Your Exercise Guide 0 P age
Photo 1: The starting position is the most important position for the OSFLOW, where you stand on it straight and keep your body loose. All joints, from head to toe should feel light and open, meaning ready to move. Straighten the spinal column but do not overstretch it, just so that it is as straight as possible. The flow also moves through a warped skeleton (for example, with existing scoliosis) and always moves towards the right direction. Keep your feet parallel and facing forward, and balance out your weight equally on both feet, focusing your weight into the center of the feet. If that isn t possible due to an existing hip arthrosis for example, then the feet can also face outwards slightly. Letting your body feel light and loose is the most important preparation in order for successful training with the OSFLOW. If the practicing person still has to hold on to a balance aid (chair etc.) due to balancing issues, that is perfectly acceptable and before you know it they will be able to stand on the OSFLOW without any aids. Photo 2: Once the flow has reached the whole body it is possible to start moving around but make sure that the flow feeling doesn t get broken with any abrupt movements or if your body becomes stiff. The picture above is an example of possible movements. Therefore, only do movements that can incorporate the flow, or stand still and improve the flow feeling in your whole body and then start doing movements later in your training. Small mini-movements are obviously always possible, even just to check if your body is still loose or if you are starting to tighten your muscles. For example you can loosen the tensions that are still present in your hips and that will at the same time create a joint massage. This can be very beneficial if there is a pre-existing arthrosis or your hips are already hurting. 1 P age
Photo 3: It is possible to do circular movements with your pelvis or move your upper body, movements of your arms or of the cervical spine and of the head. As you are moving, you are searching for tensions or a slight stretch in your muscles, and you should remain in that position until you can feel your body loosening up. All movements and slight stretches should always be followed by a sense of well-being, or the flow-feeling. Never continue a movement that causes you pain. It is important, as has been said, that during the movements your body weight should always be connected to the center of your feet, so that the flow-feeling can spread through the whole body and does not become disconnected. Photo 4: You can also stretch your whole body during a training on the OSFLOW. Move in all directions until you feel a stretch. The flow-feeling has to continue the whole time, and your breathing has to be regulated and continue regularly. If your breathing becomes hesitant or irregular, it creates a countertension throughout the body and that would defeat the purpose of the training with the OSFLOW. The point of the OSLFOW training is to achieve a natural feeling of well-being (flow-feeling) and to dissolve the previously trained body rhythm. This is only possible with practice and trusting yourself. That is the only way to lose yourself in your own self. However, if you lose the center in your feet, your balance, or your breathing changes, then you automatically tense up and engage your body s precaution tensions. The flow becomes interrupted. 2 P age
Photo 5: It is also possible to roll your spinal cord backwards and forwards (each individual vertebrae moves up and down). Important as always: Flow feeling, feet centered and your breathing! This will release tensions in all areas of the spinal cord. Be careful if you have cardiovascular weaknesses and never continue movements that cause pain. Photo 6: You can stretch your whole spinal cord while holding the flow-feeling Photo 7: and then bend. Continue this back and forth. This improves the mobility of the spinal cord. Especially because you automatically try and move the parts of the spinal cord that are the hardest to move. You can also remain in a stretch position so that the flowfeeling can really sink in until you feel your skeleton becoming lighter. 3 P age
Photo 8: Here we get the flow through the shoulders into the arms. You stretch out your arms with the idea that your wrists are being pulled up by little strings. You are looking for the position in which your arms feel the lightest and then you remain in that position until the flow-feeling reaches your fingertips. This exercise is suitable for all people who feel tensions in their shoulders or in their cervical spine. Photo 9: This is an extension to the exercise in Photo 8. Here you hold your arms forwards in a circular position as if you were hugging a tree. You are again looking for a position in which your arms feel light and the flow feeling can flow all the way to your fingertips. Photo 10: Sitting on the OSFLOW. This exercise is meant for anyone who is unable to stand on the OSFLOW for example- due to paralysis, spasticity, balance insecurities etc. Moreover, this exercise has extensive effects on the whole pelvis area of your body. Your metabolism is increased, and muscle tensions become more equal, which means that weak muscles become stronger, and strong muscles become looser. This can be intensified through conscious breathing and simultaneous pelvis movements. This is interesting for men with prostate problems or for women who suffer from organ descent or general discomfort. On top of that, the sitting position has strong effects on your hip joints and the Iliosacral joints. As you are sitting you can cross your legs, to increase the OSFLOW s effects. The torso is 4 P age
