Blog Notes :
Topics directly & indirectly related to meditative embodiment, consciousness, the reality of diverse perspectives - interpretations, beliefs, wellness & more.
Tai Chi Qigong & Zhan Zhuang is enriching for young & middle age adults,
not only elderly.
A common misconception about Tai Chi qigong & zhan zhuang I've noticed many people have is that it's just for elderly people. Unfortunately that assumption deters many people from engaging these practices - ways of embodied meditation until they are nearing the end of their life.
Many people practice and teach Tai Chi in a super casual way & just repeat long preset forms & focus on preventing falls for elder people.
However these arts can also be engaged, practiced & taught ( as I do ) with lower postures, longer zhan zhuang standing meditations, focused slower short movement flows to hone focus, foundational strength & principles rather than repeating the same long forms over & over like a musician who just plays a cover of someone else's song repeatedly.
I began practicing these arts at age 17 consistently through my life. And I intend to continue until I transition out of this body.
So if you are in your early 20s on up, these arts can still be positively challenging, enriching and worthwhile.
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #yoga #embodiedmeditation
Many people practice and teach Tai Chi in a super casual way & just repeat long preset forms & focus on preventing falls for elder people.
However these arts can also be engaged, practiced & taught ( as I do ) with lower postures, longer zhan zhuang standing meditations, focused slower short movement flows to hone focus, foundational strength & principles rather than repeating the same long forms over & over like a musician who just plays a cover of someone else's song repeatedly.
I began practicing these arts at age 17 consistently through my life. And I intend to continue until I transition out of this body.
So if you are in your early 20s on up, these arts can still be positively challenging, enriching and worthwhile.
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #yoga #embodiedmeditation
An elemental meditation.
One way of enjoying embodied meditation includes imagining with feeling the energies of water, earth, air and fire during zhan zhuang standing meditation.
While in a symetrical zhan zhuang posture, allow ones consciousness to be quietly aware, feeling ones whole body - being. Letting excess tension in attitudes & body dissolve away.
Now imagine whichever elemental energy of water, earth, air or fire you feel drawn to.
We can choose to focus on just one elemental quality, several or all 4 during each session. Whichever feels most balancing & nourishing at the moment.
While standing in supple, quiet relative stillness ( there are subtle micro balancing movements still occurring in our body muscles, organs, blood & lymph flow as we are alive beings, not actually stone ), begin imagining water, for example.
Allow the mental idea & visual sense of water to also be a sensually alive visceral experiencing of water permeating ones whole body - being. Feel the suppleness, flowing nature of being water - while still standing balanced in one's center through balancing intention.
Soak in permutations, variations of watery qualities for as long as you choose.
Calm, relatively still water .
Rippling water radiating in circular waves from ones center. And radiating from other locations.
Powerful, massive waves.
Water flowing steadily in one direction, radiating in all directions, or sloshing to and fro.
Allow your mental imagination, emotions blend into a deeply sensually vivid embodying experiencing of the nature of water. Nourishing your whole being with water love.
Transitioning back, or to another elemental quality, when you choose.
For fire, focusing imagination into viscerally feeling embodiment of whatever types of fire energy which emerge and you choose.
A slow, deep burning ember quality. Sparks flicking light.
Fire growing in intensity and size like a giant sun burning luminously...
For air, feeling the spaciousness and lightness of one's body as air. Wisping and gusting.
Gently, calmly present.
Currents & condensing of air into whirling spirals & tornados.
Gale forceful winds clearing the air with powerful intensity.
Warm & cool breezes tenderly caressing.
For earth, feeling this relative stability, groundedness, abiding and fertile nature permeating ones whole being. Roots firmly uniting ones body with the surrounding earthen environment. Feeling movements of the many creatures burrowing homes, passageways, storing foods, etc., in the ground.
Noticing the unique feelings of being moist & fertile, dry and hard, crumbly or cohesive clay, etc..
Feeling the occasional micro movement and stronger earthquakes as they adjust to accommodate pressure changes throughout the whole earth of which we are for now an integral part of.
Nourishing the growth of plant life from the soil of ones loving heart...
These are just suggestions, of course. Not dogmatic rules or limits of how we can engage these experiences & creative explorations.
Allowing ourselves to be focused, spontaneous and playfully creative with this process is what is enriching. Feel free to use this process as a springboard so to speak for diving into creative exploring sensual, experiential awareness.
While in a symetrical zhan zhuang posture, allow ones consciousness to be quietly aware, feeling ones whole body - being. Letting excess tension in attitudes & body dissolve away.
Now imagine whichever elemental energy of water, earth, air or fire you feel drawn to.
We can choose to focus on just one elemental quality, several or all 4 during each session. Whichever feels most balancing & nourishing at the moment.
While standing in supple, quiet relative stillness ( there are subtle micro balancing movements still occurring in our body muscles, organs, blood & lymph flow as we are alive beings, not actually stone ), begin imagining water, for example.
Allow the mental idea & visual sense of water to also be a sensually alive visceral experiencing of water permeating ones whole body - being. Feel the suppleness, flowing nature of being water - while still standing balanced in one's center through balancing intention.
Soak in permutations, variations of watery qualities for as long as you choose.
Calm, relatively still water .
Rippling water radiating in circular waves from ones center. And radiating from other locations.
