You know that feeling of being stuck? You know: Which way do I turn next? How the heck do I get out of this rut? Now what....?
Here's a great idea that comes right out of the Design Your New Life Seminar that I teach with Dr. Pamela Jeanne in Portland, Oregon. Since, really, our minds and bodies aren't separate, (they just aren't, OK?) why have our minds drag the extra weight and resistance of a body that holds onto our old decisions after we make new decisions? You see, when we are learning something and making a decision initially, our bodies are an intimate part of that experience. As the learning and decision making deepens, our nervous system, and every muscle in our bodies, is signaled to respond ever so slightly in that initial posture and facial expression in order to recall what we've learned. If what we learned or decided becomes a habit, our bodies and faces take on the expression of those early decisions. This is the reason that in his book, "Blink," Malcolm Gladwell makes the point that it is possible to tell a person's history in a glance. So back to this great idea...... If you change your body accurately and ever so slightly, you can support your mind to change as well. That's the beauty of Aston-Kinetics and other fine-movement based therapies. Try this:
Now try this:
As long as your feet are actively engaged with the floor in your movement, you are supported to bring your attention back to the challenge.
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Sometimes, being able to deeply rest under the skilled hands of a massage therapist, then float off to home is just what we need.
I love to focus this kind massage for people who are ill and need long, deep rest in order to recover. And also for those who have not given in to the crushing weight of inertia; who know how to come up and reengage, and continue to actively work for social change. (Bringing home the paycheck to keep the family together can be social change. Only you can decide where you stand on this). But massage is a double edged sword. It can also be used as a tool to underline the belief that life is too busy, too hard; that we have to fit into the world as it is instead of knowing that what we do consistently can make a difference. And so our only recourse is to receive caring and enclose ourselves with comfort, and in relative isolation. Never fear! You get to have deeply restful, caring massage—guilt free! With a little tweaking the end of a massage session can be empowering, refreshing and delightful! Think of it like water. Remember being in the pool and letting your body sink, sink, sink to the bottom, exhaling, knees bent; all your body weight as low as it can be. Then you push your feet into the bottom and shoot out of the water! O joy! This push is what I think of as “milking the earth”. We push down, and the earth pushes back up. Sometimes, a little push is all we need. After your next massage sit on the edge of the massage table or a chair. Exhale, relax and drop into gravity. As you inhale, push down with your feet; maybe feel your thighs pushing as well. This is energy that completes the circle that gravity starts and it will rise up through your body, giving you back some juice. You get to use this juice. It’s yours! |
![]() About MeI'm Valerie Lyon, the Mojo Recovery Therapist. Archives
September 2019
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