held upright and loose, not tense but rather light and flowing, just like in all the other exercise. Photo 11: Here is a sitting option in case you are unable to cross your legs. You have more of your legs resting on the OSFLOW which can reduce sciatic pain. Photo 12: In this option you sit on one buttock to relax the movement of the sciatica as well as the surrounding muscles. This is pain reducing for sciatic problems. Careful with neuritis, sciatic irritations, lumbago, or others. We do not recommend training during the acute phase of any of these symptoms. Photo 13: Balance on your sacrum to mobilize the iliosacral joints. If you hold your legs with your hands, the exercise is the easiest. If you balance on your sacrum and move your legs in all the directions you will simultaneously have a good abdominal muscle exercise. Remember to control your breathing and move your body flowingly, so that the OSFLOW can work the flow-feeling without interruptions. 5 P age
Photo 14: You can also let your arms rest on the OSFLOW. In this exercise the OSFLOW pushes its effects through your arms straight into your shoulders and neck area. You can adjust how much pressure your hands are putting on the platform. The more pressure, the greater the massage of the OSFLOW. But it is important here to ensure that your elbows are not locked, even if you are putting more pressure on the platform. Photo 15: Move your pelvis away from the platform, to maximize the pressure on your arms. This is a great exercise for the stabilization of the shoulder and neck areas. The muscles that are involved for this exercise become looser and smoother but also become stronger. The shoulder blades should feel free and lose. All joints, that means wrists, elbows, and shoulder joints need to remain loose. Your breathing is focused and allows the flow-feeling to pass throughout your whole body. Your head is always light and feels like it is flowing above everything else. You look straight ahead of you and feel relaxed. Photo 16: On the next two exercises, you can see how the shoulder girdle can be trained even more intensely. With almost fully extended elbows, you let yourself fall into your shoulders (almost like a turtle who is retreating into its shell). This helps stretch the shoulder blade muscles. 6 P age
Photo 17: Then you press yourself into the musculoskeletal system and stretch your neck muscles. This exercise brings mobility into your shoulders and strengthens the shoulder girdle for a more upright posture. To increase the effectiveness of this exercise, you can slowly circle your shoulder blades. Remember the importance of correct breathing so that the flow-feeling can spread across your body without interference. Photo 18: Here is an exercise where you lightly place your hands on the OSFLOW. This can help with wrist or finger arthrosis. The arms do not have to do any work in this exercise as your hands are only lightly placed on the OSFLOW. Photo 19: If you slightly lift your knees from the floor, you will have another useful exercise for strengthening your support force as well as your arms. 7 P age
Photo 20: A version of the already discussed sitting method for the OSFLOW is the rider seat. This seat is even more intense and has positive results for the pelvis as thanks to the leg position, your legs are already being stretched out. Photo 21: Another option for a sitting position on the OSFLOW is the long seat. Your whole quads rest on the OSFLOW. This is again helpful for people who have sciatica problems. Also good for fighting cellulite. Photo 22: Lying on your stomach on the OSFLOW relaxes the whole front side of your torso. This helps with tight feelings in the thorax as well as with mucus dissolution in your lungs. This can be helpful with constipation and helps with the detoxification of your system. In the same way, the shoulder blade muscles in between the shoulder blades becomes loose as well as the neck. This effect is increased when your head and arms (just like in the image) are resting relaxed on another surface. 8 P age