Powerful, massive waves.
Water flowing steadily in one direction, radiating in all directions, or sloshing to and fro.
Allow your mental imagination, emotions blend into a deeply sensually vivid embodying experiencing of the nature of water. Nourishing your whole being with water love.
Transitioning back, or to another elemental quality, when you choose.
For fire, focusing imagination into viscerally feeling embodiment of whatever types of fire energy which emerge and you choose.
A slow, deep burning ember quality. Sparks flicking light.
Fire growing in intensity and size like a giant sun burning luminously...
For air, feeling the spaciousness and lightness of one's body as air. Wisping and gusting.
Gently, calmly present.
Currents & condensing of air into whirling spirals & tornados.
Gale forceful winds clearing the air with powerful intensity.
Warm & cool breezes tenderly caressing.
For earth, feeling this relative stability, groundedness, abiding and fertile nature permeating ones whole being. Roots firmly uniting ones body with the surrounding earthen environment. Feeling movements of the many creatures burrowing homes, passageways, storing foods, etc., in the ground.
Noticing the unique feelings of being moist & fertile, dry and hard, crumbly or cohesive clay, etc..
Feeling the occasional micro movement and stronger earthquakes as they adjust to accommodate pressure changes throughout the whole earth of which we are for now an integral part of.
Nourishing the growth of plant life from the soil of ones loving heart...
These are just suggestions, of course. Not dogmatic rules or limits of how we can engage these experiences & creative explorations.
Allowing ourselves to be focused, spontaneous and playfully creative with this process is what is enriching. Feel free to use this process as a springboard so to speak for diving into creative exploring sensual, experiential awareness.
Shame, Guilt, Projection. Freedom, Honesty & Love.
Shame, guilt, fear & negative projection are unfortunately common attitudes & feelings many people view & relate at life and each other through. This is something that often shows up for many people in their knee jerk subconscious & conscious beliefs and resulting feelings & behaviors about lifestyles, the natural body, real or imagined offers & openness from other people about & ones own feelings & desires for nurturing affection with people in all but the most tightly constrained, formally sanctioned contexts. In how people feel fulfilled in contributing to life & each other.
Its also something I experience many people struggle with during massage sessions. Recognizing they are safe with me in that I won't shame them, and that I ask for, do & will respect if they have any boundaries which they directly honestly state to me at the time, they often begin releasing their social mask & armoring enough to feel the beauty of vulnerability - authenticity, tenderness and appreciation for the naturalness of their embodying being.
Sometimes after some people go back to their regular lives they may fall back into old shame & fear fueled patterns of interpreting & feeling, which can be perpetuated by relating with others who are still interpreting life through such lenses of shame, guilt, fear & negative assumptions.
While for some people they integrate the openness, authenticity & appreciation of sessions more fully into the rest of their lives with appreciation. And some come & return for sessions because they already resonate with & appreciate these ways of being and love being able to swim in these same loving, authentic waters together for a while at a time.
When the driving force in a society, ideologies, communal and individual beliefs is to project fear, shame and guilt ( including when masked as dogmatic morality ) onto real or imagined experiences & individuals which are or are simply assumed to perceive, appreciate, offer & enjoy sharing beauty, love, exploration and growth through the same & different experiences, that needlessly creates divisiveness, fear & hate.
When we expand our capacity for & express deeper love, openly honest communicating with each other ( rather than deafly or misleadingly passive aggressively, dishonestly at & ghosting ), respect & appreciation for the many creatively diverse ways which we and others can interpret, perceive, experience & share loving kindness, beauty, meaning, we mature in wisdom and respect for our shared humanity & freedom.
This especially includes even when different from our own or another s personal limits of understanding & comfort at any moment,
Respecting each others freedom as we want our own freedom respected.
Many people have feelings and desires which they are ashamed & fearful to admit. Sometimes those desires & feelings get projected outward onto "others". Other individuals or groups of people, and real or made up experiences.
Owning our feelings & desires honestly is essential to being whole, loving beings.
This involves recognizing, shedding & transforming beyond the shoulds, the constraints and fears of social. familiar, personal and ideological biased beliefs & assumptions. Doing so with kindness for ourselves and each other allows this process to be smoother. And even enjoyable.
No longer hating, fearing and projecting outward negative, offended feelings about our and / or other beings natural desires, about our natural body and emotional desires for intimacy with ourself, life and each other in many diverse contexts, we allow space for love, peace, freedom & empathy to grow.
With dogmatic clenching & passive aggressive & direct dishonesty dissolving from & no longer being motivating energies in our embodying psyche & emotions, we can relax at deeper levels. Our hearts blossom more fully with tenderness.
We are able to remain openly vulnerable, fully honest - authentic with ourself and when relating in all ways with each other. Communicating our subjective personal boundaries directly mutually respectfully clearly in any contexts we are relating with each other before expecting to have such understood & respected, and respecting any boundaries of each other if they exist if - when we are directly mutually respectfully clearly told what, when & where they are.
While still respecting & appreciating our equal humanity, divinity, freedom & diverse ways of perceiving & sharing loving kindness.
Life, and we as unique embodying expressings & experiencings of life, thrive with freedom, vulnerable intimacy, authenticity - honesty and loving appreciation as our core attitudes & ways of being.
