Front Leg Swings (Patreon)

• If you’re new to LMA, start with our table of contents

In this video, MY is swinging her arms down as she swings her legs up. She walks forward, backward, and side to side. Little G has decided to follow along. MY doesn't correct and allows him to determine his own movements based on what he sees, and he can opt in or out of his own accord.

A child's seesaw

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The seesaw, for example, playfully demonstrates that forces always come in pairs. The seesaw is also a great illustration of Taoistic balance. If a seesaw is already tilted and weighed down on one side, stacking an equal amount of weights on both sides doesn't bring it to equilibrium, as that only reinforces the inequity. It most definitely doesn't mean adding more weight to the already weighed-down side and far less on the other. Yet, in the West, what is considered balanced, fair, principled, or objective is to maintain the slant. This has nothing to do with balance and everything to do with confirming biases. Since it confirms what I already believe, it is objective and principled since I see myself as objective and principled.

Wu wei (recycling energy)

You can swing your legs up without swinging your arms down, but that relies on muscular force rather than LMA's wu wei. It also uproots and destabilizes you, forcing you to expend more energy. When you swing your arms down, you generate momentum. That energy can go nowhere or transfer to your leg as it moves in the opposite direction.

Balance

Whether you wing your arms down or swing your legs up, you're creating torque. Applying them together counteracts each other, maintaining balance and conserving energy within your body. You're no longer falling forward or backward.

Gravity

Swinging your leg up temporarily raises your center mass (center of gravity), making it more likely to slip and fall backward. Swinging your arms down lowers your center mass. Combining them together brings you to equilibrium.

– Sam