third eye window

You are the center of your own universe.

To best relate your center to life you must align with the vertical axis of gravity. The pull of gravity is vertical, from sky to earth. The free fall of life is unlikely to change any time soon. The law of gravitation is a convenient truth because it is a constant that you can align with. The normal tendency is to hold the body up against gravity…shapeshift happens when you allow gravity to hold you up. Relating the vertical pull of gravity to a horizontal plane is what posture, functional movement and being human is all about.

It is easy to put verticalness into practice: Stand upright and then drop everything but remain standing. To drop everything start by releasing the shoulders and balance the head with the least amount of muscle tension.
Next unlock the hips, knees, ankles and elbows…no holding of any muscle.
Sense your center just below your naval and imagine a gyroscope there helping you to maintain equilibrium and prop you up with the invisible support of gravity.

Why is it that a sleep walker looks as if they are floating in space and sometimes people that are totally awake look like walking robots? The sleep walker uses gravity for support and a minimal amount of muscle tension. Muscle tension blocks flow and sensory awareness. The release of muscle tension allows free movement and a greater connection with the earth. Many times muscle tension is caused by pain (physical and/or emotional) and is difficult to let go of. Many people choose to leave pain under wraps rightly knowing that if they choose to begin to unwrap it would be a long journey. Every journey is an adventure. If you do choose to take the trip you are sure to make some new discoveries and have a thrill!

The heart is a vital organ, a pump that maintains life in the body. The heart also provides a sense of purpose and direction as we move through life.
If you have attended a Yoga class or two you may have heard the teacher say “connect with your heart” or “open your heart”. A voice teacher may have said “sing from the heart”. During a love squabble a friend may have said “what does your heart tell you?” When we speak from the heart, move from the heart and express our heart’s will the body naturally aligns vertically. We are either expressing or protecting. Protecting rounds the body into itself,creates muscle tension and fights gravity. To reach your true vertical alignment listen to what your heart is saying and let it lead the way.

Verticalness is an expression of your Self, it can take many shapes and is different in every Body. We have all crawled around on four legs in the early stages of life. It’s hard to find a crawling baby that does not look as happy as can be. Having four feet on the ground and the heart facing down creates a strong connection with the earth. As upright two legged beings we are far away from this strong connection. It is a challenge to maintain a relaxed posture while walking on two legs. Often times the manner of walking evolves into a perpetual falling forward and catching. To walk with a smooth flow and coordinated breath it is necessary to be able to balance all of one’s weight on one leg and then transition to the other leg while maintaining a relaxed lower back. A natural relaxed walk lubricates the joints of the body without stressing them.

Use a third eye view to observe yourself as you walk. Before you begin your walk align vertically and drop any muscle tension. Have an awareness of your whole body from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. As you walk keep continually dropping muscle tension and feel the transition from one leg to the other. Let your slow stride be a walking massage as your joints hinge, swivel and rotate happily.

Enjoy your verticality!

RM

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Your Body.
Your Body who?
Your out of Body experience that wants to come back in!

Sorry about that, not a good knock knock joke but the question is: are you in your Body? Often times we leave our body vacant of our Selves to make room for storage. Storage of programs and patterns that do not need our conscious mind to operate. It’s like out-sourcing the body’s functional movements and reflexes to a robot, you no longer need to be there. Learned automatic movement patterns are natural programs in the body that leave the conscious mind free to deal with immediate matters like your to-do list. This is all well and good except that the automated goings-on of the body can take over. The whole body starts wanting to operate on autopilot and body parts get downsized or taken out of the auto-loops that the brain has created. Before long all that’s moving in your body is two index fingers on a keyboard and the eyeballs in your head! No, no, no… don’t be such an alarmist!!!
It’s not all that bad….(yet).

Is this the future-shock of the Body? All work and no joint freeing, muscle-relaxing play makes Jack a sluggish and tired old body. Even if you are a seasoned athlete there is always some obsolete pattern that can be let go of to make room for fresh ideas and more ease of movement. If you are one who has not made contact with their body in some time, or maybe never, do not let that stop you. What is the worst thing that can happen if you try to connect with your body? That you’ll find some cob webs? That it won’t work the way you wish it could? That it won’t even want to talk to you after so long? You may feel accustomed to your body’s aches and pains; you may even think that it’s better to leave some stones unturned….well, suit yourself. Where ever you may be on the spectrum of couch potato to extreme athlete the fact remains that the body loves change and challenges. Keep it guessing, give it a surprise, take it for a walk or say “hey body let’s take a long hot bath and get a massage.”

The body can recover and rehabilitate itself from accidents and traumas big and small. To make a shapeshift one must first make a mind-shift. The body loves change and challenge but the mind most often likes status quo and the easy way out. The shift to take control of your body begins in the mind. The way to begin a shapeshift at any level is to observe and take note of all the things your body does on autopilot. Pay close attention to movement patterns of the most basic things like walking, getting in and out of your car, what pant leg you put on first and even how you breathe. All the movements you do without even thinking. Chances are that one side of your body is working harder than the other. If you have some chronic pain or injury it is likely that another part of your body is doing most of the work.

The goal is to inhabit your body fully. To be free of pain and have full range of motion of all of your joints. Try shifting into a greater awareness of the body by observing it’s automatic mechanisms. Once you begin to shapeshift the mind turns off the auto pilot and begins to navigate with all of it’s natural senses. Don’t worry if any of these senses are a bit rusty…time is on your side.

Watch and observe yourself. Notice what movements in your daily life you enjoy and what movements you avoid. Perhaps you avoid bending your left knee because of an old injury. Notice,observe and take note of all your automated movements throughout the day…you may be surprised at what you find.

Be well,

RM