Learning What it Means to Move
"Movement is the most underrated factor in quality of life"
-Ido Portal
Growing Pains
Growing up I was a terrible mover.
That is, unless you considered hand eye coordination, because I was a wiz at video games. And that was probably most of the problem. I would rather sit in a chair and play these awesome games than go outside to play in the real world. Part of the reason was that I wasn't good at those games, I didn't know how to move well, I was slow and clumsy.
So I opted to stay inside and play video games when I had the chance. Sitting is known to cause unhealthy muscles, so I just got worse, never really finding athleticism until after college. Once I started trail running I started to understand that my body was preventing me from moving properly, I had unresolved tension in my ankles, feet, legs, hips, and lungs to mention a few places.
Turning Point
Then one day on a hike I hit a certain state of consciousness where I could tell where the tension was, and easily resolve it(disclaimer: an entheogen may have been involved.) After meditating for a while, I got up and moved around, working out any tension in my legs, neck, and back. Everything felt free, moving was as simple as willing the movement. I didn't have to worry about limited range of motion or favoring certain muscles to avoid pain from muscles tightness.
Of course it was short lived, all the tension returned the next day, and I was sore and tired from pushing myself so hard.
Obsession
This spurred me to become a bit obsessed with consciousness. I truly feel that when I'm perceiving in a clear way I can quickly and easily heal my body. So I've been exploring with meditation. I'm slowly learning how to connect to my body, how to listen to it so that I can be healthy. I know there are plenty of methods out there, there's yoga, myofascial release, acupuncture, acupressure, all sorts of things. But the ease at which it takes place during moments of meditation is kind of astounding. I feel like it's a little secret or something and I'd like to understand it.
“The relationship between body, mind, and spirit is that the body reflects what is held in mind, which in turn reflects one’s spiritual position. It is necessary to know where all human experience takes place because if we address that level, we will be addressing the most powerful level. If the physical is the consequence of the mental, and the mental is the consequence of the spiritual, then we need to address it in the area called consciousness. Clinically, this is true. People who address the level of consciousness itself may even witness transformation in their bodies with out even having to address the body directly with any medical approach.”
-David R. Hawkins, Healing and Recovery
This quote by David Hawkins really sums up the concept of what is happening pretty well. It seems to me, through my own experiences, that consciousness and thought play a much larger role in the physical world than I used to believe. No one really talks about that unless it's in spiritual circles, and I'm not sure why.
Body language is important, and it's such a simple thing that I think we forget about while we're stuck in our thoughts. I'm not even talking about reading someone else's body language, I'm talking about listening to your own body, hearing it's gripes and pains. Letting all the feelings in so we get a clear picture of what's going on with us.
Once we free our bodies up to move, we can truly express in a spontaneous and fun way. That's why I talk about massage tools and yoga and meditation, they're all linked to me. I'm trying to heal every part of myself, whether physical , emotional, or mental, and so far the results have been subtly extraordinary.
Have you ever felt a moment of clarity or felt that you were truly free to act physically? What methods do you use to heal, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally? Let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to upvote, resteem, and follow me, @jakeybrown :)
Very interesting read. I don't think enough about massage but I did start to roll a tennis ball under my feet after you wrote about foot massage and I am loving it. I know I need to pay more attention to the tense parts of my body and my posture. I am trying to consciously open up my heart centre, my solar plexus to counteract my computer slouch. : )
The computer slouch is tough to get over, I still need to work on it myself. Honestly, just paying attention to your body will go a long ways. You can do massage and stretching and whatever, but if you are't listening to your body you won't get very far. It will tell you how much pressure and time is needed, and what muscles are linked to the knots and tight spots you are working on. Sometimes a big know in your neck will link down your back. Posture is so important, once it's corrected from activating muscle movement actually becomes easy. My posture went to hell last year, this year I'm getting back on track! Thanks for the great comment as always
Can't say enough of how much yoga and running has also really helped me out. I can't say I fully enjoy yoga yet - it's still pretty painful for me - but the release of stress and tension I feel after is incredible. Same with running - it feels like I get a new level of clarity each additional day I run. Which we could all use in these crazy financial times!)
Ya, I know what you mean on yoga, I'd just say listen close, see when you can push through the pain and when you need more time or to work from a different angle. Don't be strict in your yoga sessions, feel it out for your individual body. Seems like we've got a few things in common, yoga and running are my go-to's! I fell off the wagon last year with the baby just coming, but getting back on track this year :) Running is a great release through effort and busts my lungs open, and yoga, like you said, is a great way to relieve tension. I'll shoot to do both tonight!
And screw these financial times, haha. I need to buy at this low, wonder if it will go lower even after the small rebound today
Haha seriously dude. I bought a bit more ETH last month and am going to call it a month I think. Probably try not to even check the daily prices...
Some of my stuff is green today! It's a miracle
(still way way down)
hahah my ETH that I bought last night is green...everything else...woof
I find that anything that raises my heart rate above 110 for 5+ minutes gives me noticeable mental clarity. I think the brain appreciates blood flow.
