What shape waits in the seed of you to grow and spread its branches against a future sky? David WhyteHi Everyone,
Great start this week! I'm really happy with our group and I anticipate this being a wonderful quarter of learning and connecting to ourselves and one another.
This week began with a guided body scan meditation. Taking time to become aware of the nature of the mind will be key as we continue to explore our physical intelligence. Our thought-streams carry us away from our physical selves and sensations. Again and again, we will free ourselves from our thoughts and return to the present moment through the portals of sensation.
On Thursday, we continued to scan the body and moved into a standing meditation focusing on the small dance. We moved through space to discover the sensations of proximity, touch and eye contact. In pairs, we sat and spoke of our experiences while working to maintain an awareness of our embodiment.
The reading for this week was Chapter 1 and 3 from Natural Intelligence by Susan Aposhyan. These chapters discussed Concepts of Body/Mind Integration and Embodied Relationships.
What connections did you make between the classes this week and the reading? Which experiences or learnings were most clear for you? Did you discover something about yourself or others that gave you new insight?
Self-Discoveries
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have discovered is that it was really nice when something my body felt struck thoughts in me, instead of the reverse. For example, during our partner walking it was the sensations of those around me that made to start to worry I would collide into someone, instead of constant worry about collision would affect my bodily sensations/perceptions/actions. It feels great to listen to my body as the source of input instead of my mind. A very nice change of pace. Almost necessary change of pace...
Proximity
One of the experiences that really stuck home with me was picking our partners based on our bodily sensations. When we began to walk around and listen to what our body was telling us, I couldn’t help but wonder if ...would I pick up on this sensation or not? ...is my mind going to influence who I would pick? But then I REALLY felt it when I encountered Katie. This sensation was at its peak when I was right next to her. It was crazy! Like a strange magnetism that made me want to turn around or something, brought me to a halt. It was intense. These words do no justice to what I felt inside.
Eye Contact
I really enjoyed our eye contact walks. I found it so interesting that I could feel the energy of my fellow eye partner. This energy had very different intensities and sensations depending on who I was walking with. For some people, it felt intense and energetic, others calm and genuine, others sweet and gentle, and with one it actually felt deep and slow. My deep and slow experience almost took me somewhere else, I felt entirely engaged at this moment. Fully connected. I don’t know if it was because of me being entirely present at this moment compared to all the other times, or maybe it was this particular person’s energy but whatever it was, it was amazing. Yumm.
Ttfn!
- Rachel Rumiko Bruckman
I have been exploring meditation as a practice for a couple of years. Moving mediations of various methodologies have invited me to embody my soma to arrive purely in the present moment. On my own, I have tried sitting meditation in the traditional Vipasana style and have found it very challenging. Tuesday, during our lengthy, guided meditation, I experienced a shift when Louis reiterated the idea that, “…thoughts will come and go naturally, because the mind is programmed to think, and that is okay.” Hearing that simple point over and over allowed me to realize that the essence of meditation is not to, not think, but more to observe thoughts as they come and let go of those thoughts so they can pass. I discovered that this is what my struggle has been based on, trying desperately not to think, an impossibility of sorts. Once I settled into acceptance of the mind, I could embody my soma more fully, which enhanced my meditative experience.
ReplyDeleteThe meditation on Thursday morning was not as long, nor as heavily guided, but within the space of the meditation I let go and in coming out I remained very much at peace, and present. Louis at one point spoke to the correlation between authentic presence and the feeling of kindness. This relationship rung very true for me and the moment in which that language was articulated I felt my arms lighten and float by my sides and my chest gained breadth, heat and openness. I enjoyed playing in that mindbody space.
Later on in the class on Thursday, I was fascinated by the exercise that called us to pick a person in the room and in thinking of them, create an energetic line between us. This idea felt very natural to me, I recognized how effortless it is to think of someone and thus create an energetic pathway between us; helping to cultivate connections between myself and the person in my thoughts. These energetic connections are strong and the exercise came as a reminder to be mindful of these connections that I create.
