Tuesday, January 26, 2010

spine and rotation, easy, fun, learning


Rotation, not standing, but oh well

Playing in our spine

Stop somewhere and stand. Stand on your own two feet and feel what that is like. What one foot feels like, and the other, and both of them, and the toes and the ankles.

Breathe.

Begin to ever so slowly turn yourself to the left and then back to the middle. Notice whether you started at the feet, or hips, or shoulders, or head or eyes.

Turn again, starting ever so gently from the head and neck. turn to the left and then back to the center several times, as if a little dance. Now add on some shifting in your weight and bringing your pelvis into the turn. Left and back. Left and back.

Rest.

See if that woke up something in you.

Now put one hand on the center of your chest and one hand low on your belly and turn a bit to the left, Keep your head facing whatever direction this is, and begin figuring out how to gently and easily move your belly one way and your chest the other. Feel the twist, the gentle, enjoyable twist in your spine. Feel good.

Rest. Notice how you feel.

Hands as above, turn to the left, and back to the middle, feeling what it is like to start with the belly, start with the chest, start with the head. Play, turn, enjoy. Rest.

Hands as above. Turn to the left. Stop. Let your eyes go more left and back as your head goes the opposite way. Do this very slowly. Enjoy this.

Throughout the day play with head and eyes and chest and pelvis in turning. Make standing around a meditation in movement today.

As part of the game, experiment with hips one way, chest the other and head the same way as the hips. Make it easy, pleasurable and turn to the right later in the day.

Sense your spine all day and give it movement it likes.



Friday, January 22, 2010

Arch and round in sitting, head connected to the lower back, hopefully

Bending and arching in sitting, hands on face

Sit near the front edge of a chair, or bench or log or rock. Feel your spine and arms and legs. Feel breathing and gravity. Feel your feet on the ground and your head at the top of your spine.

Now take your hands and hold your head like this: with each hand place your thumb under your ears and your other fingers above the ear, and the fingers point toward the back of your head. And with this unity of head and arms and chest, fold forward: stomach in, sternum sinking and back, pelvis rocking to the back edge, head lowering.

How does breathing like to go in this mode?

Then come back to neutral and do this many times, and then rest and feel and sense and learn yourself.

Then, take the same hand head position and push your belly forward and arch your spine and rock forward on your pelvis and bring your head back a little and raise your sternum. How does breathing like to go this way? Enjoy and come back to neutral and do this many times and go slow and observe and enjoy.

Rest.

Now do, go, learn, discover enjoy both ways, rounding and arching as a back and forth game. Go slow, feel one part at a time, the spine, the ribs, the pelvis, the head, the sternum, and then all the parts together.

Really enjoy.

If any pain, go less.

A lot less.

Enjoy.

Learn. Do this a bunch of times today, and stay knowing and awaring of your spine all day.

Good


Monday, January 18, 2010

Hopping in at least two ways, side hopping




Hopping and paying attention.

Yes, yes. This is “movement” again, and again, this is the simplest and quickest way to activate real thinking, rather than our usual verbose roundabout not-really thinking “thinking.”

Stand some nice place. Hop your legs wide and back together. Many times.

Rest.

Slowly, combine this hopping with having your arms go out when your legs go to the side and arms back in when your legs come together. Not as many as the usual “many times.”

Rest.

Now, go slowly and figure this out: do the opposite with your arms: when your legs go out, your arms come to your side, when your legs come back together, your arms go out.

Take it easy.

Start over.

Breathe. Get an ease to this.

Let your attention and awareness get more clear.

Rest.

Now try the thinking/ awaring version, like this: as you hop your legs out, have your arms at your side. As you hop your legs back together, let your arms go to the straight out, outside position. So, this is like a reverse jumping jack, feet out, arms in, and then: feet in, arms out.

Go slow.

Catch yourself and smile when you get confused and go back to the “normal” way.

Rest.

Then do it the “normal” way on purpose.

Rest.

And the backwards way, and see if you can do two or three of one way and two or three of the other without stopping completely in between.

Have some fun. Sense your five lines all the rest of today.



Thursday, January 14, 2010

Round and arch in a simple way: one more awakening activity



On our back, letting ourselves arch and round in the back.

Lie on your back, and enjoy just this as a break from the busy “business” of upright, and often uptight, life.

Sense your five lines, two arms, two legs and your spine.

Smile and follow your breathing.

Now, raise your feet to standing, which means your feet are on the ground and your knees toward the sky.

Push your belly out and arch your back a little so that your lower back comes off the floor a little more.

Do this a number of times. Notice your breathing.

Rest.

Then return to feet standing, knees up. Put your hands behind your head and gently, not trying to go very far, raise your head to look at your knees. Pull in your stomach as you do this and feel the lower back for toward or to the floor.

Do this a number of times, and then rest.

Now raise your knees again, and tilt them slowly side to side. Two ways. Both legs at the same time. And one leg first, and then the other.

Do this a few times and then begin to arch your back and push out your belly as you do this.

Then for a few times tighten your belly and tilt your knees in the two ways to the side.

Which makes it easiest for the knees to tilt?

Rest.

Now, as you go side to side with your knees, push your belly out when your legs go to the side and when they come back in to the middle, lift your legs a little toward the floor as if to bring the knees toward your chest. Feel this a slight rounding in the back. Then, put the feet down and tilt your legs to the other side, push our your belly.

Do this is a number of times, each time seeing if you can discover something new about how you move, what it’s like to be present, how to move easily. Keep it up discovering all day.


Sunday, January 10, 2010

Belly out, belly in on breathing out




More breath, now some variation.

Breathe out and see if you have a tendency to bring your belly in or push it out.
Play around and see what you like best.

Now breathe in and see which way, belly in (and chest expanded) or belly out is the way you like to breathe in.

Now lie on your back, and breathe out and pull your belly in. Do this slowly. Don’t think about the in breath, just let it happen. Each out breathe, pull your belly in and push the air out through your nose. Don’t move any part of your spine, for now, nor your pelvis. Just push the air out and pull your belly in a number of times.

Rest.

Now, again letting the in breath take care of itself, push the air out, but in rapid little bursts. Then rest a bit and do another rapid series of belly in out breaths.

Rest.

Now try the opposite: push your belly out as you breathe out. Again don’t worry about the in breath. But you might wan to “practice” with sucking the belly in and expanding your chest on the in breath a few times, if you need some help figuring out how to push your belly out on the out breath.

Then just forget the in breath and push your belly out, slowly, as you push your breath out.

Rest.

Now, do this fast, in spurts, belly out breath out. Several times.

Rest.

Now play with opposing: three times belly out on the out breath, and three times belly in. Do this back and forth.

Rest. Play with your breathing off and on during the day.