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79.  Taking a Walk                              2/01/06

    I believe, because of the acculturation process we all inherit, there are a number of limiting movement patterns we pick up and use, perhaps for the rest of our lives. Adding to this dilemma are the small spaces we live in and the lack of enough space to explore and do natural body work in. Viewing health clubs or physical therapy clinics, there is very little room to walk around in. Ideally working in a large open space like a gymnasium or basketball court we can explore what the body feels like doing rather then doing what others have designed for “being in shape.” In terms of working out or doing exercises, I feel, walking and discovering the playful aspects of motion, is a form of exercise that benefits our emotional center as well as our body.

    In taking a walk we find the opportunity to move the body in unlimited ways that come from the bodies need to move and unwind. This would come under the natural movement category of any bodywork program. When energy is restricted to ‘adult’ type movement where any playful motion is held, we are in effect holding natural instincts still. Skipping as an example, may be unconventional on the city street even if the body feels like doing that. Recently I saw the football player, Warren Sapp skipping down the field. This 300 plus pound defensive line man just broke out in a skip for 50 some yards as the teams were being introduced before a Super bowl game. Very often you can see athletes doing movements that are purely child like out of a need to feel relaxed and express excited energy. We have similar impulses arising and it is worthwhile to give them free reign.

    The contemporary ‘getting into shape’, to my way of thinking, has many faults and even harmful ideas. The classical sit up is an obvious flawed way of viewing the body. See article on SIT-UPS. We may have different modes for being in shape or getting into shape depending on our own life style, but we need to become more discerning about what is “good” for the body in terms of exercise both inwardly and outwardly. We can view exercise from three points of view;
1. Muscle building
2. Movement based
3. Natural movement that ushers from the body.

    In natural action or movement we are looking at natures intelligences in operation. In the words of George Leonard; “What we call intelligence comes in many varieties seven of them: linguistic, musical, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, and two types of personal intelligences that might be described as intrapersonal and interpersonal. We vary in our giftedness in these seven at least. Still each of us comes equipped with enough raw ability across the board to achieve that seemingly rare and mysterious state we call mastery….” So our natural movement, which is also a result of being with the breath, accesses these intelligences and gives them free reign

    When energy and motion are held over a long periods of time this often results in a feeling of depression in the body. In some sessions where a person says they feel depressed, I will have them walk around the room and mirror the depressed feeling with walking and sounds. This tends to be very effective and can lead to more motion and sound that can release the body from feeling depressed. Again we are exploring the depressed feeling playfully and acting out the down type of feeling that depression brings. In others words we are allowing the body to move as it feels. So we could say; by allowing the body to do what it feels we may find forms of release from limiting ideas.

Blessings

Harmony

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