Finally, the eye-contact practice; this woke me up to a truth of intimacy. Looking at someone in the eyes and having that person look back at you in the eyes can be at the core of an intimate exchange, yet it is an act that can be challenging for many people, myself included. A few questions came up for me during the exercise, in regards to the challenges of making eye contact, “what do we not want to be seen in ourselves by another person? What do we not want to see in that other person? Is it fear that makes us look away? If so, what is that fear grounded in?” When walking across the room and looking at my partner, everything else, and everyone else vanished. It was as if we had created our own bubble of energy that nothing could penetrate. I found that the second length of the walk was easier, it felt more natural, and by the time we returned, I felt like my partner and I had shared a special experience; each partnered walk was its own unique experience.
At the end of chapter 3, Susan Aposhyan writes about Spirit and the Body. “On the most simple level, when we have connected to a source of spiritual renewal, such as prayer, meditation, ritual or experience in nature, our bodies will crave that. We will feel refreshed and energized” (55). Our experiences in class on Thursday called me to connect to Spirit and everything that followed that morning’s class, the world, my life, my body and sensations were beautiful to me, light and warmed my abdomen. The enlivened connection to Spirit stayed with me for awhile that day and I witnessed the glow I carried inhabit others throughout the day. I share this as a reminder to everyone, to remember how powerful modeling can be in our daily lives to bring about energetic shifts in others we encounter.
Have a lovely Saturday, the sun is shining! ;)
-Lindsey Goldberg
To be perfectly honest, I have never been comfortable with touch or improvisation work, so this class will definitely push me beyond my comfort zone. I have also struggled with slowing down and the idea of meditation because I like to live such a full life. With some work, though, I think I am going to be able to see the positive benefits of this class and being able to get more in touch with my body.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main things that struck with me about the reading was Susan’s illustration of sequencing. In particular, she discussed how thinking about particular body parts and the energy surrounding the body parts can actually change how they feel. On pages 14-15, she uses the example of a patient who was holding a lot of tension in her back and how that could be released through thinking about the flows of energy. Similarly, during out meditation periods I often focus on the flow of energy surrounding my left ankle (which I have previously sprained and has continued to be nuisance since). Thinking about the flow of energy surrounding my ankle has already helped it to move more freely and feel better when partaking in other movements.
One of the most interesting exercises that we did this week was the eye contact one. I have always been comfortable looking people in the eye, but for some reason, this exercise was different. I think that because there was no talking involved, it seemed even more foreign because that is normally how we communicate with one another. On page 45, Susan discusses the challenges that are presented when trying to listen to your own body while also keeping eye contact and speaking with each other. It was interesting to me, however, because when thinking about that activity, there was no talking that went on yet we were all able to communicate with one another through other non-vocal methods.
I really enjoyed thinking about the six principles of mind-body integration after we did the meditation exercises during both Tuesday’s and Thursday’s class. In particular, I found myself thinking back upon the stage of sequencing.
ReplyDeleteWhile doing the first meditation on Tuesday, I had not yet read the information given to us about sequencing, “the uninhibited flow of energy within all parts and aspects of the bodymind and between ourselves and the environment.” This particular definition struck me as I read through the personal story about Frannie because I began to relate my experiences with the floor pushing upon different points of my body to her relationship with the therapist pushing upon her back.
As I lay in a meditation I always feel that the floor touches certain points of my body for different reasons, be it the way I am laying down or the way my body relaxes into gravities pull. This made me wonder if there is somehow a reason I lay either on my side, back or stomach, and how that relates to my thought pattern as I attempt to focus my mind. Does my body unconsciously press into the floor where it feels the need to be released? Or is it trying to push a block onward towards the true path? Where would those blocks come from? How can I attempt to release them myself before creating them?
Now during our meditations I am going to go into them with these thoughts in mind. I will still acknowledge where my body wants to be on the floor but I will try to take note and be aware of what particular place on my body feels a certain way, feels unable to release and if that brings up specific thoughts or stresses I have been worrying about.
