Movement and Organization (in unstable times)

I'm gathering that kids right now, and for the last few generations, are more intelligent and less organized than perhaps they have ever been in the past. And it seems like that trend is increasing. We have been called anywhere from "Indigo" to "Autistic" but I think simply we are at an evolutionary moment where the old structures (of control and rote belief, to name just 2) are falling away, but we have not found the new structures yet. Props to us, because this phase feels like falling apart, but we have some deeper compass or faith that lets us unplug from the old world, without reassurance that the new one will come.

Forcing old, unconscious structures is not the answer (thought in some cases one might find a way to force conform and think its a good thing). Nor is structurelessness, as there are all kinds of unconscious beliefs and energies floating in the air that someone without a strong sense of center might accidentally be taken by, feel overwhelmed, even lose their way. I see both options rising up: a surge in fascism and an equally powerful surge in structurelessness.

The reason that I work through movement is to give people the self or brain organizational tools they need in order to contain the world without dogma. Even long ago, Freud wrote, "The ego is first and foremost a body ego." (The Ego and the Id). We come to know ourselves through embodied experience; through an interactive process. Our brains and minds are patterned through our movement patterns in daily life. It is an emotional, psychological, and spiritual need to move and dance and tumble through life, this is why its important to me to restore our understanding of non-fascist forms of movement that build the amount of structure required for freedom.

"Fascism can be crushed only if it is countered objectively and practically, with a well-grounded knowledge of life's processes" (Wilhelm Reich The Mass Psychology of Fascism). Movement teaches the necessity of respect for life in all its physical forms. It also teaches neutral life principles: Gravity, Space, and Time. These studies become even more interesting now because, as many believe, gravity is literally shifting. The gravitational and magnetic fields of the earth may be shifting along with the alignments of the planets themselves (towards the rare and intense alignment of 2012). We feel these things in our bodies and I really wonder how much they might contribute to the increased incidence of challenges in sensory orientation. If we feel like we don't know where we are, we may be right.

"The existence of sensitive people is an advantage for humankind because it is this group that best expresses humanity’s creative urges and needs. Through their instinctual responses the world is best interpreted. Under normal circumstances, they are artists or artisans, seekers, inventors, shamans, poets, prophets….Sensitivity is transmuted into suffering and disorders only when the world is unable to heed the exquisitely tuned physiological and psychic responses of the sensitive individual" (Gabor Mate, Scattered).

They/We just need to be given tools--and I'd say movement tools that develop wisdom--to be able to find a personal harmony between stability and freedom. "Stability (when one is protected) increases the feeling of safety. Instability means risk but easy mobility. Both are biologically important. Becoming addicted to either one of them makes one unsafe for lack of choice" (Moshe Feldenkrais The Elusive Obvious).

lymph

When I was a teenager I noticed that, when I couldn't move my mind, I should move my body. This was my first understanding of somatic therapy: the body--it's memory, it's position and location in time and space--is the lens we look through. At that time in my life there were a lot of situations that I could not move, but I noticed that if I changed my position, I could see things differently. I noticed the power of perspective and--through studying the body--I considered the human ability to shift and create change.

Moving the physical body moves the mind, emotions, nervous system and immune system. Science is showing how the lymphatic system, the nervous system, and emotion are linked together in more ways than we thought. The interesting thing about the lymphatic system is that it requires body movement. It depends on our volition: our choice to move. Unlike the circulatory system that has a heart to pump fluids, the lymphatic system has no heart--in relies on the contraction of skeletal muscles. Body movement is essential to the lymphatic system because, it is the primary way we move fluids through the body, release toxins, and recover from inflammation. Inflammation in the lymphatic system represents a state where fluids have pooled and are not flowing. It protects an injury and is part of the healing process but, if it stays around too long, it can result in chronic pain conditions.

Therefore, Inflammatory (Autoimmune) diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, or chronic fatigue also exist in the emotions and nervous system. And it is becoming more understood how depression and anxiety are just as much in the body as in the nervous system and the mind. It is interesting to think about how the nervous system's purpose is telling us to move (or not move)--fight, flight or freeze. It is interesting to consider how all these dis-eases may be unwound in the nervous system via physical movement--the experience of moving, and contemplation of what it means to move.

Here is a video of a basic lymphatic work out. The opening work out shows a woman who is courageously unwinding long-standing conditions in the body, mind and nervous system. In this workout, I consider inflammation and depression as one and the same--the goal being to allow energy--lymph, blood, thoughts, will--to flow.


Bodymind practices like yoga or Tai Chi involving daily movement give ways of keeping our system in flowing balance. In fact, a yoga vinyasa in the sun salutation, stimulates all the major lymph nodes plus aiding circulation. These daily practices can be considered preventative medicine. And if you are sick or stuck on any level, this idea encourages you to gently move whatever you can. Even if the ability to move is small at first, trust that it will grow and shift you on all levels.

teacher appreciation

Each year, I do massages for Teacher Appreciation Week. I go to schools and give teachers a little bit of time where they are being cared for. Certainly, they deserve it, and the kids benefit from a teacher who is grounded in her body and calm.

I teach them techniques for letting go of tension and becoming present. I found myself taking about how people with high stress jobs often end up holding stress in their bodies long after the situations have passed. Usually, its a tension slight but over time such that we don't even know it's there. But it builds in layers, and becomes like a filter we look though; we may feel weighed down or unclear and not know why.

Because we train ourselves to deal with stress and put-up with pain, we must re-train ourselves to listen to our bodies. We must remind ourselves to notice the breath and release patterns in the body and mind that are not needed at that moment. In this way, we can notice the safety and fullness of the present.

Teachers know a lot about the need to do your best and then let go. One meditation of being a teacher is finding how to do your part by giving the teachings, but you cannot force someone to learn, and in fact you can't even assume that they need to learn what you offer. To speak and act from one's heart is the dharma, and what is received by the listener is their karma. In this way, no one person has to "hold the world on their shoulders". We all become students together. When I put my hands on a teacher and let her relax, I remind her that, just as she holds, she is held.