Our preferences for exploring & enjoying our lives & relationships in any now are not negated by the freedom of others kindred & different choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying their lives & relationships.
Just as others choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying their lives & relationships are equally valid even as we choose different choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying our lives & relationships.
Yin & Yang. We are kindred source, exploring being in many creatively unique and kindred ways.
Its also something I experience many people struggle with during massage sessions. Recognizing they are safe with me in that I won't shame them, and that I ask for, do & will respect if they have any boundaries which they directly honestly state to me at the time, they often begin releasing their social mask & armoring enough to feel the beauty of vulnerability - authenticity, tenderness and appreciation for the naturalness of their embodying being.
Sometimes after some people go back to their regular lives they may fall back into old shame & fear fueled patterns of interpreting & feeling, which can be perpetuated by relating with others who are still interpreting life through such lenses of shame, guilt, fear & negative assumptions.
While for some people they integrate the openness, authenticity & appreciation of sessions more fully into the rest of their lives with appreciation. And some come & return for sessions because they already resonate with & appreciate these ways of being and love being able to swim in these same loving, authentic waters together for a while at a time.
When the driving force in a society, ideologies, communal and individual beliefs is to project fear, shame and guilt ( including when masked as dogmatic morality ) onto real or imagined experiences & individuals which are or are simply assumed to perceive, appreciate, offer & enjoy sharing beauty, love, exploration and growth through the same & different experiences, that needlessly creates divisiveness, fear & hate.
When we expand our capacity for & express deeper love, openly honest communicating with each other ( rather than deafly or misleadingly passive aggressively, dishonestly at & ghosting ), respect & appreciation for the many creatively diverse ways which we and others can interpret, perceive, experience & share loving kindness, beauty, meaning, we mature in wisdom and respect for our shared humanity & freedom.
This especially includes even when different from our own or another s personal limits of understanding & comfort at any moment,
Respecting each others freedom as we want our own freedom respected.
Many people have feelings and desires which they are ashamed & fearful to admit. Sometimes those desires & feelings get projected outward onto "others". Other individuals or groups of people, and real or made up experiences.
Owning our feelings & desires honestly is essential to being whole, loving beings.
This involves recognizing, shedding & transforming beyond the shoulds, the constraints and fears of social. familiar, personal and ideological biased beliefs & assumptions. Doing so with kindness for ourselves and each other allows this process to be smoother. And even enjoyable.
No longer hating, fearing and projecting outward negative, offended feelings about our and / or other beings natural desires, about our natural body and emotional desires for intimacy with ourself, life and each other in many diverse contexts, we allow space for love, peace, freedom & empathy to grow.
With dogmatic clenching & passive aggressive & direct dishonesty dissolving from & no longer being motivating energies in our embodying psyche & emotions, we can relax at deeper levels. Our hearts blossom more fully with tenderness.
We are able to remain openly vulnerable, fully honest - authentic with ourself and when relating in all ways with each other. Communicating our subjective personal boundaries directly mutually respectfully clearly in any contexts we are relating with each other before expecting to have such understood & respected, and respecting any boundaries of each other if they exist if - when we are directly mutually respectfully clearly told what, when & where they are.
While still respecting & appreciating our equal humanity, divinity, freedom & diverse ways of perceiving & sharing loving kindness.
Life, and we as unique embodying expressings & experiencings of life, thrive with freedom, vulnerable intimacy, authenticity - honesty and loving appreciation as our core attitudes & ways of being.
Our preferences for exploring & enjoying our lives & relationships in any now are not negated by the freedom of others kindred & different choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying their lives & relationships.
Just as others choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying their lives & relationships are equally valid even as we choose different choices & preferences for exploring & enjoying our lives & relationships.
Yin & Yang. We are kindred source, exploring being in many creatively unique and kindred ways.
Cultivating appreciation nurtures enjoyment in the present.
Nourishing deep rooted unity, facility with foundational, core principles & embodying pleasure this nurtures is supported by focused, attentively conscious & appreciative practice of slow movement flows & standing. Honing our feeling awareness of the subjectivity of beliefs & attitudes, curiosity, appreciation & balancing of embodying relaxation with focused intention.
To stand in stillness for a while, and to move slowly and enjoy it, we cultivate qualities of appreciative embodying presence in the now. Nourishing love, honesty, open minded ( non-dogmatic ) exploration in the eternal present.
#taichiqigong #taichi #qigong #zhanzhhang #slowandfeelmoredeeply #slowmovement #yoga #movementflow #appreciativeembodiment #nowisall #massage
To stand in stillness for a while, and to move slowly and enjoy it, we cultivate qualities of appreciative embodying presence in the now. Nourishing love, honesty, open minded ( non-dogmatic ) exploration in the eternal present.
#taichiqigong #taichi #qigong #zhanzhhang #slowandfeelmoredeeply #slowmovement #yoga #movementflow #appreciativeembodiment #nowisall #massage
Tai Chi Qigong & Zhan Zhuang can be enjoyed anywhere.
One of the aspects I appreciate about Tai Chi qigong & zhan Zhang is the ability to enjoy being - practicing in these ways even with minimal space. Whereas long Tai Chi forms tend to require more space, diving into & embodying essence & principles with these methods can be enjoyed fully pretty much anywhere we can stand and move a little.
