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The body is the temple of God and the I is the God installed therein
~~~Sri Sai Baba~~~

2. Sculpting the Body 9/10/03

We are all sculptors of the body as we are all creators of the mind. Accepting this to be possible the question then is begged; How do we sculpt our own body?

The external advertisements are asking us to be sculptors by using this or that diet, doing this or that exercise program or lifting and pulling this or that weight etc. all forms of shaping the body. We are at a disadvantage when it comes to these programs because we have very little means of qualifying each and measuring the reality claims of each, even if we go the cost of each program. Without going into detail about this lets answer the question above, How?

One way that we can sculpt our own body for free is using expansive breathing. Lets treat this as an art project for us. Working with the pictures and descriptions below it is possible to understand more about shaping or sculpting our own body.

From the picture on the right we can see a drop in the rib cage with out much breath in the upper body.>>>
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<<< The picture on the left shows the rib cage expanded with a full breath. By taking in a full breath that raises the rib cage and straightens the back of the neck you will feel fully expanded. By maintaining this lift in the rib cage and breathing in and out from the abdomen, you will be doing full diaphragmatic breathing. While doing this, concentrating more on the in breath then the out breath is suggested. When we have taken a full breath the exhale starts out on its own.

Doing this for any length of time will be rewarding and yield results. If you can work with this breath and develop the practice for 20 minutes or more you will be introducing alignment to the upper body and sculpting your own physical body.
This is a way of using the breath for adding more internal space to your body and elongating or stretching the muscles of the upper body. It is a tool and not the way to breathe all the time.

Plain and simple, doing this breathing for about ten minutes you will start to find that it gets easier and easier and over a period of time. The insights that you will have about your own breathing and body can extend into other areas both emotional and spiritual.

We are the artist hear and we do also have the clay to work with. Enriching our systems with God’s Breath, feeds all of nature.

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Notes on the two pictures of the body;

The picture on the right is fairly close to what most people have going on with the structure of the rib cage. Even in many people that seem to be muscularly toned with a rippled stomach (tight, in my way of thinking) the skeleton is pulled down and the reduction of internal space is the common condition. See article on sit-ups

Very often we don’t see the skeletal structure around the flesh of most people but, if you can observe the structure, at the beach for instance, of peoples bodies then you will become familiar with the look of the upper body and perhaps see its potential. We can also do this ourselves in front of a mirror and feel both positions of the skeleton by being with a full breath and then letting it all out.

The picture on the left, of the body with full diaphragmatic breathing is the upper end of the spectrum of having the skeleton more open and aligned. The body will come close to this appearance of being upright as it expands and releases with breathing.

For our own health and well being you will find this understanding is extremely useful for opening and maintaining the integrity of our natural form.

For more information and other sessions for releasing the body, order book Hathaway Alignment Sessions

Posted by harmon September 11, 2003

COMMENTS

These photos are very helpful, Harmon. . .I can really see the collapse in the chest which you say should be avoided.

In doing the breathing exercises I've found it a little difficult to keep the chest uplifted during the outbreath without evoking tension in the chest muscles. But in the lying position it's easier and getting better.

I like this idea of sculpting the body. . .working on it from the inside.

Thanks, Ruth

Posted by: Ruth on September 25, 2003 07:47 PM

Ruth, in response to your comments:

{I can really see the collapse in the chest which you say should be avoided.}

As we work more with the breath we become more aware of the position of our body and how we are holding it. That we have an option to have more breath and better posture is the important point here. Again, this will become easier and more intuitive as we work with breathing. The congestion created by the collapsing of the upper rib cage has many health and well being issues to lengthy to go into here. When working in sessions I find that with the introduction of expansion we become aware of tensions that already exist in different areas of the body and we can then work through those tensions.

Suffice it to say that this awareness brings our attention to our body and to the present very effectively. If we find the mind being too active and start breathing to lift the body then the mind tends to become quieter.

{I've found it a little difficult to keep the chest uplifted during the out-breath without evoking tension in the chest muscles.}

Generally this pattern is unfamiliar and making the change can feel as if there is “tension”. I like to call this a gentle effort in the right direction where we take in a full breath that fills the body, then we let out a small portion of this breath from the stomach not the upper body. As we continue this breathing the breath is assisting in maintaining the lift. What ever turns on while doing this, will change and subside as we continue with the new pattern. I also like to call this a natural workout since we are engaging the muscles in stretching and movement. This is far better then living below the discomfort or not addressing it. I say more about this in Working with Breath.

Since we are using the medium of the Internet to understand alignment and breathing I would say that working in the lying position is great and you will eventually bring this understanding to the upright position. I will present more in future Blogs with pictures to assist in further understanding.

Truly, we can shape the structure, as you say, working from the inside. Thank you for sharing.

Posted by: Harmon on September 27, 2003

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