tensegrity/not_doing/post-2001/wheel-of-time-1998-2001

This pass was significantly changed leading up to the Ontario 1998 workshop. As a result, we can't endorse it's practice, as we can't confirm who was directing the changes to this 1997 magical pass. If it was only Cleagreen, without any input from Carol Tiggs, Taisha Abelar, or Florinda Donner, then it should not be done by new practitioners.

THE WHEEL OF TIME - Ontario 1998

During these movements tension is executed by tensing the muscles of the body. The tensing is accompanied or enhanced by curling the torso inward, as if turning oneself into a ball. It was said that this facilitates jumping between the furrows of the wheel of time. The entire set is a matter of tensing and relaxing the body.
The wheel of time is represented by a circular plate made of a light, but stiff material about 40 cm in diameter, and a few centimeters thick. When it is held horizontal, the eyes look across it, right above its surface.

The Individual Passes:

1) The left hand clutches the tip of the right foot. The right leg remains folded. The right hand is put on the right knee. You kick the heel down in between the legs. Repeat the movement 10 times. Mirror.

2) Cross the legs now. Take the wheel in the right hand with the thumb on one side and the other fingers on the other side. Put the wheel on the right side of the body, at the height of the face at a 45¡ angle and the forearm makes a movement diagonally down to the right. The left hand does the same on the left side without the wheel. In this movement the two forearms go down to form a little roof. Tension is built up in the axillae, the forearms and the pectoral muscles; relax in the upward position, tense downward. Repeat the movement ten times. Mirror.

3) The left hand clutches the tip of the right foot while the right hand is put on the on the right knee. The leg is extended and a scooping movement is made like with a spoon. Repeat 10 times. Mirror.

4) The legs are crossed. The right hand keeps the wheel exactly at the height of the eyes, not in front of the face, but at the side of it in a horizontal position. The left hand is extended with the fingers up and it approaches the rim of the wheel. Turning the torso, this movement is one going well to the right side in a horizontal plane, tensing while it goes to the side and relaxing while it returns to the original position. The left hand accompanies the movement as it it pushes the wheel till the edge (without touching it). Repeat the movement ten times. Mirror.

5) The right hand is placed on the right knee, the left hand on the instep of the right leg, almost touching the ankle. Make an abrupt movement to the side, pulling the foot up with the left hand, and pushing the knee down with the right hand. Repeat this movement 10 times. Mirror.

6) Sitting crossed-legged, take the wheel in the right hand and put to the right of the body, at the height of the face at a 45 ¡ angle. The left hand approaches the wheel with the palm facing its surface. The movement is going up diagonally to the right as if pushing the wheel up; the left hand accompanies the move. The muscles tense in going up and relax when the wheel returns to its original position. Repeat the movement 10 times. Mirror.

7) The left hand takes the tip of the right foot, the right hand takes the foot on the outside, more of less at the height of the heel; the right elbow remains underneath the right knee, and presses it lightly; the right forearm remains in this way parallel to the calf. The next movement consists of pulling the heel to a position above the groin, tilting the torso forward and counting till three. Repeat the movement 3 times, at the end of each tension, you extend the leg as far as the hands, that support the movement, can go. Mirror.

8) Sitting cross-legged the right hand keeps the wheel in a vertical position to the right side at the height of the face. The left hand has its palm facing the surface of the wheel. Both hands hit forward with a light push of the torso, exerting a lot of tension and energy in pushing forward. Repeat 10 times. Mirror.

9) Take the tip of the right foot with the left hand; put the right hand on the knee. The leg is stretched pointing to the zenith. The right hand pushes the knee downward, so the leg is straight. The fingers of the left hand pass down to the heel to support the leg. Count till ten and repeat three times. Mirror.

10) Sitting cross-legged take the wheel in the right hand and put it in a horizontal position to the right side of the body, at the height of the face. The palm of the left hand is kept near the rim of the wheel throughout the movement. Hit forward tensing the muscles. Repeat the movement 10 times. Mirror.

11) The left hand clutches the tip of the right foot, the right hand is put on the knee. The leg is stretched and turns first to the right and then to the left while it is held up as far as possible. The left hand may run down to the ankles as a support, the left leg is folded back. This movement must be done with maximal tension. Count till ten and repeat three times. Mirror.

12) Sitting cross-legged the right hand keeps the wheel vertical on the right side, slightly above the head; the wheel descends a bit as it turns horizontal, then passes in front of the eyes and continues horizontally to the left. Then it comes back the same way and slopes up to its initial position. The left hand accompanies it, the palm of the hand close to the edge of the wheel. Repeat ten times. Mirror.