Conveniently nurturing a quietly aware mind, open heart embodying presence. Unity of inhaling & exhaling air with contraction & expansion of movement, refining sensitivity & smoothness of embodying awareness, explorational curiosity & appreciation, graceful flow...
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #taichiinsmallspaces #spontaneousflow
Conveniently nurturing a quietly aware mind, open heart embodying presence. Unity of inhaling & exhaling air with contraction & expansion of movement, refining sensitivity & smoothness of embodying awareness, explorational curiosity & appreciation, graceful flow...
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #taichiinsmallspaces #spontaneousflow
Nurturing appreciation & wonder through moments of slowness.
In addition to dedicated daily practice times such as during tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang classes, integrating slow, conscious ways of moving as we do some of the other practical tasks in our lives can be additional enriching.
Of course there are some things where faster activity is balancing and most appropriate. Quickly moving out the the way of a vehicle speeding as we cross a street, rapidly catching a mug accidentally toppled from a counter, needing to be at appointments by a specific time, etc., benefit from rapid, responsive movement.
Other moments of our life when we have or create even just a few minutes of spaciousness, we can more readily explore deepening our sense of appreciation, wonder and attentively relaxed presence by nurturing these qualities while reducing the pace - speed which we may normally do something. Actions such as moving across a room, picking up a utensil, drinking water, eating food, slipping into a snuggling nestle under the covers into our nightly slumber, and so many more we can deepen our perceptual & feeling enrichment by slowing the pace which we engage them by half or more.
At first it may feel odd, frustrating, inefficient or boring, especially if we are wound up mentally & emotionally. As we breathe more deeply into our body, opening our appreciative heart awareness we can use this slowing down to enhance our sense of wonder. Wonder at being an embodying soul. At space and the subjectivity, relativity & ghost like nature of an eternally vast, amorphous sea of ideas which seem to fill areas of space with more or less solidity & fluidity. Recognizing & releasing any tight grasping of associations with dogmatic assumptions, beliefs & feelings.
In order to feel at peace, to open into genuine experiencing this with enjoyment, peace, depth & authenticity, we discover that as much and more focus is worth giving to enjoying the immediate fluid present now for its own sake. Letting any emotions and thoughts ebb and flow, without grasping to identify with & calcify them.
Allowing ourselves quiet to attune to and dive more fully into the vaster heart opening spaciousness of appreciative, exploratory awareness deeper than the noise of familiar patterns of associations.
No longer pushing toward an end point, physical destination or other goal orientation. At least not at the expense of being fully, honestly attentive with refreshing wonder in the now of the fleshing home of our body.
Deepening & extending our inhalations & exhalations of life giving air - prana - qi can naturally blend with the contractions into & expansions from our center as we flow our body weight from leg to another in stepping. When we bring our arms in toward & away from our torso. Feeling ourselves expanding our kinesthetic awareness into the earth, and the earth breathing through our deeply rooting body - mind from below our feet through our legs, hips, waist, spine, torso, internal organs, arms, neck and head.
When we focus on cultivating our natural sensually embodying awareness with appreciation, ageless amazement, curiosity instead of negative assumptive projections & dogma, gratitude and loving authenticity, we become like a phoenix. Refreshing, regenerating, rebirthing & transforming our experiencing of & contributions to life, ourselves & each other in beautifully appreciative, loving, authentic & freedom affirming ways.
As we move slower, sometimes we may discover we are moving so slowly that our movement is nearly imperceptible. Even slowing into relative stillness in any mid flow. A bit like the game freeze tag you may have played as a child, albeit the stillness is internally inspired. And unlike being frozen, we are still very much alive, warm, feeling our whole being deeply.
Allow yourself to savor it. Attunement with life essence. With your soul source in fleshing reality.
Of course there are some things where faster activity is balancing and most appropriate. Quickly moving out the the way of a vehicle speeding as we cross a street, rapidly catching a mug accidentally toppled from a counter, needing to be at appointments by a specific time, etc., benefit from rapid, responsive movement.
Other moments of our life when we have or create even just a few minutes of spaciousness, we can more readily explore deepening our sense of appreciation, wonder and attentively relaxed presence by nurturing these qualities while reducing the pace - speed which we may normally do something. Actions such as moving across a room, picking up a utensil, drinking water, eating food, slipping into a snuggling nestle under the covers into our nightly slumber, and so many more we can deepen our perceptual & feeling enrichment by slowing the pace which we engage them by half or more.
At first it may feel odd, frustrating, inefficient or boring, especially if we are wound up mentally & emotionally. As we breathe more deeply into our body, opening our appreciative heart awareness we can use this slowing down to enhance our sense of wonder. Wonder at being an embodying soul. At space and the subjectivity, relativity & ghost like nature of an eternally vast, amorphous sea of ideas which seem to fill areas of space with more or less solidity & fluidity. Recognizing & releasing any tight grasping of associations with dogmatic assumptions, beliefs & feelings.
In order to feel at peace, to open into genuine experiencing this with enjoyment, peace, depth & authenticity, we discover that as much and more focus is worth giving to enjoying the immediate fluid present now for its own sake. Letting any emotions and thoughts ebb and flow, without grasping to identify with & calcify them.
Allowing ourselves quiet to attune to and dive more fully into the vaster heart opening spaciousness of appreciative, exploratory awareness deeper than the noise of familiar patterns of associations.
