1. Stand with legs straight holding the ruler at dantian level. Pivot the torso 45 degrees to the left and slide-step the left foot out while supporting all of you weight on the right leg.
2.
Raise the ruler upward in front of the body and then move it outward away
from the body while simultaneously shifting the hips backward and straightening
the left leg, and lowering the back forward and downward towards the horizontal.
Continuing sitting back onto the right leg (which is bent) and completely
stretch the torso and arms downward along the length of the left leg. Make sure
the left foot remains flat on the floor. This completes half the cycle.
3.
The second half of the cycle is done as follows:
Slowly raise
the torso and allow the arms to just hang relaxed from the shoulders, By doing
so, you will notice the ruler moving up from your foot, and over your shin, as
you raise your back. As the ruler passes above the left knee, shift your weight
forward and move the left knee to come forward over the toes. As you shift
forward, the back continues to raise to the vertical, and the ruler is raised to
chest level. This movement from the torso-lowered-on-the left-leg position, to
the vertical right bow stance posture is coordinated with the inhalation.
4. From this upright position with left knee over the toes, simultaneously execute the following movements:
a.
bend in the hips
b.
lower the torso towards horizontal
c.
extend the arms holding the ruler outwards
towards horizontal
d.
shift weight back to the right leg
Continue lowering the torso with arms
outstretched bringing the ruler all the way down to the floor beyond the left foot if possible. This
portion
5.
Complete the cycle by simultaneously raising the torso, shifting forward
to the left bow stance (left knee over toes) and raising the ruler to chest
level.
6.
Do eight repetitions with the left foot forward, moving as slowly as
possible, while maintaining comfortable coordination of each part of the
movement, with inhalation and exhalation.
7.
After the eighth repetition, shift forward, close the rear foot into the
front foot, and bring the ruler up to eye level, as we did to end exercises one
and two. Keeping both knees bent and the left foot in place, pivot the torso 90
degrees to the right and slide-step the right foot forward. Now proceed with
eight slow repetitions of the exact same movements with the right foot forward.
The finish is the same as exercises one and two.