Out of all of our experiments this week, I really found our body scan the most interesting after reading Natural Intelligence. When I was doing my scan, I realized that I do neglect certain body parts on a daily basis. Instead, the scan allowed for full participation of my body. I was able to feel from parts of my body that I never really think of. My pinky toes, my elbows, my ears . . . I never really think/feel from them, but the scan allowed me to isolate each and pay attention to it. I know that these parts are there, but I don't care for them, thus my lack of fully participating until my scan. "As long as we are merely aware of a part of ourselves, it is not empowered to fully participate in a creative fashion." (pg 10)
ReplyDeleteThe scan was cool. Having guidance to focus on each body part from my head to my toes allowed me to isolate each part and focus on it. I discovered that being able to isolate and dissect parts of my body made me feel taller:) The isolation made my body feel so much longer because each little spot was specifically cared for and focused on. That was cool. Feeling tall:)
Although I found the scan fun, it was also a challenge. I know that it was ok to just let the mind be as we meditate, that allowing it to "ramble off in strange ways" (pg5) is ok, but I was uncomfortable with allowing my mind wander to sleep. So in my scan, I was concentrating way too hard to stay awake which was really distracting:(
-Cougar
WOW! This is the stuff that I have been consciously working on for the last 6 years of my life in one way or another. I was continuously at awe reading the chapters because I felt so similarly and as if she was putting on paper what I had been thinking and feeling and observing for many years now. How fantastic! It was not only invigorating reading her work in the book, but the exercises I can't wait to try in class, but especially with friends and colleagues outside of class.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in chapter three there were some moments while reading where I got chills it was so powerful and true to me. One such moment was on page 47 when Aposhyan was discussing touch in many different ways. I was struck by her insights here as simple as they are on the necessity for boundaries and being able to say “no.” I love to touch and be touched and I find a great deal of connection through touch in all forms. I have noticed though that because I love to connect with people through touch that I often feel guilty or uncomfortable saying “no” to others touching me because I feel like I’m being hypocritical. A couple simple sentences in Aposhyan’s book have revolutionized my life.
Another moment while reading that I felt particularly drawn to was a comment regarding our current cultural and social identities. She mentions on page 40 that “as a culture we have come to view our bodies as tremendously limited.” This struck a particularly strong chord within me. I am continually irked by people unwillingness to experience new things, to stretch their comfort boundaries, or God-forbid to fail at something. I believe these to be essential in our growth and evolution as a culture and as individuals. “What do you have to lose that could be so precious it’s not worth even attempting?” The possibilities are endless, the rewards boundless and the experience could be one of the greatest of your lifetime! Do it!
I almost feel overwhelmed with how many aspects of the class and reading that I wish to comment on. I’ll try to just pick a few…
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of the reading which really stuck out to me was the exersize on page 48 in which the author instructors you to touch your face with your hands in order to relax your face, then, to touch your face in any way that your hands wish to touch your face. I was struck by the contrast in touch I experienced when I did this excersize by myself. The first time, I gently placed my hands on my face with palms spread trying to touch and flatten as much of my face’s stress as possible, however, the second time my hands were brought to my face they instanteneously crawled and felt all around my face with my fingers articulating and trying to touch every place in a new manner. In a similar way, when leading partners in class, I felt this change of mood when Sheronah (sp?) and I switched from lead to follow. When I was being led, I felt very at ease, relaxed and dependent whereas my focus in leading my partner changed to an attitude of exploration, trying to discover all of the different ways to touch and lead her around the room.
I found the idea of embodied listening very hard to grasp and understand at first. In the book, the impression I got of embodied listening in the exersize they presented seemed almost detached from the person who is talking (this one has to do with moving around while someone is talking), since I assume in my personal life when someone is moving or doing something else that they must not be paying attention to me. But, I made a tremendous realization after thinking about my heightened awareness of my body in class and how positively that affected listening to my partner when we talked after the leading exercise (I can still remember such a large amount of our conversation, since I felt especially focused on my body and connection I had with her). In my personal life, I struggle with feeling a little neglected or hurt if someone begins to start another activity or movement in their body while we are in conversation. But, I feel as though I have discovered that some people may be more aware of their bodies and continue to feel inclined to move while conversing, and I should accept this and try to bring my own awareness of my body more into focus.
The idea of a heightened level of kindness when one is more in tune with their body resonanted strongly with me as well. I fully agree that if we cannot be aware of ourselves it is difficult to empathize with other individual’s needs and desires since we are not fully in tune with our own.