No longer pushing toward an end point, physical destination or other goal orientation. At least not at the expense of being fully, honestly attentive with refreshing wonder in the now of the fleshing home of our body.
Deepening & extending our inhalations & exhalations of life giving air - prana - qi can naturally blend with the contractions into & expansions from our center as we flow our body weight from leg to another in stepping. When we bring our arms in toward & away from our torso. Feeling ourselves expanding our kinesthetic awareness into the earth, and the earth breathing through our deeply rooting body - mind from below our feet through our legs, hips, waist, spine, torso, internal organs, arms, neck and head.
When we focus on cultivating our natural sensually embodying awareness with appreciation, ageless amazement, curiosity instead of negative assumptive projections & dogma, gratitude and loving authenticity, we become like a phoenix. Refreshing, regenerating, rebirthing & transforming our experiencing of & contributions to life, ourselves & each other in beautifully appreciative, loving, authentic & freedom affirming ways.
As we move slower, sometimes we may discover we are moving so slowly that our movement is nearly imperceptible. Even slowing into relative stillness in any mid flow. A bit like the game freeze tag you may have played as a child, albeit the stillness is internally inspired. And unlike being frozen, we are still very much alive, warm, feeling our whole being deeply.
Allow yourself to savor it. Attunement with life essence. With your soul source in fleshing reality.
Why the slow movement of tai chi qigong & stillness of zhan zhuang?
One aspect of Tai Chi qigong & zhan zhuang which some individuals find curious and is less common among movement arts, is the relative slowness and stillness which they are engaged with.
Why do we move so slowly and just stand for a while?
One reason is that by slowing the pace which we move, we are challenged to pay more focused attention to & feel what we are doing, our structural alignments and the quality of our embodying presence and movement.
And to the quality of awareness & content of our beliefs, assumptions, our leaning forward into an imagined future or back into an imagined past.
When we rush through movements, as through the rest of life and relationships with ourself and each other, often it perpetuates simply reacting on automatic pilot so to speak. Based more in the comfortably familiar, worn grooves of ones preconceived & sometimes unrecognized biases, assumptions, projections, fears, prejudices, limits of appreciation, lack of empathy & facility and other attitudes & behaviors.
Such beliefs, emotional reactions & ways of being & relating can become dogmatic and blinding if held to as the only valid options.
If one does not recognize & respect the reality that many additional options ( and people who appreciatively default to them ) for being, learning, loving, exploring embodying life & relating in all contexts, equally exist & are equally valid.
This includes options which we or some others may choose to dislike, feel uncomfortable with, offended by & not truly understand if expecting everyone & life to submit to different personal limits of appreciation & comfort, be unfamiliar with, etc..
When we slow our movement even more than we are use to, focusing our attentive awareness into our body and content & quality of our thinking & feelings, we sensitize our awareness to such patterns, dogmatic beliefs & assumptions. And to their effects on interpretations & feelings. Creating space to quiet the mind into clearer, curious & exploratory awareness, open our heart & transform our consciousness beyond patterned chatter & reactionary, dogmatic blinding ways of interpreting, behaving & relating.
In the relative stillness of zhan zhuang standing embodied meditation, we have a cauldron of sorts to recognize, accept & refine our responsibility for awareness generally & of our ideas, beliefs & resulting feelings, reactions, responses. And how these manifest in our body & emotions. And in our feelings about human relational & additional life experiences.
As comfort or discomfort.
Suppleness or rigidity.
As respecting that many women & men interpret differently & appreciatively the same words & experiences which one or some others may interpret negatively or uncomfortably, or negatively projecting & misinterpreting peoples' kindly intentioned real or imagined invitations & openness with us in any ways, as if they are demands or expectations for anything other than direct open honest communication of our subjective boundaries, preferences & generally for mutual clarity & respect.
Smooth & sensitive or rigid & clunky movement.
In the present moment appreciation & loving presence or frustration & dishonesty.
The quality of our experiences is ultimately up to us to choose. To create. By how we subconsciously and consciously choose to focus our attention & interpretations.
If we want to feel good unitively, be healthy, supple and loving we focus on nurturing open honesty, authenticity, appreciation and curiosity in our attitudes & behaviors, rather than calcifying dogmatic beliefs, passive aggressive & direct dishonest & negative projections. And respecting our own & each others freedom equally.
- Aaron
The following quotes from other people affirm kindred healthy, loving, exploratory perspectives, ways of being & relating.
Why do we move so slowly and just stand for a while?
One reason is that by slowing the pace which we move, we are challenged to pay more focused attention to & feel what we are doing, our structural alignments and the quality of our embodying presence and movement.
And to the quality of awareness & content of our beliefs, assumptions, our leaning forward into an imagined future or back into an imagined past.
When we rush through movements, as through the rest of life and relationships with ourself and each other, often it perpetuates simply reacting on automatic pilot so to speak. Based more in the comfortably familiar, worn grooves of ones preconceived & sometimes unrecognized biases, assumptions, projections, fears, prejudices, limits of appreciation, lack of empathy & facility and other attitudes & behaviors.
Such beliefs, emotional reactions & ways of being & relating can become dogmatic and blinding if held to as the only valid options.
