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70. Baby Steps 3/24/05
“Let your body have a voice, let your body speak
Let your body have a voice, Let your body teach.”
Lyric/Mantra ~~Alicia Starkweather ~~
Walking
Many body sessions will start with walking around the room. After
some points have been made about the arches of the feet, I will ask a person to
put the ideas into motion. By walking with the arches in place and the foot
firmly hitting the ground along the outside of the feet, while the knees are relaxed,
one can discern of how this feels for the rest of the body.
Within short order one can have the principle of using the walk
for establishing ‘structural integrity’, a term from the books of Rolfing, for
the lower body. Interestingly, most knee problems will soften fairly fast with
this instruction, because I believe, most problems with the knees are a result
of using the structure with the legs turned in a semi or full collapse of the
arches. When a person tells me right out that they have a knee problem, I will
generally have them stomp a little bit on the outside of the foot and ‘Poof’ the
problem is gone. Then it is just a matter of them learning to walk with better
lower body alignment.
Another thing that can happen while walking is; the body habit of walking in a
certain way can be relaxed and other types of things will show up. Like
marching, kicking the feet out, or what ever patterns appear for the individual.
Occasionally I will spend a large portion of a session having someone walk
around the room allowing the body to do whatever it feels like doing. This can
usually be real interesting, as a variety of patterns usher forth. The natural
feel and texture of moving, while listening to our body, works to enlighten the
body. Our resonate indicators signal; that we are more in harmony with space and
motion.
Marching around and thumping can lead to native dance. Sounds
may wish to sing there song, without restriction and in the same native style.
What ever the pattern is, it will usually change and run one style of walk after
another. The end result is both an acquaintance with the playfulness of the body
and letting the body express itself. Observing a two and three year old, we can
see the animated delight of feeling good. Sounds of glee innocently fly in all
directions. The Inner Rainbow Child feeling the body delights in every breath.
By doing this we redraw some of ‘the blueprints’ or brain patterns, (processing)
so we can express the light and laughter, without feeling awkward.
This brings us to a subject I call baby steps. In some
sessions I may have a person play with the feeling of walking like a baby, which
has the element of not going anywhere. By moving and feeling short steps, like a
baby takes, we can allow the intuitive nature of the body to unfold, walking as
it wishes. Let’s call it motion without a purpose or mindfulness of our body
moving and breathing while exploring some of the energy that can be waiting to
display itself. If we live by others prescribed patterns then the physical can
become ‘no fun’. Feeling the potential of our physical motion, with the mind
passive, allows held energy to flow and unravel.
Sometimes, I encounter someone who will go in to the old ‘cho
cho train’ type motion, or a little stomping where the feet hit the ground
firmly. In many cases this then proceeds into a feeling of native dance that has
a pleasing sensation as well as the expression of unfettered sound. All of this
is fairly non-sensical or right brained activity since one has no purpose other
then to feel the body doing some unfamiliar things that are not trying to make
sense.
By setting a time for a session of walking around a space we can explore our
walking, breathing and making some body sounds. We can uncover another side of
being with the body that is both playful and revealing.
“Life is a challenge, meet it; Life is love, share (enjoy) it; Life is a dream,
realize it; Life is a game, play it.”
~~~Sathya Sai Baba~~~
Peace
Posted by harmon at March 24, 2005
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