In the last few articles, we discussed the concepts involved in levels 2A, 2B and 2C. Now let's relate what is happening in your body while you are on the table to these concepts. For each level there are characteristic strategies that happen physically to evoke the consciousness of the level.
In Level 2A you are lying on your stomach. A sustained contact, meaning more than a few seconds, is held on your gateway. You are asked to focus all your attention into the gateway and lift it into the contact to press against the contact finger or thumb. You are asked to focus your energy into the gateway and direct your breath into it as well. If you know your leading strategy (see Vol. 2, Issue 18) or your primary order (Vol. 2, Issue 19), you are asked to use them.
It is very important to really give the stretch everything you have because the effort you put in here really builds the structure of the gateway physically and energetically. The 2A stretch is the basis of all the levels of care that follow.
In Level 2B, you may have just had one or two 2A gateway stretches. The two gateways that will be involved in the Level 2B gateway dance are associated with the same phase of spinal cord tension. They may be both in the neck, both in the pelvis or one in the neck and the other in the pelvis. The gateways involved were probably just stretched in level 2A.
You will be asked to lie on your side with your hand supporting your head. (Positioning is critical and a bit complicated so do not be concerned if the practitioner always needs to adjust your position after you have assumed it). The point here is to line up the spine with the two spinal gateways so that the somato-psychic wave can be directed into the gateways.
The NSA practitioner will take hold of your wrist, traction the arm and shoulder and place your hand on the side of your leg. With his other hand, the practitioner will use a gentle pressure on your shoulder to direct your energy, movement and breath into the spinal gateways. You will start to notice a rhythmic movement, back and forth between the two gateways. If you do not, tell the practitioner to help you develop the awareness of this.
The practitioner will then identify areas of energy and tension in the spine that have the same tone or match the energy of the gateways. With one hand on the front of the body to stabilized, the practitioner will place his other hand on the back of your body, sandwiching this energy. He will then direct it up or down the spine towards the gateway it is associated with.
You and the practitioner will work together to direct the energy from your spine into your gateways using your strategies of energy, movement, and breath. The end result is that your nervous system will become so efficiently trained that as soon as the practitioner touches your spine, the energy will go to the gateway it is associated with. When the practitioner directs your energy and focus into the gateways with the shoulder contact, you will get a rhythmic and noticeable oscillation of the gateways.
When this gateway oscillation develops and becomes natural for you, you will be positioned for Level 2C. You are lying with your head at the foot of the table with your knees bent. (A mat is placed under your feet to keep the head piece clean.) Your arms hang off the table outstretched.
You will be working with the gateways that were either oscillating in Level 2B or just stretched in Level 2A. Keeping your attention in the gateways at all times will greatly assist the development of the strategies of this level.
The practitioner will start by placing his hands on the insteps of your feet. This is specifically aimed at directing your focus, energy and movement into the gateways. It may actually initiate the oscillation of the gateways.
He will then proceed to stroke down on the clavicles. This creates a tissue pull over the front of the chest and stimulates a lifting of the chest region. You may only feel a slight sensation of this at first so purposely lifting your chest after the clavicle stroke helps to develop this response.
The practitioner will then reach under your spine and ask you to lift two distinct regions of the spine. Lifting these areas and directing your energy into the chest will create this response. Keep lifting these areas for the duration of the time the practitioner contacts the spine.
He will then place his palms on the crests of your hips and direct your breath into the gateways with his fingertips on the abdomen. Directing your breath into the gateways at this point helps develop the awareness of this strategy.
Finally the practitioner will contact the gateways directly. When he contacts the gateway, stretch into the contact and then shoot the energy from this gateway into the the other gateway. He will then contact the other gateway and do the same thing. These are the two gateways that were oscillating in 2B. In between each gateway contact, he will stroke the clavicle to direct the somato-psychic wave into that gateway.
So, these are the physical strategies of Levels 2A, 2B and 2C. You will definitely want to begin attending some of the advanced workshops once we start working in these levels. Check our workshop schedule and join us to learn how you can advance your levels of care.