A more personal connection I had between the reading and my personal life had to do with the example of the author’s hormonal imbalance on page 17. I was very struck and quite moved by this story – personifying one’s organs, as the author imagined her liver “as an overworked and depleted frontier woman,” struck me in that I felt I could imagine every part of my body as an important person who I needed to care for and give attention to. This idea of awareness in the internal organs was helpful in a practical way for me in visualizing the excruciating cramps I suffer from and, though it didn’t instantly relieve or eliminate the pain, it seemed to bring me a greater amount of peace as I was able to imagine these parts of my body and be tuned more fully into my body.
Lastly, I just want to comment that I loved/hated the eye contact walk. Though I love to make eye contact in ordinary social situations, I feel very uneasy, apprehensive and uncertain when holding someone’s gaze for longer than what seems natural for me. So, this was a good exersize to stretch me. Each person was a different little journey and it was fun to see how unique each person’s gaze and intention was. I liked someone’s comment that there were different types of gazes - this made the exersize more and more fun as I became more comfortable with it. I felt as though I was getting to know each person quite intently in our few moments spent focused only on each other. It almost seems crazy that I have felt such a connection with some of these people whose names I don’t even know.
Something I had forgotten until now was the effect that the background music had on this particular exersize. When the strings in the music swelled and had a really sweeping quality, I felt so moved and free that I almost felt as though I was floating and dancing across the room with my eye contact partner. Finally, ending this excersize with Louis was a very lovely ‘full circle’ moment for me, since he was the first person I encountered in the dance department. ☺
This class is going to be very interesting and is definitely going to cross the boundaries I am use to. I am definitely not comfortable with a lot of touch or improvisation work. I haven’t done much of that nor much of meditation. My life is full of activities and my mind is always full of thoughts and what I have to do, that I think meditation will be challenging but I think a good thing for me. I am excited to push my boundaries and learn as much as I can from this class and from the reading. There is a lot of things Aposhyan wrote about that intrigued me, that I agreed with and that I disagreed with. On page 3, she wrote, “The point here is that it is human nature to be faced with choices. A simple hierarchy in choice-making often leads us to pick one impulse and repress another.” I agree with this. I also think it’s an interesting point that can be applied even to the body scan. We made choices of what to focus on in the body scan and what not to- we realized what parts we use and what parts we ignore- what thoughts we focus on and what thoughts we let go of. This week I have been trying to incorporate the whole aspect of seeing how you feel and letting your emotions run it’s course through your body as the lady was described doing on pg 14-15. It’s going to take a lot of practice, but I think it’s a good healthy way to deal with the various emotions felt through the day. By not repressing the emotions, the body will feel more alive. Another aspect I found interesting was that on pg. 40, “Another form of cultural conditioning is implied in our attitudes toward health and healing or to be consonant with the viewpoint of our culture in our attitudes toward disease and medicine…we do not have the resources or instincts to support our own healing processes.” I find this idea super interesting because I’m taking an anthropology class on the different systems of healing and I think it will be interesting to see how meditation plays a role in the different healing processes in different cultures. I also found the eye contact exercise interesting. I usually don’t have a problem with eye contact- but I found the exercise a bit awkward- maybe because I’ve never been so direct about keeping eye contact. I really liked what Aposhan wrote on page 49: “She said that when a dolphin looks at someone, they communicate deeply a healing feeling of love and connection.” It’s interesting how much you can tell and feel from mere eye contact. It’s a language of it’s own.
