Relationship, Health & Wellbeing, Community, Fame, Wealth & Abundance
I wrote a blog post with the following paragraph that I want to highlight and bring attention to. It is in an article on aging. Through the experience of working with an age range focused on the interconnectedness of mental, emotional and physical behaviours with the intent to increase functions this topic plays out in one’s abilities for tolerance and flexibility. When people age it is presented in one’s appearance to those who have a trained eye. Whether the victim or perpetrator, objectification in one’s history is identifiable in functional responses observable through touch, sight and sound. (felt-sense, visually, or words spoken)
Here it is:
Anyone who attacks another person through words and actions, in the light or the dark, lacks self-esteem, self-confidence, skill sets, maturity and finesse. Their life may be a pursuit of trying to fill the void of loneliness, love and self-love, connection and self-connection, beauty and inner beauty, peace and inner peace, confidence from within that is courageous and outwardly to take right action and more. This imbalance that creates a void has the potential pattern for acquiring things, people, status and lustful deceit to manipulate. It lacks the inner sense of abundance. I witness a lack of connection to the value and quality they place in their acquisitions in these circumstances. There is a disconnect and this is the point that corruption can enter.
This perspective is included in the focus on patterns guided through integrative studies in learning groups and sessions. it will be a topic featured more in-depth through the mentoring programs @ Inside Awareness and in conversations and articles. Subscribe to stay InTouch and connect to new material and opportunities, or follow Renee on social media. Hit like if you enjoy content.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
In a post called, “Lost connection with our feet,” I introduced the concept of people often referring to their body parts as a third party in our conversation. Our cultural conditioning leaves the majority of us disconnected from having a focused felt sense of the body parts that keep us upright to stand, walk, run, sit and get up from standing or out of bed. Pain will be felt immediately and that will be the focus of the conversation. People will point to an area where they feel pain usually without the ability to identify the body part, or they will give an incorrect label of the body part they want checked out.
The education that has been a part of our cultural conditioning has lacked focus on the integration of the connected experience through the body. I have found that the focus is on memorizing the names of the muscles, bones and organs rather than focusing attention on the experience of those part’s from a felt sense ability through the transitions of movement. Even suggesting the focus of attention on ones felt senses will be received with varying degrees of experiential understanding and thoughtfulness. The response is usually related to yoga, tai chi, kinesiology, physical therapy or some other exercise patterns versus the actual ability to either visualize the movement or feel the functional aspects of it. There is a blank in understanding and clarity. The mind goes to association with other outside possibilities. As an empathic responder to the environment inside and out this was the hardest gap to bring clarity to for myself and others.
As a Feldenkrais Practitioner this tells me that the person responding back with these comparisons is unable to quiet the mind of memories and analysis long enough to go into feeling the actual functional connected movement patterns inside their body. The mind is actively seeking answers and concepts versus sensing. This is an important concept to distinguish as the two abilities are used for different outcomes. In my experience the analytical comparisons will not support a new pattern of movement that integrates into the brain and body connection via neural pathways. Rather, it will became an artificial strategy creating rigidity and blocking an increase in a range of motion. The expectation created by the thinking and need to know will increase the level of pain, anxiety and pain which will increase the contraction in the muscles and soft tissue intensifying the pain. It will create a contrived pattern of movement that is memorized with the concept of being the right way to do it versus organic spontaneous movement. The rigidity will significantly increase the levels of pain even more and reduce all function due to the levels of fear associated with the pain.
People seek answers and will even ask, is this the right way to….. walk, balance breath, etc., forgetting that as a baby they couldn’t ask anyone. Their movement was free range and more efficient than any current day concept.
This lack of mindful clarity and understanding to the interconnectedness of the physical body creates a disconnect to the skeleton and it’s available core micro movements. In the post mentioned in the first sentence called, “Lost connection with our feet,” the focus was on the functional physical balance. In Chinese medicine the 6 meridians that are focused upon in acupuncture begin in the mouth and end in the feet. This training suggests that the energy is released from the body through the feet into the earth’s gravity. The feet connect the bodies energy to the earth’s gravity. In Feldenkrais the functional perspective of the skeleton is viewed as architectural engineering and the view is how the feet connect with the earth’s gravity by pushing off it. When pushing off the earth the force of the earth’s gravity translates from the feet through the core of the skeleton all the way to the skull. However to experience this efficiently the focus of core movement is through the skeleton, not concepts, muscles, or flow of energy in patterns. These add value to movement, however they cannot create the experience of pushing off from the earth’s gravity.
