How to use your body to inspire change in your life

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:

• Think of a challenge.  Notice your first, second and third responses.

We are relentlessly trained to not notice our bodies unless they're absolutely screaming or we're feeling fantastic; which are two ends of a very 3 dimensional spectrum.  If you're like most of us, it can take some extra attention to notice what we do with our bodies when we think.

• So....Do you tighten up? Set your jaw? Sit up straight? Sag under the weight? Jump up to go for a run or to get the chocolate? Lie down for a nap?

We all have developed physical strategies when faced with a challenge and some of them work a lot better than others!

Now try this:

• Sit at the edge of a firm chair. Let the thought of the challenge go off somewhere, and focus on your body.
• Your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are at or below the level of your hips.
• Relax and let gravity pull you down as your pelvis rocks back, and you sit behind your sit-bones. As this happens your chest falls  down forward  and your head nods just a little; so you end up in a C curve with your shoulders resting over your hips. I call this "flexion." (Caution: this is not  the slump that our couches, smart phones and cars take us into). 
• Now fall a little forward so you feel your weight shifting more into your feet. Push off with your feet as your pelvis rocks forward, your back arches a little and your head looks up at a diagonal (your weight is still forward--flying toward possibility...). I call this "extension." Immediately allow your waist to rest comfortably somewhere back in the middle of this range; your chest is a little forward of what feels normal. I call this "neutral," but you can call it "Ready" or "Albuquerque" or "Simone;" whatever strikes you as fun, because NOW you're ready for some fun!
• Practice, practice, practice...with eyes wide and a little smile on your face....remember, you're learning something new so set it into a positive place.

"Neutral" is a place to move from, and there's a lot more detail I about all this that I write about and do with my clients.
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.

• Think about the challenge.
• Push down with your feet to give your mind more oomph.
• Relax your push to allow rest and reflection. 

What do you notice?