This week I decided to step away from the video blog and return to the written word. I sense it is time for me to return to my body and the present moment, as I explore being in my mind, while also being grounded in my body. Last week my mental realm was in over drive with not the most productive thoughts, and it was making up stories left, right and centre. I wasn’t present, I felt a million miles away and my stories were starting to fill me with fear, anybody relating to this one?
So instead of staying there I am treating my amazing mind to a little bit of creative thinking and play, after all it clearly has something to say. I am giving myself permission to return to the written word, to a practice and activity that brings pleasure to my spirit and mobility to my fingers as they dance over the keypad. It is a practice, like Nia, that allows me to connect my body, mind and spirit.
As I type the words on the page I continue to check in with sensations in my whole body. I listen to the messages my spine is sending me, sometimes it says “oh I’m not comfortable anymore, please move me” and so consciously I choose to move my spine. Other times it says, “arhhh it feels so nice to rest in a state of non- doing”, in these moments I enjoy the ease and stillness of my body at rest.
Meanwhile my mental realm is getting the release it so desperately desires. It is sending messages of sensation from my physical body to my brain. It processes the signals of the present moment and turns them into information; information that I am able to choose to respond to or not. It also gets to enjoy multitasking (which it oh so loves), as it taps into the knowledge and creativity of writing. It knows how to spell words, it can string a sentence together, it tells my fingers which keys to tap and when. It also delights in the freedom of creating, it gets to create thoughts, link past ideas, and then choose which ones it decides to share with the page. All of this while my mind is also listening to music and the sounds of the world around me…. pretty darn impressive if you ask me.
My spirit also gets to dance and express in this process. It soaks in the freedom to be unique, the opportunity to create something new, something that has never been shared before. Yes, sure this concept of writing and holistic connection is nothing new. But to my spirit it is new, for it is the first time I have written these words and experienced the gifts of this very moment.
And it is right NOW, that I experience my very own ‘ahh-ha’ moment of ‘This is exactly what a Nia class does for me’; both when I take a class as a student and when I share a class as a teacher. My body gets to connect with sensations of pleasure and ease, my mind gets to use knowledge, release and be creative, and my spirit gets to uniquely express itself through the language of movement. I feel alive, I feel nurtured, I feel connected, and I feel at home in the world and my body.
This week I invite you to explore the things that make you feel ALIVE. The activities that bring you ease and pleasure, and the actions that connect your body mind and spirit. Embrace the moments of mobility and the moments of non-doing. Celebrate letting your mind and spirit creatively play while staying grounded and present in your sacred body.
Here’s a few ideas to get you started
- Go for a barefoot walk. Notice how you sense your body, observe your thoughts and mind, and see how your spirit can play with a simple walk… let it be creative and unique.
- Observe another while out doing the shopping (without stalking), and look at how their body moves, how their thoughts and mind are enabling them, and how their spirit shines through.
- Get to a local Nia class and do your own exploration of body-mind-spirit… you are the sensation scientist.
- Pause for a moment in your day, and check in with all realms, what does your body sense, where is your mind, and are you in alignment with your true spirit.
Blessings for the week
With Joy
Lisa
Lisa Silverstone 