out before the next video." She also explained that the next morning session (Monday) would be "dedicated exclusively to reviewing the 23 new movements." She also responded to a previous question about why the Chacmools "run out" at the end of each session. She claimed it was because "after the group session breaks up, the questions we get tend to become more personal. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it doesn't work for losing personal history. If you have a question that is very personal and you don't get a chance to ask it, you should write us a letter. Although it may take awhile for us to answer, we will," she claimed. They then taught us the last movement of the new series:

23. The Shield

Minor. (1) Start with the right hand, circling clockwise in front of the body (palm facing the body) as though there were a large, wide shield in front of the body. (Left arm is bent, in "parry" position.) Circle it three times and end down toward the right leg. Shake out this hand and then shoot it up to the left three times, shaking it out after you drop the hand back down each time. Then circle around one-and-a-half times counter clockwise to the upper right, and shoot the hand down to the left three times, shaking the hand out again each time before shooting it back down.

(2) Do the same movements as in (1), this time starting with the left hand. Circle three times and end on the left leg. Shoot up to the right three times and circle. When striking, the hand vibrates a bit "like a fish," shimmying as it swims.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to instructing the group on selected passes from the first video, and to a performance by Renata and Nyei of the long pass called Tensegrity of Affection or the Sorcerer's Affection.

Monday Morning, May 29 - Tensegrity Pass Review

This three-hour session consisted of a complete review of the 23 new passes that were taught on Saturday and Sunday. [I did not take complete notes during this review, so the following notes are from another workshop participant.]

Rjuna's Notes from Monday Morning Review Session

On the Axis Breath: "We're trying to break the connection with the social order. The energy loops out of the bottom of the body; it's brought up and out; it gives us a moment when we don't have to be concerned with the social order. After raising the arms, look out into infinity, sending the energy out. Then break the connection with the energy you have sent into space, by lowering your eyes, then lower the head, and lower the arms."

"The mass energy we get from doing these passes and from the workshops allows us to pull out of ourselves and focus on something else besides ourselves. Then our chains are broken. Carlos is compelled to do this" (i.e., to make Tensegrity available to those who are interested).

"In the social world, our words are never the same as our actions. In our world, our words are the same as our actions."

Kylie told about how one of the seminar directors described his AA history to her, and his continuing desire (at times) to drink. "We're talking about the hypothetical alcoholic who, even though he has been sober for 15 years, longs for that one drink; we will make that desire for that one drink as if it were never there." [We believe she was making the point that sorcery "remakes one at a cellular level, so that the desire for an entrenched destructive habit disappears"--i.e., that we don't need to go to AA meetings, or even "sorcery meetings." The total revamping that supposedly results from Tensegrity and/or other sorcery practices (i.e. recapitulation) makes the desire for drink as if it had never been there.]

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