Trusting Your Body

http://www.lionessasoleil.com/movement-practice-1/

I came across this lovely post about a month ago, written by Vanessa Soleil of Loving Kindness Life Coaching, and of course I could not help but share it with you all.  (Please see the link above.)  There is such beauty in its simplicity, and is a perfect jumping point for anyone just starting out with a personal dance practice. 

The prompts for self-inquiry are gentle, and yet can take you as far - or as near - as you need to go on any given day.  I highly suggest getting yourself a journal, something that speaks to you, and a special pen just for journaling purposes.  You will be so glad that you did!

Many blessings, and enjoy your practice.


MOVEMENT PRACTICE 1

a couple posts ago i shared the luxurious joy i felt dancing to music that resonates with me…and what it is like to have the opposite experience. we can find the wisdom in both–cultivating self-awareness while moving through ease and delight is a practice i am going to invite you into today. next post, i’ll ask you to move through something stickier to find what messages live in your resistance.



this practice is for everybody


no need to be a dancer. it’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing…your body does. take it at your own pace, feel your feet and find your breath and go as slow or as shakily as you need…the wisdom is in what you feel, not what you look like. sometimes i have videotaped myself dancing and am surprised to see that it doesn’t even look like i am doing that much.

while i am in my experience, i feel so much movement and information happening inside my body, and it feels like so much is happening even if it isn’t visible from the outside. this is not about performance or dancing well. i have not taken dance classes since i dropped out of ballet at age 6. i promise. i did complete the training to teach NIA, a fitness program that incorporates dance moves, but is similarly, for every BODY. music and movement create a potent pathway to tap into our intuition, our wisdom, and to move out of our thoughts into a greater sense of self through somatic awareness.



intro


before you begin to move, clear a space and time where you can be free of interruptions, distractions, and where you can feel totally comfortable to move. wear anything that feels easy and unrestricted to move in. i recommend being barefoot for heightened sensation.

if you have an injury or limited mobility, you can still do this practice by adjusting to your body’s needs. be creative. movement can happen in really small but powerful ways when we bring curiosity to our experience. i have attended workshops where participants have needed to dance while seated or laying on the floor. shoulders, feet, elbows, ankles, eyebrows, cheeks, head, toes and fingers moved while they took care of their individual needs. i invite you to join me in doing the same, whatever your physical reality.

think of a song that brings you total joy when you hear it, a song that makes you feel excited when it comes on the radio or a track you keep coming back to for a mood booster. cue up your song and have it ready to go.

comment below or send a photo of your completed worksheet to lionessasoleil@gmail.com. i am so curious what happens when you explore sensation and emotions in motion. feel your body from feet to head, from belly to breath, heart to the healing hands of self-touch. notice the places that feel open, closed, and how your body likes to move.


instructions


First, check in with yourself and see how you are feeling. You can set an intention for this practice, such as to experience joy or aliveness, to let go of thoughts and get into your body, or simply to stay curious.

Start the song and dance to it. You don’t need to travel around your space a lot or do any special moves. You are just responding to a song that you love with your body, however that looks. What we are most interested in is how it feels.

Sense your feet connected to the earth, even if you don’t move them much. Sense the support of the floor underneath your soles; feel your feet touching the ground and the ground touching your feet. Squish your heels down a few times and then plant your whole feet and sink down into the support to establish that connection and return to that awareness of your feet throughout the song.

As you move to the music, pay attention to how you feel in your body. Try to keep returning your attention to your experience as you are moving. Keep moving until after the song has finished. Slow down your movements in the silence after its end and then make a gesture of completion to step out of this practice. You can bow with prayer hands or physically take a step away from where you are to close out the moving meditation.


inquiry


For reflection afterwards, respond to the following questions as best as you can. Again, stay curious and non-judgmental.

• Choose a song artist and title (See Vanessa's answers below, in the images)
• Describe in 5-7 emotion words how you felt as you heard the song. Pause to breathe into those feelings.
• What are you feeling now?
• Where did you feel the music most in your body? How did your body feel?
• Did you move mostly in one place or did you travel around the room? Why or why not?
• Where in your body did you feel the most pleasure? What parts of your body did you move the most? Are there any movements that you especially love?
• Did you notice any areas of tension or any body parts you didn’t move at all or very much? Head, fingers, hips, feet? Take a moment to say hello to each place you may not have moved as much with breath, touch, and a little wiggle.

and that’s it! why is worth taking the time to move with awareness? check out this article from Psychology Today on the impact of moving with body sense awareness. it’s amazing and important stuff…start small and do it daily for big impact.

---