Category Archives: the body

May9

the inner and the outer

Posted on by

The theme of my recent teleclass with the Consciousness Collaborative was how to have an inner awareness, while at the same time being aware of the outer world.  Most of us feel that in order to go “in” we must somehow protect that special state by closing our eyes or in some other way shut out the outside world.  We may feel that when we come “out” somehow “in” goes away.  I think the issue is that we need to shorten the commute between in and out, or find a way of holding both simultaneously.

Start with the breath.  That is our 24/7 experience of in and out.  Always available, pretty reliable, seldom conscious.  By bringing a consciousness to the breath, we can begin to enjoy an easy flow between in and out.  Focus on the sensation of bringing air in  – not forcing, no deep breathing necessary – just allow the breath to enter.  Then release the breath out.  Feel the outside world coming in, and then the inside world of your body moving out.

So to have an immediate in and out experience, close your eyes and (softly) focus on the breathing.  Now open your eyes (gently) and continue to feel your breathing while seeing what is around you.  Close your eyes, then open them.  Cross that in/out threshhold a few times.  Is your commute shorter?  Can you taste the inner and the outer simultaneously?  Can you think of other ways to do that?

 

SHARE & EMAIL
Apr14

brilliant

Posted on by

Went to see Kafka’s Monkey starring Kathryn Hunter at the Baryshnikov Center on Saturday. I was blown away by the physicality, the transformation, the script, the concept – the whole brilliant bouquet. If you have a chance to see it, don’t miss it!  Read the NY Times review here.

Apr1

pas de trois

Posted on by

Every now and again, I like to share something from my body of work.  I like calling it that because the work is all grounded in the body:  ours, the horse’s and hopefully yours.  I hope that the videos give you at least a tingle of kinesthetic empathy and shiver that they give me, even after seeing them again and again.

Mar24

light coming through

Posted on by

For the past three days I have been working with my autistic godson Jacob.  Because my new grand baby daughter Laila has been visiting for the past month, I have been revisiting the developmental and systems work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. 

Body-Mind Centering® is an integrated and embodied approach to movement, the body and consciousness. Developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical  and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. Its uniqueness lies in the specificity with which each of the body systems can be personally embodied and integrated, the fundamental groundwork of developmental repatterning, and the utilization of a body-based language to describe movement and body-mind relationships.

I have been using touch and movement focusing on the fluids and on awakening some old developmental patterns that are missing in Jacob.  The results have been breathtaking over the past three days.  Jacob has started to be much more intentional and specific in his use of focus, much more deliberate in the way he walks and has begun to modulate the speed with which he moves.  It is like seeing the sun come out and illuminate the landscape in new ways.

The other half of this is that it requires us – his parents and me – to be softly and clearly intentional  and aware of what we are offering with touch, voice and movement.  So all of us are awakening to ourselves in new ways – a beautiful,breathing, improvisational reciprocity and opportunity moment-to-moment.  An invitation to see thing from a different perspective and invite ourselves more fully into the dance.  Thank you Jacob!