FINDING PEACE
WITHIN MOVEMENT – DAY 1
If you pause and take your attention inward, what do you find? Stillness like a calm pond? No, me neither!
Looking at nature outside, or the sea, the sky, the heavens, how much stillness is there?
What if calmness isn’t stillness? What if rest within movement were possible? Indeed, scientific research confirms that movement can help with stress, anxiety and depression.
This course is an invitation to experiment with movement practices and decide for yourself if they might be helpful to you.
For the next minute (you can do longer if you like, but you don’t need to), sit down with both feet planted flat to the floor. Rest your hands, one on each thigh. Make a fist, squeezing tighter as you breathe in. Go for the max (but don’t hurt yourself!). Now, as you breathe out, notice how it feels to release the squeezing action, without undoing the fist. Notice any sensations up into your forearms, shoulders or neck as the grip softens.
Prepare to repeat by taking a slightly deeper in-breath, squeezing again and then seeing if the out-breath might be a bit longer. Again, feeling the release all the way through your upper body.
The third time, as the squeezing completely dies away, let your firsts unfurl like flower buds opening, at a snail’s pace – slowly, slowly, slowly. The slower you go, the more sensation you may notice. Continue until your hands are like two open flowers. Now take a long slow breath out, stretching open your fingers and palms, and feeling any sensations. As your out-breath moves to in-breath, letting the effort of the stretch go and feeling any sensations in your now softly curled hands.
Reflect for a moment on this practice, capturing any messages you have learnt: this is called ‘installing the good’. It allows the brain to register a helpful, pleasant experience. Brains are designed to skip over anything that is not threatening, so a pleasant experience is quickly forgotten. This is an essential stage to reverse the negativity bias of human brain function (more of this later in the course).
Inspirational Poem
Gil Hedley: Living testament
Your body
is a holy book,
a scripture-
the pages
of your flesh
are marked
in exquisite detail
with the finest hand,
inscribed by spirit
with the poetry
of love,
lessons of mercy,
miracles,
angelic hosts,
and the story
of your life
perfectly told,
an illuminated manuscript
of a sacred writing
epic in scope,
majesty
and grace.
Every hair
on your head
and line on your face,
every rushing tide
of wind and wave
moving you
from within
this living testament
bear witness
to the truth
layered
within you—
Study this text
with conviction then,
reflect with care
upon its meaning,
and enjoy
the divine
inspiration.
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