If one does not recognize & respect the reality that many additional options ( and people who appreciatively default to them ) for being, learning, loving, exploring embodying life & relating in all contexts, equally exist & are equally valid.
This includes options which we or some others may choose to dislike, feel uncomfortable with, offended by & not truly understand if expecting everyone & life to submit to different personal limits of appreciation & comfort, be unfamiliar with, etc..
When we slow our movement even more than we are use to, focusing our attentive awareness into our body and content & quality of our thinking & feelings, we sensitize our awareness to such patterns, dogmatic beliefs & assumptions. And to their effects on interpretations & feelings. Creating space to quiet the mind into clearer, curious & exploratory awareness, open our heart & transform our consciousness beyond patterned chatter & reactionary, dogmatic blinding ways of interpreting, behaving & relating.
In the relative stillness of zhan zhuang standing embodied meditation, we have a cauldron of sorts to recognize, accept & refine our responsibility for awareness generally & of our ideas, beliefs & resulting feelings, reactions, responses. And how these manifest in our body & emotions. And in our feelings about human relational & additional life experiences.
As comfort or discomfort.
Suppleness or rigidity.
As respecting that many women & men interpret differently & appreciatively the same words & experiences which one or some others may interpret negatively or uncomfortably, or negatively projecting & misinterpreting peoples' kindly intentioned real or imagined invitations & openness with us in any ways, as if they are demands or expectations for anything other than direct open honest communication of our subjective boundaries, preferences & generally for mutual clarity & respect.
Smooth & sensitive or rigid & clunky movement.
In the present moment appreciation & loving presence or frustration & dishonesty.
The quality of our experiences is ultimately up to us to choose. To create. By how we subconsciously and consciously choose to focus our attention & interpretations.
If we want to feel good unitively, be healthy, supple and loving we focus on nurturing open honesty, authenticity, appreciation and curiosity in our attitudes & behaviors, rather than calcifying dogmatic beliefs, passive aggressive & direct dishonest & negative projections. And respecting our own & each others freedom equally.
- Aaron
The following quotes from other people affirm kindred healthy, loving, exploratory perspectives, ways of being & relating.
" I spent a lot of years trying to outrun or outsmart vulnerability by making things certain and definite, black and white, good and bad. My inability to lean into the discomfort of vulnerability limited the fullness of those important experiences that are wrought with uncertainty: Love, belonging, trust, joy, and creativity to name a few. " - Brene Brown
" If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don't tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate.
Even if we hear something and we don't understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions.
We make all sorts of assumptions because we don't have the courage to ask questions ( and to communicate directly openly honestly with - rather than deafly at, gossiping about & ghosting - each other. " ) - Miguel Ruiz
" In any kind of relationship, we can make the ( erroneous & misleading ) assumption that others know what we think, and we don’t have to say what we want & don't want.
We assume they are going to do what we want because they know us so well.
If they don’t do what we want, we feel hurt and think, How could you do that? You should know. "
- Don Miguel Ruiz. Author of The Four Agreements.
" We never look beyond our assumptions and what's worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves. " - Muriel Barbery
Emotional & Spiritual Integrity and Open, Honest Communication & Lasting Relationships of Diverse Kinds.
The significance of the quote is true for many kinds of human relationships.
It is a main reason that nurturing mutually openly honestly communicative, appreciative lasting relationships of many kinds & contexts is worthwhile.
And why I prefer such with people I give massages for whether more formally or personally, relate as friendships, emotionally & sexually affectionate relationships, and various other kinds of human connections.
It is unfortunately ( in my belief ) common in our society for many people to view & relate at - rather than openly with - each other more as temporary disposable utilitarian objects & subjects of their own ( sometimes negative ) assumptive projections and stories.
Rather than relating with curiosity, appreciation of our shared humanity and diverse interpretations & views, and communicating directly openly honestly with each other to develop deepening accurate mutual understanding, respect & harmony in our ways of being & relating.
It seems it's become normalized for some people to choose to jump to negative assumptions based in their own subjective biases, beliefs, limits of appreciation & resulting feelings.
And to ghost people to avoid simply directly openly honestly communicating with people generally and if one doesn't like & doesn't understand some experience or intention assumed & interpreted in certain ways.
In attempt to falsely convince themselves or oneself that assumptive ideas & feelings about themselves, experiences and / or individuals are true and the only possible interpretations & intentions. Dehumanizing & blinding perceptions.
Yet most of us can empathize with the desire for more open honest communicating & mutual understanding when we have experienced misunderstandings, been negatively or otherwise inaccurately assumed about & projected onto and ghosted by people.
And hopefully likewise we mature to equally include each other in our empathy & recognize, admit and transform where & when we have done such in our ways of viewing & relating with, deafly at or ghosting people.
When we choose to remain mutually openly honestly communicative, curious rather than dogmatic assumptive with each other, we develop clearer understanding, appreciation & respect of each others equal humanity.
And of the beautiful, natural diversity & nuance of human interpretations, boundaries, default openness & appreciation, feelings & being.
Opening space in our psyche for expanding & clearing our own awareness, empathy, beliefs, appreciation and love of many kinds.
This enables us to release our false - mistaken, tension producing narratives & related feelings. Rather than simply assuming about & flippantly discarding people & human relationships of various kinds, developing calloused hearts & closed, dogmatic beliefs in the process.