Photo 23: In the back position of the OSFLOW you will relax your whole back. You should rest your head at a convenient height on a pillow or the cube that can be purchased with the OSFLOW. Your legs should rest at a higher height in the step position, such as a chair. This enables your spinal cord to lie flat on the OSFLOW. If your legs are stretched out flatly, in most humans that creates a hollow back, which isn t comfortable. Your hands can easily rest on top of your stomach. If desired, you can also put a blanket on the OSFLOW. The training time can be adjusted to personal preferences. The recommended 3-5 minute sessions are meant for the standing position. You can easily add other forms of exercise (sitting, lying) for as long as you want. The lying position is also useful to decrease stress, or sleep problems. You can lie on the OSFLOW before bed and then you should sleep more soundly. This is the only exception where you do not have to return to the standing position of the OSFLOW, when you go straight to bed. Photo 24: In this exercise, you can see another version of the arm position. The hands are placed below your pelvis and do not need to be held actively. Photo 25: Here the arms are stretched out on the floor. This creates a slight stretch in the thorax. This arm position is recommended for people who feel tightness in their thorax 9 P age
Photo 26: Or you place your arms crossed under your head. Each arm position has an effect on the shoulder girdle and the thorax. Try each position to feel for yourself the difference of each position, and then find your favorite and most comfortable position. Photo 27: The position demonstrated above, is a great way to recreate the flowfeeling. As you are sitting on a chair, place your feet on the OSFLOW. Without shoes, of course, but socks or barefoot works just as well. Furthermore, your feet benefit more from the natural impulse of the OSFLOW that decreases the effects of flatfoot or splayfoot. The height of your seat should ensure that your knees are no higher than your quads, because otherwise you will not be able to keep your legs completely relaxed. For this to happen, you need a higher chair or a surface on which you can place the chair. This problem is solved in the picture by the second person holding the feet in their place. This is especially comfortable for the person who is sitting. This exercise is especially useful for wheelchair users, or for people who are having trouble standing on their own, or are having balance issues. Photo 28: If the feet are not only held on the platform, but even pressed into the platform a little, then the wellness feeling increases and you receive a nice massage. The pressure points can be focused in all areas of the feet. An advantage for the helper is that he/ she does not need to do a lot, of work as the OSFLOW is doing most of the work by itself. Photo 29: Another wellness position is the back position, where you place your back on the floor in front of the OSLFOW, as shown in this picture. Place your calves on the OSFLOW either directly, or over a towel. This helps relax heavy legs after a long day. This position encourages backflow into your legs. Careful by risk of thrombosis or if you have a weak heart. In these cases, the position has undesired effects. People with knee problems enjoy relaxing effects for their knees, but after you should stand back up on the OSFLOW to get the most benefits. 10 P age
Photo 30: On top of that, you can massage the feet and stretch the ankle. These last couple of exercises are also good before you start working as they calm you down and decrease stress before you begin your day. For all Exercises, you should try and stand on the OSFLOW at the end for another 2 minutes to ensure the best results from head to toe. This is especially important for the exercise that are based on lying down. Your muscles do not come to a state of well-being when you are lying down, but rather completely relax. For example, a person with back problems lies on the OSFLOW. The precautionary tension that this person still has in their back starts to relax. The person will probably feel better in the short run, however, if after lying on the OSFLOW they make a sudden movement, it is possible that they will injure themselves or the back falls back into its state of precautionary tension. This would be a fruitless exercise. Therefore, we recommend that after doing any exercise you stand on the OSFLOW to maximize the benefits from your training. Standing is the optimal position because you can only relax as far as it still enables you to stand up straight on the OSFLOW. We call this amount of relaxation well-being or flow feeling. Here it is important to mention that the flow-feeling is not a stationary feeling, but rather a constantly evolving process. This is because the human body should constantly balance itself against gravity and the other forces that act on us, especially during active movements it is important that the active feeling of well-being does not stop. As soon as this process is interrupted, you start to build your precautionary tensions. Your joints become stiff. You lose your security and fear and stress starts to take over. However, the feeling of well-being or the flow-feeling creates trust and security. Body and mind starts to relax; muscles and joints are free again. Body and movement become light and smooth, just the way it is supposed to be. English Version: OsflowUSA Distribution LLC, 1010 Barcarmil Way, Naples FL 34110 11 P age