Bodyfreedom

Take a moment, take a breath, feel into your body.  Can you be curious to what’s present in your body?  Go on, take a minute or two.  Feel.  Be curious.  And, rather than try to rationalize it (go mental with it), can you embrace and accept whatever you find there?  This could be a feeling, a sensation, a pain, an emotion, an image, a situation… but whatever you’re aware of take a moment and let your breath and attention encompass it.  Then move into a deeper level of acceptance of what is and what’s present.  Just be with that for a moment.  A little bit longer.  And see where it takes you. You might find that the feeling/ pain/ situtation shifts, changes, lifts, or transforms.  You might have more awareness about a situation or issue. Or, you might find that a space opens up for something new to come in and for healing.

Yesterday I was reading an article in a dance magazine (”Conscious Dancer”, Winter 08) and a couple of sentences popped right out at me.  I want to share them with you: 

- “Life is about accepting the unpredictable reality in this moment.”  

- “If, instead of avoiding the edges [of life] or being immobilized by fear, we stay present, find stillness and ways to be with the awkwardness, we then open up curiosity, and forge new patterns and pathways.”

Wow. These two quotes really speak to me. If I can replace my fear or impulses to control with curiosity and interest and stay present to what is NOW then I can open up to the new pathways being revealed.  That is the BodyTip for this month… Can you stay in the moment and be curious to what is present in your life, in your body?  Can you accept what you find, feel, see there?  And can you allow for new information, patterns and pathways to emerge?   

How do we do this? By tuning in to what is going on in your body.  Bringing your attention there.  Listening. Becoming aware of what is there and what is present.  And from there, being curious.  Being curious takes all the work out of what you need to do next or having to work things out. Instead your body will simply show you what needs to happen next. Something new will simply open.

Explore with this!  Be Curious! And let me know how you do with it… Post a comment below and share your experience!  When I can be present and curious, I am always amazed at what unfolds.

Remember… the body never lies, the body holds our truth!  It can be our best friend.  Every day when I work with my clients and myself this truth is confirmed over and over again.  It is our mind that tries to construe and complicate things.  And it is always possible to be present to what the body is telling us… if we just open up a space to listen and be curious.

Have a great holiday season, ENJOY!

Yesterday I was going to the car with my arms full and I asked my 19 year old nephew to assist me.  I said something like, ‘it’s always a nice thing to be aware if someone needs help.’  Of course he was willing, but he said something I found shocking, but not surprising.  He said that recently a young woman told him that Chivalry was dead!  Moreover, he commented that when he tries to do something for girls, they usually say something like, “What?! You don’t think we can do it ourselves?!”  

This made me feel sad!  Why? Because Chivalry and receiving assistance requires a woman to be receptive, which is actually one of the most important attributes of the Feminine.  Are young girls so removed from their feminine that they don’t know how to receive anymore?  Of course this not only diminishes the feminine, it affects the masculine too.  When a woman won’t be receptive and in her feminine, a man cannot be in his masculine.  So, this contributes to the de-feminizing of women and the de-masculating of men! By contrasts, when a woman connects to her feminine and receives, she also supports the man in being in his masculine.  It’s a win-win!

Receptivity is really the core of being in our feminine, and it’s one of the foundations of the BodyFreedom teachings.  The question I get so often is… how?  HOW do we connect to the Feminine?  HOW do we receive from others? From ourselves?  The key lies in connecting to our own body!  Most of us separate and detach from our bodies, and when we do this we don’t know how to receive, nurture, or connect in a way that is fulfilling and satisfying.  

We addressed this question in last weekend’s workshop on Embracing Your Feminine Power.  The focus of the day was connection, and as we connected deeply into our bodies, some very interesting revelations came forward about the Feminine and Receiving.  As we moved our attention from the heart/chest area down to the solar plexus region (en route to the Feminine Heart Center in the pelvis), the energy in the room became very thick and stagnant.  It was clear we had reached a place of blockage and struggle.  As we processed through this area, moving and supporting each other in partnership, a cascade of tears and releases came, first slowly then with great intensity.  Following this process, the women revealed their experiences:

-One woman became aware of how she had blocked the pathway of her feminine energy flow (her receptivity) through her belly area.  She was able to feel and release the pain of all the “shoulds”, the judgements, the busyness, the over-doing, which had kept her from connecting to the resovoir of her feminine energy - her receptivity, connection, nurturing, fluidity, flexibility. 

-Another woman identified the contractions in her belly area as the blocks that stop her from connecting to her feminine.  She was able to find the spaces in and around this blockage in her solar plexus which opened up a pathway to feeling and accessing her feminine power.