The dominant force of movement pushing off the earth using the skeleton with the micro movements through the bones and joints tones the muscles. (Not the same as yoga stretches or massage) Muscle development is of value, however not the central core of whole and spontaneous healthy movement. Dominant muscle focus lifts the feet away from the earth that translates into walking separately from, or against, the earth instead of with it. The bones create connection with the earth while the muscles create disconnection.
When someone is walking through the force of the earth’s gravity through the skeleton there is less effort, more flexibility and an increase in resilience. If there is pain in one’s feet there are higher levels of anxiety, irritability, anger and panic. As one limbers up through miro movements, the pain subsides along with irritability, anger and panic.
This Feldenkrais Practitioners perspective of balance begins in the micro movement availability of the skeleton as it responds to the environment. This includes pushing off the earth’s gravity through the bones. As an ex Shoe Store Manager there is some understanding of the cultural conditioning that has evolved through the generations of shoe development.
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
I do not often use the word addictions. Only recently have I used it in my posts. I don’t let it influence my personal or group lessons. It is such a distracting word with so many changing definitions and a word that is normally very personal to the person speaking it into life, or listening to someone else speaking it to life. What I focus on is the instinct that turns one towards an addictive quality. For me the instinct is triggered by survival. An easy example is sex. Sex is a basic need in the base level of needs along with water, food, shelter, air. If someone is operating under anxiety, stress, fear, or anger emotions it will trigger an instinctual reaction. In this example it would be self soothing through basic intercourse without much meaning, other than relief. However, the urge in the gut is often still there during and after. If one increases sleep patterns, eats healthy, and starts to experience self fulfilling needs being met, including meaningful relationships, the instinctual need to self sooth shifts as the survival instinct diminishes. This doesn’t mean one loses their sex drive, it just shifts it into more meaningful interactions. This self soothing example can be replaced with the actions of gambling, drinking, drugs, smoking, food, etc. Often the focus is on the label – addiction, which can shift the mind focus to the past behaviour, memories, or blaming and shaming self and others. If one can capture the moment, there is a felt sense of the instinct that is felt prior to going into the habit of reacting to it. This is a moment to observe what just happened. (Something is happening in the moment of the trigger.) This can be the point of change. Notice the trigger and instead of going into the strategy for self soothing, one can process the trigger and create inner balance. This is an important skill development. Leaving it unchecked creates a type of random chaos either by oneself, or others who have clued in on how to keep one in the agitated state. (Yes, common strategy for others is to redirect someone’s focus of attention to get their own needs met). The person who introduced this to me, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., used an example of eating. Often when people become uncomfortable, they will reach for food. He would suggest the person reaching for food to stop and ask themselves if they are hungry, or if something else was instead gnawing at them. Usually, they are not hungry, and this pause to check in is enough to shift the experience to talking about whatever it is that instigated the action of reaching for food. It could be as simple as being asked an uncomfortable question. The trigger is inner conflict. If you disagree with someone, it can cause inner conflict. If you hear a hard to hear message, it can create inner conflict. If someone tries to control you it can cause inner conflict. etc., etc.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
Learning opportunities:
Integrating personal and group values to create a point of connection in relationships and environment
Introduction to transforming reactions into value focused connections
Integrating values through intention
Integrating values through the environment
Somatic Movement to increase physical, mental, and emotional function, health and wellbeing
Clarity of Environmental Stimulus to reduce blocks to health and wellbeing
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
In relationships it is the quality in the experience that creates the space for someone to present as their best selves. Any type of relationship. This means that there are the attributes of respect, acknowledgement, appreciation, cooperation, participation, equality, fairness, trust, stability, to be seen to be heard, to be valued, responsibility, integrity, balanced give and take, empathy, compassion, kindness, equal giving and receiving, clarity, understanding, patience, acceptance, etc., etc. These above attributes are not a part of the interactions, or in the relationship overall if one dominants to get their needs met on the backs of others. The above attributes create inner connection and connection with others and in their absence, an environment of conflict is stimulated inside and outside. A lack of these attributes creates ill health and shifts the focus of attention into survival, fight or flight. If one is not heard, seen or valued chronically it can increase the ill health mentally, emotionally, physically, in the space and out into groups, and the community. Only someone who lacks these qualities in themselves, ie. lack of self respect, self appreciation, and self accountability, etc., would treat others with this base note behaviour. Why, if you respect yourself, you can respect others. If you hold yourself accountable, you will hold others accountable etc. It creates a value in the space surrounding you that people enter into. Time is better spent and more productive and efficient. People are speaking creativity and with innovation. Which direction is your motivation taking you and those around you? Are you elevating people into being their best self or are you dragging them down into your possible jealousy, hatred and greed?
