SomaNews – March 2010
Thanking Your Body
Isn’t it truly amazing what life has to offer? Every day there are new possibilities, new choices and the ability to step into a new way of being. Recently I was in Los Angeles doing bodywork. As I moved around the town, I realized how influential energy can be. I was fortunate to be close to the ocean, and the beach was a respite for me. The mother ocean is never changing and always changing — poetry in motion — and she inspired me to remember that about myself.
Living in our bodies is truly a gift. Your body is not just a shape that carries you from here to there. It is a blessing, a conduit, a container that holds your vital organs to let you breathe and hear your heart beat. Most of all, it is an incredible organism that makes you different, and yet the same as others.
With somatics, you are given wonderful tools and practices to intentionally live in your body, and to cultivate a body of action that supports what you want in your life.
Following is a meditation practice for thanking your “Self”, your body, for giving you the opportunity to be in action.
Quick Somatic Practice
Step outside, or set yourself in front of one of your favorite windows, and open your peripheral vision. Take a deep breath and notice the horizon and the tree tops. Stretch your arms out wide from your sides and place your palms up. Feel your chest open, and move the sensation down to your center.
Take another deep breath. Slowly move your arms down and place your hands on your center two inches below your navel. Bring your sense of smell into focus. Notice your breath coming into your nose — what is in the air, and how does it affect your body?
Drink in your ability to fill your belly and chest with the precious air that gives us life. We can live for days without food, at least four days without water, but without air we only have seconds.
Remember a time when a certain smell connected you with spirit. Was it lavender as the big black bumble bees moved from flower to flower, filling their legs with pollen?
Take another deep breath and feel your feet connecting with the earth. Imagine each time you step you pick up earth and it moves with you. You become a part of nature.
Now imagine you are writing a thank-you note to your body. What would it say? Feel your chest, your breath moving up and down, your heart beating and your feet connecting with the earth. Feel your internal gratitude and smile. Thank your body, and remember how sacred it is — the vessel that allows you to be you in this world.
Many blessings to you, and may your body stay strong and in action moving toward what is your purpose in life.
"Every living thing has been granted the power,
if it so desires, to seek an opening to freedom
and go through it."
— Don Juan/Carlos Castaneda
Guest Panelist for "Extreme Career Transition" Event in Los Angeles
My friend and colleague Daisy Swan, who is a career coach in Los Angeles, has invited me to participate in her "Extreme Career Transition” panel on Thursday, April 8, 6:45 – 9 p.m.
Daisy writes in a recent newsletter:
"As with previous panels we’ve hosted, this promises to be an inspiring evening of conversation with the five confirmed panelists, who have each made courageous and life-altering changes in their work-style. You’ll hear how they made their decisions, and how their actions brought them to where they are now.
"You’ll meet Brooke Loesby, a young attorney who had a plum position but chose to step out of the stress of big-firm law, and into the realm of helping other attorneys find new paths; Jennifer Sudarsky, MD FP, a journalist who decided to become a doctor, now focusing on holistic health for women; Richard D. Russakoff, an entertainment executive who now manages money and wealth development; Madeline Wade, who spent 17 years as a Procurement Manager at Fair Isaac Corporation, and is now a Master Somatic Coach practicing somatic bodywork; and Michael Rasky, a realtor who saw the writing on the wall, and transformed his interests into his day-to-day business and passion, and is now an interior designer with his own firm, Modern Nest. Our events are always designed for learning and exchange, and there will also be an open networking portion of the event. We hope you’ll join us to meet others like you who are curious – and maybe ready to take a bigger step than they’d previously thought."
Please let me know if you'd like to attend the panel in Los Angeles, and I'll send you location details when they're available.
Happy Spring!