ReplyDeleteJuhi
With the class this week, I focused on how differently I felt in class as opposed to outside of it. In chapter 3, Aposhyan speaks to the “socialization” (pp.40) and the “cultural conditioning” (pp.40) of the body. The boundaries for touch, and bodily expression are so regimented within daily life, that I do not even consider most of my movements. Often, in fact, I try to ignore them. If my back hurts when I wake up, I maybe stretch a bit, but then I suck it up and continue the day. If I feel the urge to give someone a hug, I hold back, maybe that would seem awkward? There was such a difference in my mind frame after the meditation and after reading the chapters and responding to my body instead of ignoring it. It made movement so much more interesting, compelling, and seemingly truthful. With the partner exercise, I was easily trusting of my partner. I didn't try to fight their guidance, rather I responded to their touch as if it was an extension of my own body. At one point I remember envisioning that the points of contact from my partner were not attached to another person but were like feelers emanating from my own body and guiding me were to go. As we talked about in class, my walking felt very unstable, and after thinking on it some more, I feel that this reaction was partially due to the fact that my body was open to more movement possibilities than when I just move through my daily regiment. When the partners switched and I was leading my guidance felt very fluid and I lacked hesitation of how to move my partner. This was very different from how I would behave in daily interactions; I would most likely move away from others and try to avoid contact, or if invited for a hug I would do the awkward back pat. Who wants to be the person who gets way to involved in the hug? None of those inhibitions manifested in this exercise. I compared my experience with touch with the description Aposhyan gives on page 47. “The most sensually gratifying touch occurs when the person touching allows their body to touch out of their own internal impulses.” I noticed that the tension I sometimes have in my stomach was not present and I felt my arms tingle in a warm and pleasant way, and my feet were warm (my feet are never warm). When I was guiding my partner, it was out of unclouded internal impulses and the feeling of kindness that Louie suggested to us.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the partner exercise, the conversation with our partner transitioned us into practicing embodied speech and embodied listening. I found this to be a really nice practice at honing in on what are bodies were actually communicating and extend that outward with language. Similarly as with touch, what we say and what we process are very socially constructed. There are certain things we are allowed to communicate and relate with and other things that are not encouraged. I felt deeply relaxed when I was able to expressed what I was presently and actively feeling. I didn't fall into the conversation trap of “oh I don't know what I mean.” I meant that my feet were unstable because they were exploring the ground. It was a simple conversation, but a nice place to start. When I listened to my partner, my body responded to their descriptions as well. It felt kind of like puddy, maybe just because I was nice and warm, and that my partners words molded onto my body in a way.
When I have conversations in daily life, I generally strike a listening pose and then hold, as if the more still I can be the more their words will filter through my ears into my brain. This exercise demonstrated the exact opposite.
I related the eye contact exercise and the exercise were we walked close to other people together because they engendered similar feelings withing my body. I guess it could be considered feeling “nervous” in other contexts, but in this context, where I was able to explore that feeling, it didn't affect my behavior but just fueled my interest. The feeling was one of a tightening in my gut. While playing with proximity, I noticed I got stronger feelings from some people then from others, and I noticed this same range of responses in the eye contact exercise. I wondered if it was the same people who produced the same responses with different methods? Was the proximity exercise less personal than the eye contact exercise? I was identifying people with the eye contact exercise and not with the proximity exercise, but if they contributed to the same physical reactions in my own body, are they different? As we were doing the eye contact exercise, it felt a bit like a courtly dance. Were eye contact was established and we moved in and out down a line. I wondered if perhaps the connection produced by eye contact was the instigator of this kind of dance formation?
Generally, my dance experience has been very technical and my movements limited by this technique. These exercises had a different bodily exploration that seemed to instill communication; with my body and mind, and with others. It communicated to me the difference between how I automatically respond to my social surroundings and how I can respond when I am more connected with my body.
-Allexa Laycock
I think the biggest outcome of this week was how my view on meditation changed. I guess I didn't really understand meditation previously, but from some reason, after a discussion with Louis, it just clicked. I love the idea of the connection with the body and the focus on the body to slow the mind down. It seems so simple but it can get very tiring trying to integrate this thinking into your life. Another big moment for me happened in Thursday's class when we first partnered up for the exercise which involved touch. As you know, I have issues with touch. Today I felt a little less anxious about the situation and a little more open to the idea than usual. My partner and I discussed this after the exercise and she suggested that maybe the meditation in the beginning of class helped me to relax a little bit. If this is true then I think that I need to find a way to really integrate meditation into daily practices when I begin to feel anxious or nervous or even sad.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the book goes ... I love it!! I'm learning so much and sometimes I feel like the book is speaking directly to me. The chapter on embodied relationships is great.
** Kali Allen
The first chapter strikes a chord when it explores the issue of the dissociation between the body and the mind. I have always allowed myself to be dictated and led by my mind and quite possibly, this situation is not unique to me in this modern society. Louis kept reminding us not to be too hard on ourselves whenever the mind takes over sensory meditation as it is the nature of the mind to do so and we have let it be so for some time. I do acknowledge and am thankful for the contributions of my mind that brought me to where I am now; though perhaps, it is time I started paying more heed to my body.
