NEWSLETTER from Sunyata Movement Studio

There are times in our lives when we just feel stuck. In fact it can happen often in the course of day to day life. Sometimes its as simple as finding yourself procrastinating from doing something you know you must get done, but don't want to. Sometimes its a little more distressing as we don't know what to do with ourselves to alleviate some sort of pain that is nagging at as. At other times, it can be as deep and impactful as needing to change the course of our lives, and not knowing how to proceed.

For me, a very simple example is that of sitting down to write. As many of you know, writing does not come easily to me. Wrtiting this very newsletter is the same. Thankfully, it is not aversion to the task that makes it difficult for me. It feels much more like I just get stuck. I don't know how to start, and even once I do start, I can feel at a loss for words to express that which I feel and think. So what to do...

My experience in the Feldenkrais Method(R) and Awareness Through Movement(R) in particular have given me wonderful tools to help me whenever and however I feel stuck. Coming to sense ourselves with greater clarity, and giving ourselves the space and time to explore the ways in which we limit our movements of body and mind create a space for new possibilities to arise. It isn't about forcing movements on ourselves. Of course I could make myself write, but it quickly becomes a chore, a fight with myself and a struggle. As a result -- a very unsatisfying experience.

Universal Principles
So it was wonderful to read an article recently from a different discipline that expresses this same value of returning deeply to bodily sensations and experiences as a way through "stuckness", affirming the universality of this principle.

Many new clients often ask if the Feldenkrais Method's Awareness Through Movement lessons are a mindfulness practice. Having been practicing mindfulness meditation myself on and off for years now, I reply with a simple answer. Awareness Through Movement lessons are not the same as mindfulness meditation, but the two practices support each other very nicely. Both engage attention in a way that develops and deepens awareness, and lead to greater balance and flexibility in our lives.

In the article I read: Feeling Stuck? Good! (Fall 2010 Issue of Buddhadharma by Ajahn Sucitto, a monk of the insight meditation tradition) Ajahn Sucitto was speaking specifically about being stuck in ones meditation practice. And, I think that whether we meditate or not, there is something he shares that we can all bring into our everyday lives that is of great value:

"Our conscious process is embodied, and the body has an intelligence. This embodied intelligence is not within physical form; physical form manifests within it.

[...] When we feel afflicted and hurt we contract. We withdraw that sensibility, switch off our context, and go up in our heads. The effect is a retraction of awareness, replaced by a numb, fixated state. Many people live like this most of the time. The body grows clumsy, losing its grace; mental attitudes and emotions seize up. People become rigid, unable to see things without a simple this-or-that mentality; the lateral thinking, the ability to play, to look around, or to be spacious -- all the flexibiilty and agility -- goes out of awareness. So bringing that full sensitivity back to the body...is very helpful, because the more mental aspect of awarenss takes its cues from the somatic experience of the body[...]

[...] We are not trying to change the stuckness, or even understand it, but rather to attend to it, feel it out, and listen to it. We're no longer absorbed in the hostility or hopelessness or frustration of trying to do something to make it change. There at the edge of our ability to make and do, a purer intention -- to listen and resonate fully -- has to take the lead. Emotional and cognitive states will follow: a new balance or some understanding arises after, not before, we unlock."

Applying This To Yourself Right Now!
So what can you do when you feel stuck, all tied up, and/or are hurting and are contracted? His instructions are simple, and can have a profound impact:

"...widen and soften as [you] experience the way the body senses its own presence"

"...it's important to attend to the joints, where space can get lost. The space element in the body is primarily the small spaces in between joints..."

"This is not so much a matter of...stretching, but of adjusting the nervous energy."

If you have been doing Awareness Through Movement lessons for some time, you probably feel a resonance with the words of Ajahn Sucitto. And you know how sometimes the smallest shift of attention can have a significant impact on the quality of your actions, and this significant impact in the quality of your actions, even when subtle and small, can have a huge impact in your overall sense of well-being.

So try it out for yourself throught your days for awhile and see what sort of impact these simple instructions have in your experience:

experience the way the body senses its own presence

attend to your joint spaces - those of the jaw, hands and the joints where your head rests on the first vertebra (bone) of your spine are particularly good places to help with finding the new balance that comes with increasing your spaciousness

its not about stretching -- instead, use the power of your attention and intention -- just the act of attending to something of yourself changes the neural activity in your brain throughout the region(s) of your brain associated with whatever it is you are attending to

And if you want to learn more about the science behind how and why this works, keep reading and exploring. You'll find links to articles related to the science of embodiment. Although no amount of information can ever replace experience, it can, for some of us, be a way to flesh out our experience, deepen our explorations, and contribute to our growing awareness of our holism.