-One younger women realized how numb she had been in this area.  She too became aware that the blockages in her belly and solar plexus area had prevented her from connecting to her Feminine Heart Center, her womb, and therefore her power.  

It was fascinating to witness the the ways we block these passageways to the place where our feminine power resides - in our bodies and our lives.  And even MORE fascinating to witness these blocks dissolving, releasing and opening though movement, awareness, and intention, allowing us to move deeply into the heart of the feminine.  To feel the pleasure of the body again, and to listen to its messages about what we need to become aware of right now on our path of healing.  To allow ourselves to receive our own flow and our own sensations.  When we are in our feminine, we are connected to our body, and vice versa.  This is true for both men and women.

So as we open and clear these pathways in our physical and energetic bodies, we connect with the heart of our power and new possibilities, new openings, new insights, expanded awareness emerge.  This was a healing journey for each of the women at the workshop, and it’s a journey I invite every single one of you to take!  As one participant put it, “I knew I was separated from my body, and I knew the wisdom was in my body… but I hadn’t had the experience of how to bring them together.  And it was like ‘oh wow’ this is how it really is, taking it from the intellectual to integrating it within me.”

The journey into the body is always rich, always rewarding, always surprising!  Jump on in, allow yourself to experience your feminine energy, allow yourself to feel into your body, allow yourself to connect, and above all allow yourself to receive… And next time someone holds a door for you or offers assistance, say yes!

Yesterday I was being interviewed for a TV program and was asked what the value of movement was and why it is important, so I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

Research has shown us that we are only consciously aware of a very small fraction of who and what we are (estimated about 5-10%).  The vast majority of our full potential remains dormant, unconscious, waiting to be awakened, realized and birthed into full awareness.  Research has also shown us that information is stored at a cellular level in our bodies - our earliest memories, our pure potential, every feeling we’ve ever had.  Our bodies hold our memories and trauma, as well as our dreams and the keys to our freedom.  This cellular information is revealed and expressed by our bodies through our movement - how we move or don’t move, as the case may be.  

Furthermore, our body is made up of mostly fluids (water, blood, saliva, etc.) Think of the sacro-cranial system that carries all the neurological messages from the body to the brain and back again.  With all that fluid pulsating through our spine carrying millions of messages throughout our body, finding a way to work with our fluid system is extremely important.  Especially if we are yearning to uncover the blocks that hold us back and allow a deeper expression of who we are.  

Movement (in this case I am referring to unstructured dance or freeform movement) is one of the most effective ways to access the fluid system and to unlock deeply ingrained patterns.  When we move our body in a connected and unstructured way, we stimulate our fluid system.  And when we focus our consciousness into our moving body we allow the innate intelligence within our body to reveal to us the unconscious messages stored within it.  The body speaks in symbols, flashes of awareness, pictures, colors, sound, sensations and feelings.  Accessing the fluid part of our body is also the gateway to our spiritual connection, as has been revealed by mystics over the ages.  The fluid system assists us in staying youthful, it gives us flexibility not only physically but also emotionally and mentally.  By bringing these messages to consciousness through movement and working with the fluid movement system, we change the way we inhabit our body and we shift our limited viewpoint of who we think we are.  This allows more freedom, joy, pure potential and fulfillment to enter our lives.  

Unfortunately, our society today revolves almost exclusively around logic, rational thinking, doing, skills, production, bottom line results, and form.  This makes it very easy for people to get caught in routines and ruts, following the same patterns and repeating the same things everyday.  We get trapped in a very limited reality, and these patterns of restriction get caught in our bodies. This creates a rigid way of being and a profound separation from the truth of the body.  

Through the movement work, we can break these patterns, unlock our hidden potential, and achieve freedom from the insidious limitations we and society have placed on ourselves.  Plus, we have fun doing it, as reclaim the movements, the spontaneity, the joy that we witness in children!

The body has the innate intelligence to open the door to its hidden secrets if only we learn to listen to it. To access the subconscious through movement, it is important not to control the movement and its direction consciously.  If we move from what we know, through repetetive motions controlled by our minds, we are less likely to stumble on the golden nuggets of wisdom waiting to be discovered within our bodies. If instead we let our bodies lead the way, the movement becomes less structured and spontaneous and allows the revelation of what is hidden deep inside to be healed, revealed, opened up to and expressed.

I read a very profound line in a book recently that said it perfectly: “I suggest that the teacher, coach, mentor or guide you have been waiting for is the leadership of your own body.”  My parting words are to allow yourself to let your body lead.  Are you willing to listen to what your body has been trying to tell you for a very long time?  Are you willing to follow its lead to healing, self-awareness, growth, fulfilment and freedom?  

Much Love on your journey,

Tarnie