The long form

The long form consists of a combination of movements (1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8, 9+10, 11+12) performed simultaneously; in this manner one hand holds the wheel of time, and the other holds the opposite side's foot. Here, the foot always moves in unison with the hand, meaning that the leg stretches become quicker movements. Begin with the wheel of time put down on the floor to the right of you. Take the wheel in the right hand, do the first move ten times (or as many times as you want), then gracefully pass the wheel to the other hand by holding it horizontally in front of the eyes. Then do the movements on the left side and in a similar fashion pass the wheel back to the right hand for the next combination.

At the end of the last pass however, you put the wheel down on the floor to your left side, symbolizing the jump across the wheel of time.

source - https://web.archive.org/web/20040815130440/home.tiscali.be/wim.degent/Notes/wheeltime.html

Wheel of Time Left Body Breathing Form?

Surely, This is mainly for people who have seen this done in some form or another as I don't think it'll make much sense otherwise.

Start with (implied) wheel in left hand. Hands at low sides ready to come up in front and form A-frame.
Inhale, back straight. Exhale as you make the A-frame with wheel in left hand. Feel the exhalation in your midsection. Your body becomes round
like a wheel of time. Inhale straightening your back and now insinuate wheel into right hand and do the same exhalation down into A-frame.

RIGHT SIDE CIRCLING AND KNEE FLICKING

Grab right knee with right hand and ball of right foot with left hand. Inhale and make 3 forward rolling motions circling your foot. As you place left foot on right ankle area, exhale hunching with foot off floor and close to body. Exhalation is done close to left side of right knee. Then, with hands in same position, inhale as you flick right knee outward 3 times,(the instructors always counted to 3 at least, even if they made 4 or 5 motions, how left-body!), then hunch again and exhale, foot always off floor, exhale off to right side of body.

Holding wheel horizontally in left hand,(right hand flat palm facing left hand) inhale as you move wheel to left, where you bend your wrist even more to left. Exhale as you hunch over with wheel held in position. Inhale as you transfer implied wheel to right hand, then mirror what you did on left.

LEFT SIDE CIRCLING AND KNEE FLICKING

-do the same leg movements as above but on the left side.

WHEEL IN RIGHT HAND-PALM UP

Next, hold wheel in right hand, palm facing up, left hand facing right hand. Inhale as you stretch right side of body and watch wheel as it
circles upward. At top point keep head straight while you gaze back to infinity with your eyes, then exhale as you slowly hunch down and bring wheel to midsection, continue exhale all the way on left side, gazing into infinity on left of body.

RIGHT LEG TO GROIN

Inhale as you grab ball of right foot of extended right leg, with left hand wrapping around foot. Right hand is placed above on right side of
toes, Bring foot to groin with arm wrapped around outside of leg as you begin to exhale hunched at groin.

WHEEL IN LEFT HAND-PALM UP

-do the same arm movements as above but at the end when you breathe and gaze to the right, it is just a 'tap' of a gaze on the right side.

LEFT LEG TO GROIN

-same as above but use left foot.

WHEEL IN RIGHT HAND-PALM UP

Again, hold wheel in right hand, palm facing up, left hand facing right hand. Inhale as you stretch right side of body and watch wheel as it
circles upward. At top point keep head straight while you gaze back to infinity with your eyes, then exhale as you slowly hunch down and bring
wheel to midsection, continue exhale all the way on left side, gazing into infinity on left of body.

Silence

Can definitely be used as lead-in to recapitulation. Can somebody else recall if they said you could use it coming out of recap as well?  I don't think so. But I'm not sure.

Alternate Description

The Wheel of Time - The Left Body Breathing Form

Start with (implied) wheel in left hand. Hands at low sides ready to come up in front and form A-frame. Inhale, back straight. Exhale as you make the A-frame with wheel in left hand. Feel the exhalation in your midsection. Your body becomes round like a wheel of time. Inhale straightening your back and now insinuate wheel into right hand and do the same exhalation down into A-frame.

Right Side Circling And Knee Flicking:

Grab right knee with right hand and ball of right foot with left hand. Inhale and make 3 forward rolling motions circling your foot. As you place left foot on right ankle area, exhale hunching with foot off floor and close to body. Exhalation is done close to left side of right knee. Then, with hands in same position, inhale as you flick right knee outward 3 times,(the instructors always counted to 3 at least, even if they made 4 or 5 motions, how left-body!), then hunch again and exhale, foot always off floor, exhale off to right side of body. Holding wheel horizontally in left hand,(right hand flat palm facing left hand) inhale as you move wheel to left, where you bend your wrist even more to left. Exhale as you hunch over with wheel held in position. Inhale as you transfer implied wheel to right hand, then mirror what you did on left.

Left Side Circling And Knee Flicking:

do the same leg movements as above but on the left side.

The Wheel In Right Hand - Palm Up:

Next, hold wheel in right hand, palm facing up, left hand facing right hand. Inhale as you stretch right side of body and watch wheel as it circles upward. At top point keep head straight while you gaze back to infinity with your eyes, then exhale as you slowly hunch down and bring wheel to midsection, continue exhale all the way on left side, gazing into infinity on left of body.