This viewing & relating with each other with equal kindred human empathy, kindness, open honest communicating and care enables us to co-create authentic, mutually respecting, appreciative, lasting & harmonious ways & kinds of being & relating with each other and with life.
The choice to question ones own ( and acquired via gossip ) negative projections & assumptions, and to communicate openly directly honestly
with people we relate with in any way, expresses maturity.
And co-creates genuine mutual understanding, respect & harmonious experiences.
Balancing posterior with anterior for alleviating posterior torso & neck pain.
Part of the beauty of this world is the complimentary nature of life. How the movement of earth & sun flow life on this planet through darkness & light.
How our breathing in life energy as oxygen is balanced with exhaling carbon dioxide.
Body nourishing blood circulates through our body via contractions & releasing expansion of our heart muscle.
Male & female beings compliment & harmonize with each other when relating with mutual appreciation & honest open communicating with each other .
Movement of our body is enabled by refined contractions and releasing of muscle fibers.
Etc..
Likewise, one of the most common issues people refer to wanting assistance alleviating with massages, is back and neck stiffness & pain.
And one of the most common causes of such symptoms is created & perpetuated by forward hunching of shoulders, chest, pectorals, neck and head.
Given our eyes face forward and many of us spend a lot of time looking & manipulating objects with hands in front of us, at computers, using phones, driving, etc., over time the fascia, muscles, body memory become habituated to such forward rounding & leaning positions. This of course contracts - shortens the muscles & fascia in the anterior torso, especially the chest, pectorals, anterior neck. Which creates a blend of chronic extension in some posterior torso & neck tissues as they are pulled forward by the contracting muscles & fascia, as well as tightening of posterior muscles to try to maintain a somewhat upright posture and not topple forward.
An importance point about this is that only addressing the symptoms of tension & pain in the posterior side of the body is often not enough to give fully, causally effective wellness support. It is important to develop & maintain consistent postural awareness.
Keping the gravitational flow as vertically aligned as possible through the crown of head, spine, pelvis, legs, feet and into the earth. Finding positions which use the least amount of strain as possible to stay balanced upright when standing and sitting.
While including stretching and massage of the anterior torso, chest and neck muscles. Helping to relax and elongate, release excess contraction & adhesions in those muscles & fascia. When stretching, ideally releasing gradually into each stretch - opening position for at least a few minutes - as this will allow for deepening release.
This also helps to free the rib cage & diaphragm. And open the heart center. Allowing for easier, fuller inhalations and feelings, transforming and harmonizing of emotions.
Which promotes deeper, slower breathing and calming of nervous system. Something very beneficial in a society where there is a lot of external stimulation, rapid changes and busyness at the expense of balancing slowness, self care and nurturing experiences.
As we give ourselves and each other appreciation & space to breathe, literally and metaphorically, we nourish our individual & interrelated well-being, peace & enjoyment of being alive.
How our breathing in life energy as oxygen is balanced with exhaling carbon dioxide.
Body nourishing blood circulates through our body via contractions & releasing expansion of our heart muscle.
Male & female beings compliment & harmonize with each other when relating with mutual appreciation & honest open communicating with each other .
Movement of our body is enabled by refined contractions and releasing of muscle fibers.
Etc..
Likewise, one of the most common issues people refer to wanting assistance alleviating with massages, is back and neck stiffness & pain.
And one of the most common causes of such symptoms is created & perpetuated by forward hunching of shoulders, chest, pectorals, neck and head.
Given our eyes face forward and many of us spend a lot of time looking & manipulating objects with hands in front of us, at computers, using phones, driving, etc., over time the fascia, muscles, body memory become habituated to such forward rounding & leaning positions. This of course contracts - shortens the muscles & fascia in the anterior torso, especially the chest, pectorals, anterior neck. Which creates a blend of chronic extension in some posterior torso & neck tissues as they are pulled forward by the contracting muscles & fascia, as well as tightening of posterior muscles to try to maintain a somewhat upright posture and not topple forward.
An importance point about this is that only addressing the symptoms of tension & pain in the posterior side of the body is often not enough to give fully, causally effective wellness support. It is important to develop & maintain consistent postural awareness.
Keping the gravitational flow as vertically aligned as possible through the crown of head, spine, pelvis, legs, feet and into the earth. Finding positions which use the least amount of strain as possible to stay balanced upright when standing and sitting.
While including stretching and massage of the anterior torso, chest and neck muscles. Helping to relax and elongate, release excess contraction & adhesions in those muscles & fascia. When stretching, ideally releasing gradually into each stretch - opening position for at least a few minutes - as this will allow for deepening release.
This also helps to free the rib cage & diaphragm. And open the heart center. Allowing for easier, fuller inhalations and feelings, transforming and harmonizing of emotions.
Which promotes deeper, slower breathing and calming of nervous system. Something very beneficial in a society where there is a lot of external stimulation, rapid changes and busyness at the expense of balancing slowness, self care and nurturing experiences.
As we give ourselves and each other appreciation & space to breathe, literally and metaphorically, we nourish our individual & interrelated well-being, peace & enjoyment of being alive.
Openly honest communication, diversity of interpretations & wellness.