ReplyDeleteCulture has indeed taught me to prioritize external needs over my own internal needs, which the book describes as being detrimental to an embodied relationship with the environment. I will bear this in mind and try the approach of balancing between the two to see how it works out. Judgment is a big hindrance to this and perhaps within the protected walls of this dance class, I can come into terms with the fears and connect more intimately with myself and express it as so, eventually bringing out this quality beyond this class to the world.
Exploration of embodiment alone is a challenge in itself. Exploration of embodiment with other human beings raises it to another level all together. Intentionally checking in with my end points really does help me stay in the present moment. Eye contact was the most intense out of the five modes of embodied contact for me as I have never felt so intimate(relaxed, natural) with someone within such a short time before. Naturally, my mind tried to digest what happened for the rest of the day before I remembered to just allow things to be present in the moment and not ponder too much about it.
Presence and dissociation were two terms from the readings that I noiticed clearly in class.
ReplyDeletePresence and the amount of presence is important to any dancer.
It also is a guide to see how engaged audience members are depending on how much presence each dancer puts into a performance and how their presence impacts the audience. I feel that presence is one of the most important terms for a dancer. In class on Thursday, we worked with the inner sway of the body and put a sense of awareness as to how the body moves naturally. During this time I tried to notice now the inner sway changed the connection of my feet with the floor, how my body moved rhythmically and how I felt moving this way. I felt the physical changes on the outside of my body, but I also noticed the emotional changes and what I was thinking during this organic dance.
As we walked through space, I felt a presence in the room not just from myself but from people I walked by. And each person gave off a different feel of presence. We we were told to allow our bodies to find partners naturally, the gravitational pull toward my partner was stronger than I imagined it to be. What a crazy feeling having that much pull to a partner that I did not even know previously.
Working with our partners, we were guided with our eyes closed. I felt a sense of security with my partner, and I noticed sounds and light from the window shining through my eye lids. I tried to pay attention to the pattern she took me in, and I noticed the differnet shapes she guided me in in the studio space. Losing a sense, such as seeing, allows one to use other senses to notice relationships and walk around the space. It heightens the other senses one may not use as much normally when walking through space with their eyes open.
Also, i noticed other partners around me and their bodies presense in the room. This partnering exercise allowed me to find an embodied relationship with myself as I thought about how I felt, and also felt the presense of others around me. This contact and exchange with our partners was my favorite exercise of the day because of the strong connection I had with a stranger. It's amazing learning all of these facts about a person as you guide them through space, then discuss how the task felt afterward. Practicing embodied speech and embodied listening in the relfection allowed us to become even closer as partners in knowing one another.
Moving across the floor next, we made eye contact with a partner in close proximity, then walked further away as we walked in the other direction. Just looking at someones eyes you can learn so much about them. I had a sensation that everyone wanted to tell me their stories through their eyes, and I would notice how they were feeling. The intensity of eye contact varied between individuals, but the exercise as a whole made me feel a greater connection with every person in the class. Eye contact is one of the strongest forms of communication along with gestures and expressions. Just as we discussed in class as the end, you see the other person's inner and outer beauty.
“Dissociation is a psychological term that describes a state of disconnection between one’s body, one’s feelings and the present reality,” (2). As soon as I read this definition, I realized that it was the reason I had such a hard time with stillness during meditation/body scan. Because I have been dissociated and comfortable with disconnection for so long presence is not only difficult but awkward. Awareness exercises, whether it be individual assessment or a community experience, forced me to fully appreciate that “we are born from the web of life to inhabit our bodies which are also embodied in the web of life,” (36). Maintaining eye contact with someone may have been especially difficult because not only was I aware of what I was seeing/feeling, I could read what my partner saw, which totally changed the dynamics for my own assessment. For most, the full embodiment of “presence” may never happen but even to distinguish or acknowledge a certain disconnection helps me make conscious decisions that evaluate how I can apply the choices I make to help continue to aspire for greater presence.
