Seiza

This is a photo of my student Jonathan sitting in the seiza. Many western people have not been in this position for many many years. On the other hand for people that move very regularly, this might be a position they visit often and where they can stay for a prolonged time. Jonathan started to train with me with an injured knee so to get him back into this deep positions was very high on our agenda because it takes away a lot of your freedom. With constantly giving a stimulus to the knee to heal and to allow again the deep positions, while having also adequate rest, within a few months Jonathan achieved to get back into the seiza.
Notice: Before we started to practice, Jonathan couldn’t go into the seiza for almost 3 Years.
Through the years our practice has healed many ankles, knees, hips, spines, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Many people come to us with problems, many people we can help.
I constantly meet people who are walking around with old injuries that take away freedom from them for the past 10 or 20 or 30 years. I propose not to accept your injuries and traumas and instead of making them part of your identity, rather work on getting your freedom back. It takes time and effort but already the signal of not accepting the state of being injured instead of resigning and accepting your fate can make an enormous difference in the outcome of your healing process. Early in my practice I realised that my injuries heal faster than what doctors have told me because I had this big urge to train again, I wanted to move, I asked to get the freedom back. Of course, be smart, start small and slow, but be persistent. Take the responsibility.

2017-10-09

Joseph Bartz