No separation, no border
A practical method to be whole in your body
The pain in my shoulder chased away sleep. No position was comfortable. It moved upwards to my neck, down my back, across my chest. The thoughts that went with it bounced between bleak and defiant. But I knew the next day I’d be back up on my gymnastic rings. I couldn’t see any alternative.
Arbitrary lines divide arms from bodies, muscles from tendons, people from animals and minds from bodies.
It’s that one last I want to talk about here: minds and bodies. I will explain a process that you might find helpful, whether you are a driven athlete or committedly sedentary.
To start I want to contrast two kinds of body use.
The first is when you impose your will on your body. Your body is a tool, though perhaps a cherished one. It is also a problem to be solved.
I once read a movement guru who complained about people complaining about their bodies. “They say their body let them down. No. They let their body down.”
They let their body down. The intention in this phrase may be good. It encourages responsibility, a disciplined well rounded, nutritious movement practise, and appreciation that bodies can maintain themselves well given the right stimuli.