Learning opportunities:
Learning opportunities:
Integrating personal and group values to create a point of connection in relationships and environment
Introduction to transforming reactions into value focused connections
Integrating values through intention
Integrating values through the environment
Somatic Movement to increase physical, mental, and emotional function, health and well being
Clarity of Environmental Stimulus to reduce blocks to health and wellbeing
Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
Water & salt for rejuvenation, clearing energy field and purification
The human body is 60 percent water. The human heart and brain is 73 percent water. The lungs are 83 percent water, the skin is 64 percent water, the muscles and kidneys are 79 percent and the bones are 31 percent. Seventy one percent of the earth is covered by water. Ninety seven percent of the water covering the earth is salt water. This writer experiences water as an element to balance and reconnect with self. Water is sacred. Why? We cannot survive without it. Salt is well known as a sacred element as well. It absorbs energies, positive and negative and softens the water. It has the similar influences on your body. Bathing in a warm salt infused bath is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself for rejuvenation; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Years ago while on a holiday with the children I was drawn in to a booth with a woman who shared her age with me. It seemed unbelievable due to the quality of her skin, yet I took her at her word. She was crusty and the memories she shared could easily match the age range she said she was. The products in her booth originated from Dead Sea minerals. I have always taken care of my skin so after a treatment with her products I knew Dead Sea Salts was the real deal. It outshone all the products I had tried over the years.
I have since used it in making skin exfoliators, however, recently I discovered it’s benefits for bathing in. The minerals are excellent for ones skin and detoxing the body. It apparently has 10 times the minerals over other salts, some of which are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, bromides and iodine. Soaking in a warm salted bath is one of the most effective ways to absorb vital minerals. It is known to be relaxing and soothing creating a deeper sense of well being.
How much salt in a soothing bath?
I have read the suggested amount of Dead Sea salt to add to the bath ranges from 1/2 a cup to 2 cups. I found 2 cups a bit much and have settled at approximately a cup. For an added luxury I add 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda. Both salt and baking soda are water softeners and in like it stimulates the same softening and relaxation in ones soft tissues. I often add 10 or so drops of lavender essential oils.
Here is an affiliate link to Dead Sea Bath Salt on Amazon:
Depending upon the levels of stress in those around me and their interactive experiences I will bathe in salt regularly. Some weeks it is 3 to 4 times. It seems to clear my energy field when stimulated by environmental influences which can cause confusion and a feeling to static. This bath will defuse it immediately. It is a self care routine I use with intention.
Length of time for receiving benefits?
Twenty minutes is my go to guide for the basic starting point. I usually go longer if I have the time, however the minimum in twenty minutes.
I alternate the salt I use in the bathe in due to the different minerals from their root origins on the earth. Two others I use regularly are:
Himalayan Pink Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt has a spectrum of more than 80 trace minerals and is one of the purest and naturally occurring salts. It is hand minded from the foot of the Himalayan hills and hand ground. This salt has the same benefits as Dead Sea salt such as reducing stress, inflammation and improving skin conditions. I follow the same routines as described in the Dead Sea salt element.
Here is an affiliate link to Himalayan Pink Salt Salt on Amazon:
I recently discovered Mediterranean due to its price point. I was attracted to the significant difference and did some research. It also has 80 plus mineral elements. It too creates a soothing and healing bath experience.
Here is an affiliate link to Mediterranean Sea Salt on Amazon:
In a recent conversation with an elder I was able to reflect back from the spoken words I was hearing, “It seems that vanity hasn’t aged along with you.” “Yes,” was the reply., “vanity tells me that I am ugly.”
Later in the day I became curious about this experience and how and when this shifted for me. When did I stop giving power to vanities harsh words of criticism spoken in my head? It wasn’t that long ago. I wondered what changed? Spontaneously I connected to the sense of self-love inside. I realized at some point the depth of self-love surpassed the value I placed upon vanities words in my head. The scale had tipped in self-loves favour and the criticisms of vanity don’t carry the weight they once did. This is a celebration. At some point in the practical application of my practice there has been a shift in the dialogue in my head and body. My heart speaks the loudest and demonstrates that self directed sense of love.
In my conversation with the elder I hoped my intonation came from this heartfelt experience so it had a soft landing. My intention – not to increase their own moral judgements.
What is your vanity telling you? Has your vanity criticism shown any acceptance of your aging?
The only way to change is action
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Feldenkrais®, Feldenkrais Method®, Awareness Through Movement®, Functional Integration®, are registered service marks of theFeldenkrais Guild® of North America. Feldenkrais Method®
Effective Movement Posture 
