New York Times Bestseller Poet and Philosopher Mark Nepo in his book The Book of Awakening writes in his June 24th entry:
“When was the last time you danced?” — Question put to the sick by a Native American Medicine Man
The beginning of dance i s giving gesture to what we feel. While this is very obvious to most children, it remains very difficult for those of us schooled to live in our heads.
The ongoing effort to dance, to give gesture to what we feel and experience, is ultimately healing because, as riverbeds are continually shaped by the water that moves through them, living beings are continually shaped by the water that moves through them. If there is no water moving through, the riverbed dries up and crumbles. Likewise, if there is no feeling moving through the body, the being at the center of that body will crumble.
More often, though, there is too much to give gesture to, and we fail to move these feelings through our bodies. In truth, much of our inner sickness comes from the buildup and pressure of all that is kept in. The ongoing act of releasing that inner buildup is what spiritual practices call embodiment. { I, Alvina, am reminded of WAH!’s Self-Care Program where she continually blows out her breath through her mouth releasing what is no longer needed or over flowing through her. She is fantastic…and has regular LIVE programs weekly on Facebook or Instagram I highly recommend}
There are many ancient practices intended to help us live more fully in our bodies, including the Chinese art of meditation movement known as t’ai chi and the Buddhist art of space awareness known as maitri, to name just two. Once unblocked, giving gesture to our inwardness not only frees us from being pressurized, but the gestures, once allowed out, teach us how to dance further into our own lives.
Still, most of us learn to feel, trap, and snuff our feelings in our hearts, and if they wont go away, we try to hush them with our minds. If they still persist, we often feel them throb in our temples or burn in our gut.
In contrast to the painful layering of heart, mind, and body, embodiment itself is nothing more or less than feeling the wound or lip you touch in your hand and mind and heart at once. Embodiment is allowing our heart, mind, and body to exist as one miraculous skin.
Suggested Activity:
Stand quietly and breathe slowly, feeling your breath move through your heart.
With each breath, let the feeling of being alive move further into your body.
First feel it move in and our of your heart, then in and our of your lungs.
Let the breath of being alive now move up and out your shoulders and hips, and let it extend you rarms in whatever gesture happens to come.
Repeat this process until the breath from heart to fingertip feels like one continuous gesture.
I, Alvina, highly recommend Barbara Mahler’s Dance work. Here is her website and she’s on Facebook too
Susan Falkenstein teaches Tai Chi twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 9:45…Highly Recommend. Contact her directly for Zoom link…sweetsusan62@gmail.com
Hector Munoz teaches Tai Chi in Naples FL at Love Yoga….Lots available…Enjoy!!!! Move!!!!! Love!!!!!!