Since I began giving massages in 2004, I have had my awareness opened to how subjective & diversely individuals beliefs, boundaries, default openness and desires are about the natural body, nurturing touch through massages & generally. And about what people choose to interpret as practical, technically therapeutic, sensual or sexual affection, respectful, loving and kind.
Due to experiencing many hundreds of women ( and occasionally men, but its mostly women in my experience ) who behind closed doors often indirectly or directly express comfort, preferences, openness, curiosity & desire to experience openness about their natural body and nurturing through massages which is often beyond what some people & dogmas choose to believe is "normal", "appropriate", comfortable with, or are open to admitting.
I still have boundaries of my own for what & how I am open to give & relate for massages and anything else I do generally and if money is exchanged for it. Such as anything I consider overtly sexual I prefer to not accept or give money for. While respecting equally those who choose that for themselves.
My preference is to reserve such for someone I am open to ( and am trusting is with me as well ) mutually nurturing a lasting, genuine affectionate friendship with at least.
It's never an expectation of sexual relating for me, even if I am open to such. Just a natural, healthy trusting openness when seems mutual to giving & sharing appreciative, lovingly nurturing presence & affection - platonic or otherwise as seems open.
With a base of authentic care and honest open communicating with each other.
Women's interpretations of what they even consider sexual I've learned is incredibly varied. Contrary to those who inaccurately assume their own personal views, limits of appreciation, comfort and respect in these realms & with the natural body and affection are the only valid or existing views.
Some people don't even want their abdomen, chest or hips massaged or seen. Many women want these some or all of these areas included and feel it's shaming and unhealthy to omit or hide these areas.
Many women don't want any draping, or just initially for hips.
Some women have wanted me to include their yoni - vaginal area but avoid their breasts. For some women it's the reverse.
For me including yoni is one of my boundaries for what I don't include if accepting payment for massages, and I definitely prefer to reserve for friendship or more involved intimate relationship. So if a woman seems to be wanting that level of inclusion, I view that as an expression of a desire to develop a mutually appreciative, lasting intimate personal connection not bound by my formal massage limitations & monetary involvement at least.
And the amount of personal relating additional to any & all of these and other experiences beyond just massage is widely varied.
As is the willingness of individuals to respect my boundaries - including one I always state upfront for open honest direct verbal communicating with me about each persons boundaries, preferences and questions in support of mutual understanding & respect.
Some are thankfully mutually respectfully honestly communicative, equally appreciative of the vulnerable position I am in as well, as I'm not a mind reader & do my best to navigate their & other women's diverse default subjective views & interests without shaming. People who own their feelings, communicate honestly openly with me and refrain from negatively projecting, are beautifully harmonious to give for & relate with.
Others not so much. Such as those negatively project, choose to feel offended, falsely accusatory, try to hide their choices by lying & get angry at the fact ( and my honestly admitting that ) many women have different defaults of appreciative openness & preferences than their own and I do my best to respect all of these even though I'm not a mind reader & have my own personal boundaries & preferences as well.
Life is diverse. Our options for how we choose to interpret, which effects how we feel, anything in these realms & most of life, spirituality and human experiences, is beautifully vast & creatively diverse.
My intention of referring to these aspects of life as well, is to help support people growing beyond the abusive, damaging effects of normalized negative assumptive projections, shame, dishonesty, fear and dogmatic beliefs & related ways of reacting.
To affirm more inclusively loving, diversity respecting, vulnerably open, honestly communicative, mutually respecting & appreciative perspectives, ways of being & relating for everyone.
As this is what allows us all to coexist and thrive in this shared universe.
This also deepens our quality of unitive, harmonious embodiment.
And transforms layers of emotional - physical tension, reactivity & numbness into more suppleness, balance & natural relaxation.
Reach out to meet, give for & relate with mutually appreciative people.
I've learned over years the value of reaching out to offer connecting with people through social media, in person and other ways. As this is what creates opportunities for meeting people we often would not have met otherwise.
Who may, and do, choose to interpret & respond with curiosity, appreciation & openness to ways of caring, services and natural, kind & authentic human relating which I and some additional beings are open to offer, and give & share when discovering mutually appreciative beings.
Just because some people may not understand, may negatively project suspicious, fearful, misintepretive assumptions & limits of appreciation when we are authentic, kind & vulnerably courageous to reach out and offer human connections of various kinds, our skills and humanity, doesn't mean we should stop being open and exploring life, offering ( and accepting when mutually desired ) invitations and relating with each other.
Of course if we don't want to do something someone offers us we can simply mutually respectfully honestly respond thanking them and letting them know we are not interested, or if we may be and have questions.
And vice versa for those we open to offer for & communicate with, if they say thanks, but they aren't interested, we simply accept they aren't the ones to relate with and move on with our life and those who do appreciate.
If people don't reply I've learned sometimes they just haven't read or remembered the communications. Or they weren't in a space at that time to accept it but can be at another time. So it's worth checking in and offering again at other times.
As many people appreciate, desire and choose to accept the same, similar & diverse invitations & ways of kind human meeting, relating, nurturing embodying wellness we offer, give & share.
And these are the people we are doing it for. Opening ourselves for. Who match a demographic most likely to appreciate, enjoy and thereby benefit from the unique ways & perspectives we can & do embody, give & share. Who we are able to meet, communicate with, give for & relate with in any ways we discover are mutually appreciative by reaching out to people.
