Get Lost in Your Movement

Categories: Blog Apr 04, 2022

It’s been an interesting week. Will Smith, Chris Rock, Systema practice, my morning routines, they’ve all come together and clouded up my mind. Ok, it’s not just them, I’ve allowed my mind to get cloudy. I’m “going through the motions” and the motions, the movements, are getting lost in me. 

I guess I’m trying to say that I’m just checking boxes lately. I’m doing the second most important thing, I’m showing up. On its own, showing up can take you a really long way, so much further than you can imagine. However, on its own, showing up can still only take you so far. Especially if you’re not doing the first most important thing: Letting Go. I’ve not been letting go in my morning movement routine. There are many parallels here, but by letting go I mean I’ve not been surrendering and getting lost in my movements. I’m just getting my movements done and as a consequence, the movements are getting lost in me. 

I’m showing up, checking boxes, daydreaming, and contemplating the events of the world while I’m breathing, rolling, rocking, nodding, and crawling. And there is benefit in that, but there is not maximum benefit because I’m not being present. I’m not being curious. I’m not discovering how my movements feel. I’m not paying attention to where I’m tight, where I’m holding stress and tension, or where I’m holding fear. Instead, I’m glossing over the movements to get them done. They’ve become ritual. 

And that’s a problem. I once heard it said, “That the traditions of men make the word of God of no effect.” Traditions, rituals, box checking - they rob the power of the moment, they hide the power of discovery by closing and distracting the mind, keeping us from learning and growing. They also hide the darkness that is influencing us because we are mindless and unaware that it is there. 

It’s so super easy to not be aware of tension in your body. But it is there - it’s the expression of the anger, fear, worries, and anxiety that is in our minds. If we could be aware of it, we could let it go. If we could move often, but get lost in our movements - move to explore, rather than move to move, we could learn to let our tensions go so that our bodies could heal. If we could allow our bodies to heal, perhaps our minds would heal with more clarity and peace as well. After all, the body just holds and expresses the stories of the mind. 

Are you following me? 

We were clearly made to move. We are definitely made to show up often. But we are made to show up in body and mind, in curiosity and presence, not mindless action. My point is, we are leaving behind a lot of joy and wonder to be discovered if we just show up to check boxes. Rituals lull us to sleep in mindless habits that prevent us from discovering the true power within ourselves. They perpetuate the dream that one day, all will be well if we keep showing up. When in reality, all will be well if we actually show up in mind as well as in body. 

Explore your movements. Learn from them. Get lost in them. Be curious why your body feels the way it does when you move. Does it need something? Is it holding onto something it doesn’t need? Is it expressing a fear you have? Is it trying to tell you something? Is it trying to get you to move in a certain way? These are all questions that can never be pondered if we just check boxes. 

If we can learn to explore and be present in our daily movement routine, we open the door to bring that curiosity and presence in all that we do. We actually open the door for us to become our best selves because we are alive to all that is around us. 

How to get started: 

Pick any RESET: Breathing, head nods, rolling, rocking, crawling and give yourself a good curious ten minutes exploring that movement. Notice how it feels, where it feels, the freedom, the restriction, the ease, the effort, etc. Put your mind in your body. Put your mind in the movement. Explore range of motion, depth, slow speed. Search for tension, relax, then relax, then relax some more. Can you move in complete relaxation? Does tension keep creeping in? Can you soothe it away with your breath, with your intention, with your presence? What can you learn from the movement and your body? Can you surrender your tensions and get completely lost in the motion yet have full awareness of the motion? 

It’s worth a look… 

 

 

 

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