Right Leg To Groin:

Inhale as you grab ball of right foot of extended right leg, with left hand wrapping around foot. Right hand is placed above on right side of toes, Bring foot to groin with arm wrapped around outside of leg as you begin to exhale hunched at groin.

The Wheel In Left Hand - Palm Up:

do the same arm movements as above but at the end when you breathe and gaze to the right, it is just a 'tap' of a gaze on the right side.

Left Leg To Groin:

same as above but use left foot.

The Wheel In Right Hand - Palm Up:

Again, hold wheel in right hand, palm facing up, left hand facing right hand. Inhale as you stretch right side of body and watch wheel as it circles upward. At top point keep head straight while you gaze back to infinity with your eyes, then exhale as you slowly hunch down and bring wheel to midsection, continue exhale all the way on left side, gazing into infinity on left of body.

Silence

source #1 - https://web.archive.org/web/20191127154018/http://insensciety.com/notes/1999_po-99_01_30.html

source #2 - https://web.archive.org/web/20050405104152/http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/estonia/516/wheelleft.html

The Wheel of Time (Barcelona 2001):

Seven passes in all were shown.

Sit cross legged or in any other comfortable sitting position.

-1. First the wheel of time is raised with the left hand. Both hand lift up as if describing the apex of a triangle. This is done while exhaling. There is throughout this pass a rocking motion to and fro from the lower disk where the wheel of time is moved/spun from. As we inhale the hands lower along the sides of the imaginary equilateral triangle. Then they raise again , exhaling and the wheel is passed on to the right hand. If solo do this a number of repetitions if in a group of 5 at this point you pass the wheel on.

-2. Grab left foot with right hand and extend up and bring down to groin level as if digging. Do this 4 times while inhaling. Then hug the same leg with both hands and exhale as you bring knee to the chest. Look straight ahead.
Repeat other side (once if in group of 5)

-3. Left hand holds the wheel horizontal and right hand is touching the wheel on the opposite side with the palm -fingers point to the sky-.
From there exhaling rotate at the lower disk 90 degrees to the left. The wheel follows this rotation of the trunk. Eyes gaze over top of the wheel into Infinity.
Inhaling come back to starting position. If solo repeat on the right. If in a group of five pass the wheel on to the next person after doing the pass once only on the left.

-4. The next leg pass sole of the left foot is on the ground and knee up close to the chest. Grab with both hands the ankle and knee and rotating the leg at the hip joint let the knee flip 90 degrees to the left until it touches the ground. Repeat this 4 times while inhaling (like a pump). Then hug the knee (as in the previous leg pass) and squeeze the knee against the chest while exhaling. At the same time rotate the torso and head to the left until you are gazing passed your left shoulder gazing into Infinity. Relax and come back to face the front. Repeat on the other side

-5. In the next pass the left hand holds the wheel of time up 45 degrees to the horizon to the left side of the body. The right hand follows the wheel almost touching it. Exhaling flip the wheel to the left and rotating the hand at the wrist the wheel is now horizontal. At the same time the torso rotates from left to right as the gaze also looks past the wheel from Infinity to infinity. (At this point pass the wheel to the next person in group; if solo do a number of repetitions repeating with the right)

-6. The left knee is near the ground, the left leg is horizontal and left heel is placed as close as possible to the groin.. Bend over the leg and exhale.
Relax and repeat on the other side.

-7. Lye down on your back. the wheel is on the ground to your left. The ankles are interlocked with the left ankle on top the knees are bent 90 degrees to the body. The right hand begins hovering over the solar plexus and then rises to the vertical, 90 degrees to body and the wrist is also bent at 90 degrees to the hand so that heel of the palm faces the sky. Pick up the wheel with left hand and pass it top the right hand. The fingers of the right hand grasp the wheel which is now horizontal to the chest. Now the whole body rocks on the small of the back forwards and backwards to the rhythm of your energy body while at the same time the right hand does a flick at the wrist almost touching the side of the wheel as if spinning it. This resembles a cutting ,flicking action.

After a number of spins the body stops rocking the left hand relaxes and drops to the ground and the whole body vibrates while the right hand still holds the wheel which also vibrates. There is a buzzing sound that is made by the mouth in response to the vibration that is felt in the whole body and lower disk especially. Finally The left hand collects the wheel from the right hand and places it on the ground to the left of the body (ready to by collected passes by the next person in the group) The palm of the right hand glides in a circular fashion over the solar plexus and lets the vibrations be absorbed by the vital centres. At the same time the legs lower until both soles of the feet touch the ground. That is the last pass in this form`. from the lying position go into recapitulation. (lying or sitting)

source - https://web.archive.org/web/20191127154018/http://insensciety.com/notes/2001_ba-01_06_15.html