ReplyDeletesinae
Aposhan wrote on page 49: “She said that when a dolphin looks at someone, they communicate deeply a healing feeling of love and connection.” This sentence draws on a lot of the information that I observe in life. The question continually arises in me of whether we are animal, or human, and what qualifies us as such. In our Thursday exercise of eye contact and cross-floor movement, I experienced the dolphin. I felt an autonomous sense of presence, where I didn't feel the expectations of the other person come in the way of my authentic experience. Rather, I was able to use the love and awesomeness that I was feeling to affirm our togetherness and wholeness. I would, over each walk, come to see each person. I didn't feel any anxiety around looking at someone's eyes, nor did I go into the mode of wanting to understand what they were thinking. The exercise came at a good time, where we had been working long enough in comfort to be more challenge. I think this class will challenge me to notice the great beauty in the similarities and differences of people's movement and expression forms.
ReplyDeleteThe body is a great place to explore, because everyone has one and they're everywhere we go! Somatics is a way to heal and explore the connection that we have with our non-verbal selves, the aspect or dimension we have that uses the body and images to create a cohesive meaning. This aspect of my mind, I notice often, is neglected. I feel like somatics is an empowering, healthy, and creative way to explore the internal issues, functions, and needs for myself. It's great to be doing this work with people. I really appreciated the dialogue we had, as a chance to give feedback on our experience. Listening to everyone's responses was fun because it connected and drew out a lot of the conscious and unconscious processes in my life, my body, and my head.
On Tuesday, we did a quiet meditation and body scan. This really invoked a sense of peace and care for my body and my life, as well as that of those around me. I really appreciated the opportunity to lay and be guided throughout my body. I found this exercise super relaxing as well as a space to gather intuitive power. Being with my body is always very healing. On page 17, the author tells about her personification of her organs. She imagined her liver “as an overworked and depleted frontier woman,” and I began to imagine my solar plexus as a radiant sunflower. The process of imagining myself from the inside gave me a unique and insightful shift in perspective.
+alice
I was sick on Thursday so unfortunately missed the class and couldn't
ReplyDeleteparticipate in the proximity and touch movements. I think it would have been
challenging as I am not that much of a touch person. I did try to be aware of
proximty and such when interacting with friends and random people on the
weekend. I didn't do any of the exact exercises from chapter 3 but tried to be
aware of eye contact, embodied listening and just some of the passages in
general. For embodied listening I realize I did better listening to a friend
when were taking a walk, rather just sitting still. I didn't realize any
difference in how I felt internally from walking vs. sitting.
For the first class with the long meditation I am not sure I good I did at
focusing on individual parts (or what chapter 1 calls sequencing)...when I tried
I often felt more out of my body than inside it. Sometimes moving that part
would help get me back inside. I did feel very relaxed afterwards. Natalie Ramien
What a wonderful quarter this will be. Being present, in harmony, and ready
ReplyDeletefor transformation are just some of the focuses I left class with. The
reading really connected with everything that we have been doing so far, and
in my life as well. I really like the question of how we relate to our own
bodies, thus how do we then interact with our world and be. ”How we think
about our bodies is very important because it affects how we live in them.
Do we feel present and connected within them or dissociated from them?” The
eye contact exercise what great. I quickly realized how sleepy I was and a
difference in my presence in comparison to other times I have done this
exercise. It is always interesting to repeat actions in different times in
your life and note the similarity and differences. The reading made me stop
to reassess my personal balance of mind and body, at this time, in the
beginning of our journey. In the guided meditation I found myself swimming
again, or I guess as Susan calls it “ sequencing.” I seem to constantly be
sequencing. Meditating is a great way to put the frustrated mind and body to
rest…to just be. More to come!
blessings
annie
I too was moved by the power of touch. When doing the “blind leading the blind” exercise, I felt a certain sense of peace knowing that I was literally in the hands of someone else. Even though this person was more or less a stranger (having just met that day) it was simply perfect to completely submit myself to the trust that I had that this person is not going to….slam my face into the wall?
ReplyDeleteIt almost became that there was no true leader, rather, the touch lead the both of us. Even though my partner had his eyes open, I felt it was not him guiding me, it was this gentle force of the contact that was pushing, pulling, floating, rolling me(us) through space.
Giving over to the gentle energy to the human contact was the most comforting experience I have had since returning to Seattle. American culture has developed a “It’s not okay to touch. Give me my personal space, please.” When bottom line is, it is human nature to touch and be touched; it feels good for this reason. It is the most honest form of energy exchange. Communication on the most primal level.
The moment of submission to the trust in the touch reminded me what I love about life; love and trust in my surroundings.
Juliane popelka