I love this post.
For me, my movement is yoga. And walking/hiking/biking. And, I'd like, in the future, for it to be dance. Ballet, to be exact.
I've always loved the feeling that comes from exercise movement; I used to run as teenager, before a knee injury that put a stop to that hobby.
And now, that I'm older, and realize that age happens, and bodies can become broken and do require maintenance, I think I realize the mind-body connection a lot more than I ever was able to in my younger, more nimble state.
Once I experienced a first chronic pain in my body, I set out to find a way to resolve it. And that whole process, although so unpleasant and draining, itself, has brought me so much insight about what my body actually feels, and to what depth, and where.
And where it really all came together for me and started to blossom into a new insight, a new level of awareness, was yoga. Not at first, because I thought it was just stretching, and the breathing seemed silly...and what was the whole point of that silly stuff, right?
But slowly, I think, because it was just the right timing for me, I was in the right place mentally to understand, and I had the guidance of a good teacher with her heart in the right place, something clicked in my body and my mind and I, got it. And now I do yoga everyday, when I can, and I almost feel like I can't not do it.
And the most poignant thing that I think you've said, among other equally interesting thoughts:
"No one really talks about that unless it's in spiritual circles, and I'm not sure why."
I wonder that everyday. And I do know some reasons why, and I wish I knew an effective way to break through them; those hindrances, biases, mental blocks that people hold against such kind of thought. But you're right: Growing pains. Turning Point. Obsession. That's exactly how it happened for me too.
Thanks for the kind words and amazing comment, you could put a ton of this in an intro post!
It is odd to me that a lot of these topics are only talked about in spiritual circles. I find connecting to movement in this way to be far more valuable than just doing the movements. I'm sure there are some people who take the type of clarity you can get from a good movement practice for granted, naturals.
I think the problem is that a number of people are stuck in thinking, so even when doing yoga or something similar, they are thinking about doing yoga. Like you said, "something clicked" for you, before you were just stretching.
I think this clicking happens when we simplify movement. There's this guy, DK Yoo, who is just an amazing mover. I've never seen him fight, not even sure if he does, but just his training videos are worth watching and reading some of his translations.
At one point he says to simplify your body. To me this means that we don't think about how to move and we just move. In order for me to do that I first have to learn to relax, until recently I didn't know what it meant for the body to be at ease, but after some movement practices, self massage, and releasing mental and emotional blocks, I've been learning to let go enough to feel why my body is out of whack and start to resolve it.
Once I can relax the body, moving it becomes simple, the trick is relaxing. It's not even a relaxation of the muscle, more a relaxation of the fear that causes mental/physical tension. That's what I think of as letting go.
Anyways, hopefully some of that made sense and I didn't ramble, thanks for the comments and resteem, and keep commenting, I love trying to talk this out with people. I'm still figuring myself out and it's always good to see other people's perspectives!
All of that made perfect sense.
The physical and the mental; not letting one override the other, not letting one take for granted the other. Keeping them in balance. Shutting off your mind long enough to let your body speak, at all. Or just be. I'm glad for the day I finally reached the point where I could understand this, and now put it into practice. I try, and I forget, and then I try again and maybe one day, eventually, I'll forget to try, and it'll just come naturally to me, to relax and be in some kind of healthy balance with it all. That's the ultimate goal, I assume.
I'll check out your reference. I love great movers. People who make instruments of their bodies. They're so neat to watch, and wish I might accomplish that kind of grace someday. I guess your mind has to get there first. I think this kind of discussion definitely helps that. It is wonderful to see other people's perspectives!
The body has great wisdom if we listen :)
I'm still working on things too, while I'm much more relaxed now, there are plenty of times I find myself getting caught up in things or trying to figure things out instead of just surrendering to the moment. The great thing is that now I notice it.
Balance is a great word, all through life we are told that we have dominant sides and whatnot, dominant hand, dominant eye, etc. One book I read talked about how one side of our brain is dominant, and in my meditations I notice the other side and different areas of myself "turning on" again as I explore inward, and my perception broads because of it.
I'm working on becoming a graceful mover too, watching great movers makes me think "that would be awesome!" I have some firsthand experience of the joy of feeling like you have full control and understanding of your body and all I can say is that it's incredible. It basically spurred me to dig into this stuff.
Once we have a correct perception of the world (including our bodies), healing and moving with grace becomes much easier imo, so like you said, mind has to get there first, even if healing the body helps.
Ya, keep it coming, talking through this stuff is really helpful and one thing that is really rewarding about blogging
Now following. Thanks for hosting a SPL tournament and for supporting this great community.
I am working on healing myself in many ways, but I often let work get in the way of physical, emotional, and mental health.
Thanks for the follow, no problem on hosting! awesome community.
It's tough when we have work to do to pay the bills and make things happen in the world. Pretty easy to let our health slide a bit, I find myself spending a lot of time making up for being on a computer so much and not moving around.
Very cool post. I feel like with yoga or running I reach great clarity. It starts out exerting, but after awhile you stop thinking and your just automatically doing it. That feels awesome.