Letting Our Aliveness Move
Pulsation. Without it we wouldn’t be living bodies.
What do I mean when I say pulsation? A range of sensations of movement that includes in and out, towards and away, up and down, side to side, inside to outside, expanding and condensing, open and close.
My Zapchen Somatics and other embodiment teachers tell me, and show me body to body, that pulsation is inseparable from the sensations of aliveness, the sensations that accompany well-being.
I learned ways of being early on in my life to limit my pulsation, to limit my aliveness from moving. I also learned to cut myself off from noticing my aliveness, my pulsation.
Most human being bodies do similarly in response to a wide range of factors. Even just doing things in order to belong or get along in a family or culture can cut us off from our own aliveness.
When we stop our aliveness from moving we decrease our capacity for resiliency, our responsiveness, or ability to be in flow.
If we take some time to return to our bodies, to experience ourselves as body, as pulsation, we start to make new patterns. Over time, these new patterns become our baseline.
What are the sensations of aliveness? For me, it depends on the day, the moment. Often I experience waves (sometimes small, sometimes big), a vibratory quality, a sensation that’s best described as alert openness.
My own experience the last 25 years regularly practicing embodiment like Zapchen Jiggling, Yawning and Choo-Choo stomping, has returned me to inhabiting my bodily self: to experience myself as body, pulsing and alive.
It doesn’t mean that things don’t get wonky or unpleasant.
It means that when I find myself cutting myself off from my aliveness or limiting my pulsation I’m able to find a way back to my skin, my bones, my blood and my organs, my cells, even my DNA. And in that experience I access the vast, pulsing wisdom of aliveness that me, as body aware, generously and naturally offers.
I’ve attached a video with a Zapchen Somatics Yawning practice. Yawning is one of the best for supporting us to relax into ourselves as body and let our aliveness move.
I hope you’ll give it a try, and then get in touch to tell me what you experienced.
Marla
Marla guides you through one of the most essential Zapchen Somatics practices: Yawning. It's easy, it's natural, it's tremendously beneficial for our well-being.
