I am intensely focused just now on completing editing my book, The Breath of Life: An Introduction to Craniosacral Biodynamics. As part of this writing process, I have realized that I am writing as a female in a field lacking female authors. I have challenged myself to consciously write from a feminine perspective, which I have come to see as including intuition, creativity, and direct body-based experience. The book includes experiential explorations, largely inspired by my other passion - Continuum Movement. Please enjoy this excerpt, and I'd love to know how it affects you!
It is not unusual to experience the
body as a solid, physical structure. This is, after all, what we were all
taught in school, if not before. We cannot walk through walls, and it can hurt
to try. At the same time, we live in a world where the mind of science is
shifting. While we have all learned about the rules of gravity and how to
operate in a Newtonian state, we have also been exposed to revolutionary
declarations from the world of quantum physics assessing all things as being
aspects of one continuous whole. As David Bohm wrote, “relativity
and quantum theory agree, in that they both imply the need to look on the world
as an undivided whole, in which all parts of the universe, including the observer
and his instruments, merge and unite in one totality. In this totality, the
atomistic form of insight is a simplification and an abstraction, valid only in
some limited context.” (Bohm, 1980, p.13).
We seem to be beings of light and
space, rather than the solid forms we tend to see and feel. For example, cell
biologist Bruce Lipton points out that we can only see each other because light
photons bounce off of the energy of the otherwise invisible human body (Lipton,
2015). Apparently, our bodies compose themselves from used stardust, that has
arrived on earth after stars have died or galaxies exploded (Schrijver and
Schrijver, 2015).
Clearly, there is some mystery involved
in our bodies in that they appear physical but consist of energy and light.
Rather than attempting to explain further this phenomenon, which we directly
perceive in Biodynamics, I would like to guide you in a brief exploration of
this matter (pardon the pun) through your own body experience. If you are
curious, please settle yourself in a comfortable position and lets begin the
journey! You may want to record these instructions in your own voice to enable
you to explore with your eyes closed, if you find that helpful, but this is not
necessary.
Take some time to get comfortable in your
seat. Notice what sensations inform you in this process. Now, let yourself
include one hand in your awareness. Take a moment to squeeze and open this hand
three or four times, really letting yourself feel the muscles working and the
tissues contracting and expanding. What are those sensations like? Does it feel
hard or soft? Warm or cool? Tight or loose? Tense or relaxed?
Now,
slow down the movement. Let yourself orient more to the sensations involved in
moving than in the end goal of making a fist or opening your hand. As you slow
the movement down, how do your sensations change? Do you sense them only in
your hand, or do you sense anything being affected elsewhere in your body? You
may begin to have more of a sense of flow, of ease, of fluid wholeness, where
more of your body is involved. There may be a sense of energy elsewhere in your
body, or perhaps a wave moving from your hand up your arm and through your
chest. Your head and neck may begin to want to move, or even your feet. Let
yourself be curious, slowing the movement down more and more.
After
a few minutes of exploring this more fluid state, let the movement slow down
even more, so it becomes more about stillness than movement. Let your focus be
more on the space between your fingers and around your hand than on the micro-movements
of the hand, itself. What are the sensations like now? It is not unusual in
this slow state, with a wider field of orientation, to begin to feel like your
hand is not so physical. It may begin to feel more like energy, suspended
within a larger field of energy. Notice how it is for you. When you feel done
with the process, or no longer interested, come back to the sensation of your
physical hand and body, and look around to orient yourself.
Chances
are, if you explore this repeatedly, you will find yourself experiencing
increasingly slower movement, with an enhanced energetic awareness. If you stay
with this, you may even begin to find some familiar aches and pains dissolving,
as a kind of inherent treatment plan spontaneously emerges and healing ensues.
We have entered now the mysterious realm of Biodynamics! Welcome!
