Lets look at why I think doing the stances is beneficial. I have been doing them daily for nearly 20 years now so I am pretty well qualified to comment on the matter. You can consider the benefits in several aspects, physical, mental, energetic, psychic and as a basis for doing other activities such as martial arts. For today I will consider the basic physical experience of daily performing the stances.

The emphasis on daily is very important. Sometimes people who have just done the stances once will report feeling more relaxed and sleeping well afterwards but that experience, no matter how pleasant, cannot continue without a regular practice. The stances promote deep and natural breathing and enable gentle toning and stretching on the muscles, tendons and sinews. Thanks to the slow and deliberate way in which they are performed the muscles have time to fully extend and the joints to achieve their full range of movement. The stances which involve standing on one leg, Rei and Bjork develop balance and strengthen the stabiliser muscles in the leg you use to stand on. The turns between some of the stances also develop stability and balance.

Core strength is developed and maintained too through the deep, controlled breathing, especially in the galdre versions. Breath control is actually the most effective way of developing core strength since it is the best way to exercise the muscles in the lower abdomen.

Correct posture is developed through practice of the stances. This comes from an awareness of being centred and balanced and through developing core stability.

Even if you are physically active in work or sport it is unlikely you will be maintaining balance in your body. Practice of the Stances will bring the body back into balance. If you are injured then practising the stances appropriately will enable you to make a speedier recovery. Occasionally I strain my back, usually through a combination of excessively heavy work and becoming over tired. When this happens it does make doing the full set of Stances rather difficult, especially Ur. However by persisting and doing the stances gently my range of movement recovers and I am helped by knowing the full range of movement I should have and the practice ensures I recover it. Otherwise it can be too easy to decide that you cannot risk hurting yourself and soon lose your full range of movement.

All these benefits require regular practice to achieve and maintain them. But the most fundamental reason for long term practice is that the human body is constantly renewing itself and this renewal happens in accordance with the experience the body undergoes. As far as the stances are concerned this means that every day the body is correctly aligned, balanced and stretched and undergoes pretty much its full range of motion. This seems to affect the long term structure of the body. Ivar Hafskjold is in his late 60s now yet is fitter than many half his age. I am in my early 50s now but find I can cope with heavier work and more demanding training than I could 25 years ago.

I am not intending to boast, but Stav works for me and I firmly believe it can do the same for anyone else who is willing to make the effort to learn how to do the stances, and more important, do them regularly.

Regards,

Graham

www.iceandfire.org.uk