Application US20050239028

Stance guide and method of use
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US20050239028

1. A stance guide comprising: (11) (4)

(a) a foot engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one foot of the user;

(b) a body engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one part of the user's body; and

whereby the stance guide helps the user achieve and hold one or more pre-determined stances S_j, where j=(1, 2, . . . N) and N>=1, such that the achievement and holding of each S_jprovides a corresponding health benefit to the user.

2. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the structural dimensions of the foot engaging means relevant to guiding and engaging the user's feet and body are adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

3. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the structural dimensions of the body engaging means relevant to guiding and engaging the user's feet and body are adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

4. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the structural dimensions of the framing structure relevant to guiding and engaging the user's feet and body are adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

5. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein said body engaging means further comprises a hand engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one of user's hands. (2) (0)

16. The stance guide of claim 5 wherein said stances S_jcomprise S₁, S₂, S₃and S₄being characterized by, with an x-y-z Cartesian coordinate wherein the x-direction is where the user body faces, the y-direction runs from the user's right shoulder toward his left shoulder and the z-direction runs vertically upwards: (6) (12)

(a) S₁: both feet flat with heels against the ground and centered in a sagittal plane of the body, left foot in front of and spaced as far ahead of right foot as possible, left knee bent about 110 degrees, right knee as straight as possible while keeping the body weight on the left foot, overall back formed a straight line with the right leg, upper back arched and shoulders curved forward, upper arms naturally down, lower arms pointing in the x-direction with both hands made into a fist palm side up while continuously keeping the body weight on the left foot;

(b) S₂: mirror image of S₁regarding left/right foot and left/right arm;

(c) S₃: feet, legs, overall back, upper back and shoulders same as S₁, upper left arm ahead of upper right arm with left elbow slightly ahead of left wrist, left hand in an open-palm, Christian style praying orientation except having a bent thumb, in the x-direction, and having an index finger separated from the rest of the fingers, left thumb positioned at the same height as but about five (5) inches ahead of the heart, lower right arm pointing approximately in the y-direction with right elbow slightly ahead of right wrist, right hand made into a fist with palm side up and positioned about three (3) inches below the user's belly button while continuously keeping the body weight on the left foot; and

(d) S₄: mirror image of S₃regarding left/right foot and left/right arm and wherein, accordingly:

(e) said foot engaging means further comprises a front foot panel and a rear foot panel, connected to each other by a backbone beam with both panels oriented and located substantially along the x-axis and spaced apart by an x-spacing that is adjustable, for guiding and correctly positioning the user's feet of stances S₁, S₂, S₃and S₄;

(f) said body engaging means further comprises two elbow-engaging members, each being a truss having an up to 6-axis adjustability, for touching thus correctly positioning the user's elbows of stances S₃and S₄; and

(g) said framing structure further comprises a balancing bar and a supporting truss oriented substantially parallel to the y-z plane and connected to said balancing bar and said backbone beam, said balancing bar oriented along substantially the y-direction and connected to said two elbow-engaging members, said balancing bar for guiding thus correctly positioning the user's fists of stances S₁and S₂through fist gripping.

such that the achievement and holding of stances S₃and S₄provides the following health benefits:

(3) direct development of stronger body muscles and better body flexibility; and

(4) indirect strengthening of the bladder muscles and nerves causing a reduction of frequent and excess habitual urination and the achievement and holding of stances S₁and S₂, respectively being an intermediary of stance S₃and stance S₄, provides the following health benefits:

(5) direct development of stronger body muscles and better body flexibility; and

(6) increasing the easiness and efficiency for bridging stances S₁to S₃and for bridging stances S₂to S₄.

17. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein said hand engaging means further comprises a hand loop oriented substantially in the x-y plane and adjustably, in the z-direction, connected to said framing structure, said hand loop being disposed for guiding and correctly positioning the user's open-palmed hand of stances S₃and S₄. (0)

18. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein at least one of said front foot panel and said rear foot panel further comprise a foot engagement sensing and signaling device attached thereto for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of at least one of user's feet. (3) (0)

22. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein the backbone beam further comprises a stabilizing bar attached to the rear end of said backbone beam and extending substantially in the y-direction therefrom for stabilizing the stance guide. (0)

23. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein each of said foot engaging means, said body engaging means and said framing structure is made of material selected from the group consisting of metal, plastic, wood, glass or ceramic. (0)

24. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, the holding period for said stances S₁and S₂are further recommended to be progressed from about one (1) minute to about ten (10) minutes a day. (0)

25. The stance guide of claim 16 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, the holding period for said stances S₃and S₄are further recommended to be progressed from about one (1) minute to about ten (10) minutes each time with a range of practicing frequency to be progressed from about two (2) times to about ten (10) times a day. (0)

26. The stance guide of claim 5 wherein said stances S_jcomprise S₅, S₆, S₇and S₈being characterized by, with an x-y-z Cartesian coordinate wherein the x-direction is where the user body faces, the y-direction runs from the user's right shoulder toward his left shoulder and the z-direction runs vertically upwards: (5) (13)

(a) S₅: right heel against the ground, left foot in front of right foot, left knee bent with left foot as high in the air as possible, right knee bent as much as possible, overall back leaned slightly forward, upper back and shoulders relaxed, both upper arms tilted in the y-z plane so as to slightly open up the arm pits with both lower arms pointing in the x-direction and both hands forming a gripping position as if pushing a wheel barrel;

(b) S₆: mirror image of S₅regarding left/right foot and left/right arm;

(c) S₇: feet, legs and overall back same as S₅, upper back arched and shoulders curved forward, upper arms naturally down, upper left arm ahead of upper right arm with left elbow slightly ahead of left wrist, left hand in an open-palm, Christian style praying orientation except having a bent thumb, in the x-direction, and having an index finger separated from the rest of the fingers, left thumb positioned at the same height as but about five (5) inches ahead of the heart, lower right arm pointing approximately in the y-direction with right elbow slightly ahead of right wrist, right hand made into a fist with palm side up and positioned about three (3) inches below the user's belly button; and

(d) S₈: mirror image of S₇regarding left/right foot and left/right arm and wherein, accordingly:

(e) said foot engaging means further comprises a front foot panel, a center foot panel and a rear foot panel, connected to one another by a backbone beam with all panels oriented and located substantially along the x-axis and spaced apart by an adjustable front x-spacing and an adjustable rear x-spacing, for guiding and correctly positioning the user's feet of stances S₅, S₆, S₇and S₈;

(g) said framing structure further comprises a balancing bar and a supporting truss oriented substantially parallel to the y-z plane and connected to said balancing bar and said backbone beam, said balancing bar oriented along substantially the y-direction and connected to said elbow-engaging members, said balancing bar further comprising two end grips, each pointing in the negative x-direction, for guiding thus correctly positioning the user's hands of stances S₅and S₆through fist gripping

such that the achievement and holding of stances S₇and S₈provides the following health benefits:

(1) direct development of stronger body muscles and better body flexibility; and

(2) indirect enhancement of sleep quality and reduction of body weight

and the achievement and holding of stances S₅and S₆, respectively being an intermediary of stance S₇and stance S₈, provides the following health benefits:

(3) direct development of stronger body muscles and better body flexibility; and

(4) increasing the easiness and efficiency for bridging stances S₅to S₇and for bridging stances S₆to S₈.

27. The stance guide of claim 26 wherein said hand engaging means further comprises a hand loop oriented substantially in the x-y plane and adjustably, in the z-direction, connected to said framing structure, said hand loop being disposed for guiding and correctly positioning the user's open-palmed hand of stances S₇and S₈. (0)

28. The stance guide of claim 26 wherein at least one of said front foot panel and said rear foot panel further comprise a foot engagement sensing and signaling device attached thereto for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of at least one of user's feet. (1) (0)

30. The stance guide of claim 26 wherein the backbone beam further comprises a stabilizing bar attached to the rear end of said backbone beam and extending substantially in the y-direction therefrom for stabilizing the stance guide. (0)

31. The stance guide of claim 26 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, the holding period for said stances S₅and S₆are further recommended to be progressed from about one (1) minute to about ten (10) minutes a day. (0)

