Tensegrity is a system of movement that can be considered a modern version of the specific exercises (called Magical Passes) practised by the shamans of ancient Mexico. A student of don Juan Matus, a Mexican Indian shaman, Carlos Castaneda was one of the four disciples who learned the magical passes of the old world. In his book, Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (New York: Harper Perennial, 1999), Castaneda presents in detail the system and format of this ancient science.
What is Tensegrity?
Castaneda borrowed the term “Tensegrity” from R. Buckminster Fuller, who described Tensegrity as “tensional integrity” or integrity created in a structure through the combination of rigid and elastic elements. Tensegrity, in Castaneda’s view, is the use of movements that tense and relax muscles and tendons as a way to increase the energetic and physical integrity of the body. Repetition of Tensegrity movements ultimately redeploys the energy of the human energy field, allowing man greater transcendent awareness that extends beyond normal perception.
Redeployment of Energy
According to the ancient shamans, human beings are conglomerates of energy fields that appear as luminous spheres or orbs. Adepts at the magical passes, these shamans located the source of man’s transcendent awareness at a point in space an arm’s length from the back shoulder blades, known as the assemblage point. For most people, the assemblage point is closed up or hardened by the internal dialogue of fear and stress, which explains why most people do not experience transcendent awareness. Redeployment of energy through specific exercises can (a) shut down internal dialogue which makes possible (b) inner silence and (c) the fluidity of the assemblage point. The purpose of the Magical Passes is to return man to an “extraordinary fluidity of perception” (22).
Magical Passes
How do the Magical Passes accomplish this goal? The exercises of the Magical Passes are first arranged into long sequences of movement that are then fragmented into single, short segments. Long sequences of complex movements saturate the kinaesthetic memory of practitioners. Working hard to remember the series of complex movements, Castaneda himself was surprised by the force of concentration he had within him, but did not know existed. This power of concentration was the prelude to inner silence. If the noise of the mind hardens the assemblage point, inner silence renders it fluid. The purpose of the single units of movement is to foster this power of inner silence.
Practised with diligence, Tensegrity promises to return man to his innate self—a magical creature of awareness. According to don Juan Matus, human beings are involved in “an evolutionary journey of awareness, beings indeed unknown to themselves, filled to the brim with incredible resources that are never used (27). Readers interested in learning more about Tensegrity can check out current organizations that provide instruction.