32. The stance guide of claim 26 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, the holding period for said stances S₇and S₈are further recommended to be progressed from about one (1) minute to about ten (10) minutes each time with a range of practicing frequency to be progressed from about two (2) times to about ten (10) times a day. (0)

6. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the foot engaging means further comprises a foot engagement sensing and signaling means for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of the user's feet. (1) (0)

8. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the body engaging means further comprises a body engagement sensing and signaling means for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of the user's body. (1) (0)

10. The stance guide of claim 1 further comprises an optional pre-recorded video medium demonstrating the actual achieving and holding of said stances S_jas a training tool. (1) (0)

12. The stance guide of claim 1 further comprises an optional display device, connected to said framing structure, for selectably displaying one or more of said stances S_jas a visual aid to achieving and holding said stances S_j. (0)

13. The stance guide of claim 1 further comprises an optional display device, connected to said body engaging means, for selectably displaying one or more of said stances S_jas a visual aid to achieving and holding said stances S_j. (0)

14. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the body engaging means further comprises a safe guard means for reducing the risk of an accidental fall of the user while trying to achieve and hold said stances S_j. (0)

15. The stance guide of claim 1 wherein the framing structure further comprises a safe guard means for reducing the risk of an accidental fall of the user while trying to achieve and hold said stances S_j. (0)

33. A method of helping a person achieve and hold one or more pre-determined stances S_j, where j=(1, 2, . . . N) and N>=1, such that the achievement and holding of each S_jprovides a corresponding health benefit to the person, the method comprising: (13) (5)

(a) providing a foot engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one foot of the person;

(b) providing a body engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one part of the person's body;

(c) providing a framing structure properly dimensioned and properly connected to the foot engaging means and the body engaging means; and

(d) for each stance S_j, providing a corresponding instruction I_j, where j=(1, 2, . . . N) and N>=1, to the person for achieving and holding said S_jwhile engaging said foot engaging means and said body engaging means

thereby helping the person achieve and hold said S_j.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said foot engaging means further comprises making the structural dimensions of the foot engaging means relevant to guiding and engaging the person's feet and body adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

35. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said body engaging means further comprises making the structural dimensions of the body engaging means relevant to guiding and engaging the person's feet and body adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

36. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said framing structure further comprises making the structural dimensions of the framing structure relevant to guiding and engaging the person's feet and body adjustable thereby accommodating a pre-determined range of user body and feet variation. (0)

37. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said body engaging means further comprises providing a hand engaging means for guiding and engaging at least one of user's hands. (0)

38. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said foot engaging means further comprises providing a foot engagement sensing and signaling means for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of the person's feet. (1) (0)

40. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said body engaging means further comprises providing a body engagement sensing and signaling means for sensing and signaling the correctness of engagement of the person's body. (1) (0)

42. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said corresponding instruction I_jfurther comprises providing an optional pre-recorded video medium demonstrating the actual achieving and holding of said stances S_jas a training tool. (1) (0)

44. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said corresponding instruction I_jfurther comprises providing an optional display device, connected to said framing structure, for selectably displaying one or more of said stances S_jas a visual aid to achieving and holding said stances S_j. (0)

45. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said corresponding instruction I_jfurther comprises providing an optional display device, connected to said body engaging means, for selectably displaying one or more of said stances S_jas a visual aid to achieving and holding said stances S_j. (0)

46. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said body engaging means further comprises providing a safe guard means for reducing the risk of an accidental fall of the person while trying to achieve and hold said stances S_j. (0)

47. The method of claim 33 wherein providing said framing structure further comprises providing a safe guard means for reducing the risk of an accidental fall of the person while trying to achieve and hold said stances S_j. (0)

48. The method of claim 33 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, providing said corresponding instruction I_jfurther comprises providing a pre-determined recommended range of holding period for said stance S_j. (0)

49. The method of claim 33 wherein, for said health benefit to be significant, providing said corresponding instruction I_jfurther comprises providing a pre-determined recommended range of frequency for practicing said stance S_j. (0)

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Application US20050239028

Stance guide and method of use

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