Blog Notes :
Topics directly & indirectly related to meditative embodiment,
consciousness, beliefs, wellness & related subjects.
What the h#&!are we doing here? Why do we even exist?
What the h#&!are we doing here? Why do we even exist? Are we dreaming? Does it matter? What constitutes a worthwhile, appropriate, meaningful life? Does meaning even matter? And who decides for who? Who decides that? If you decide for me & others than it's non-hypocritically fair & equal that I & others decide for you and vice versa...😮😶🤔🤣🤣😷👍💗💫
Seriously..with a twinkling spacious grin in our vision... We make so much of meaning up.
It's why there is such a creative multitude of different philosophies, religions, views of morality, defaults of sexual & other relational openness, boundaries, desires,, interests, lifestyles, ways of interpreting the same experiences.
In my opinion at the moment of writing this, I believe there are a few core, foundational choices to living a healthy, integral, loving 💗 sane life.
* Honesty. Not relating with manipulative passive aggressive nor direct dishonesty - lying - false accusations. Which requires owning ones own negative interpretations, projections & related feelings. Communicating any personal expectations, boundaries, feelings and thoughts self responsibly directly proactively & responsively honestly with anyone one relates with & wants to have such known & respected by. So as to co-create mutual understanding & respect in this diverse reality.
* Respect self responsibly directly clearly proactively stated boundaries of each other when so told & understood.
* Appreciatively taking care of our embodying wellness. We need not be ultra athletes, but at least don't willfully destroy our body with cigarettes, hard drugs, obesity, etc.. Do some kind of healthy exercise. Appreciate the naturalness of our sensualizing being. * Be more inquisitive & curious than dogmatic about most beliefs, attitudes, ways of living, loving & exploring.
* Respect our own & each others freedom to be both kindred & unique. Even when / if we or others choose to interpret other experiences and individuals in ways we feel uncomfortable, foreign, odd, don't like. As we likely want our freedom to be, relate & explore likewise respected by others who feel uncomfortable, offended, negatively about their interpretations of such...
* Be kind to ourself & each other.
Seriously..with a twinkling spacious grin in our vision... We make so much of meaning up.
It's why there is such a creative multitude of different philosophies, religions, views of morality, defaults of sexual & other relational openness, boundaries, desires,, interests, lifestyles, ways of interpreting the same experiences.
In my opinion at the moment of writing this, I believe there are a few core, foundational choices to living a healthy, integral, loving 💗 sane life.
* Honesty. Not relating with manipulative passive aggressive nor direct dishonesty - lying - false accusations. Which requires owning ones own negative interpretations, projections & related feelings. Communicating any personal expectations, boundaries, feelings and thoughts self responsibly directly proactively & responsively honestly with anyone one relates with & wants to have such known & respected by. So as to co-create mutual understanding & respect in this diverse reality.
* Respect self responsibly directly clearly proactively stated boundaries of each other when so told & understood.
* Appreciatively taking care of our embodying wellness. We need not be ultra athletes, but at least don't willfully destroy our body with cigarettes, hard drugs, obesity, etc.. Do some kind of healthy exercise. Appreciate the naturalness of our sensualizing being. * Be more inquisitive & curious than dogmatic about most beliefs, attitudes, ways of living, loving & exploring.
* Respect our own & each others freedom to be both kindred & unique. Even when / if we or others choose to interpret other experiences and individuals in ways we feel uncomfortable, foreign, odd, don't like. As we likely want our freedom to be, relate & explore likewise respected by others who feel uncomfortable, offended, negatively about their interpretations of such...
* Be kind to ourself & each other.
Baguazhang Spiraling Coiling Practice
It's been quite a while since I've done much baguazhang circle walking & related baguazhang practices. My main practice is & since 1989 has been tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang.
Although I also did a lot of baguazhang for the first ten years or so after around 1990, not much since 2000ish. The coiling, spiraling energies nourish springiness, elasticity of muscles & fascia, wonderful unique qualities of deepening ones expansive spiritual - earthly grounding embodiment and flowing from the earth.
Many ways we are able to nourish our embodying awareness - tai chi qigong, yiquan, zhan zhuang, baguazhang, yoga, calisthentics, nia, pilates, dance, gymnastics, etc..
Although I also did a lot of baguazhang for the first ten years or so after around 1990, not much since 2000ish. The coiling, spiraling energies nourish springiness, elasticity of muscles & fascia, wonderful unique qualities of deepening ones expansive spiritual - earthly grounding embodiment and flowing from the earth.
Many ways we are able to nourish our embodying awareness - tai chi qigong, yiquan, zhan zhuang, baguazhang, yoga, calisthentics, nia, pilates, dance, gymnastics, etc..
Zhan zhuang.
Zhan zhuang - standing embodied meditation. Also referred to as standing like a tree, standing post,.etc.. This is the core process - practice from which tai chi gigong, baguazhang, yiquan & related arts flow. As a way of harmonizing universal - human consciousness, among additional purposes & benefits.
It can be nourishing, though not necessary, to stand next to a tree. Practicing next to trees can be nourishing as we share space & tune into the nature of trees with their rooting deep into the soil & simultaneous expanding toward the sun.
Like a tree, in zhan zhuang we allow the mind to quiet, heart to be open, crown of head lightly elevating skyward, weight and awareness to sink deep into core of the earth.
Body is intimately unified with the earth, feeling the connection of energy flowing in a circuit through the earth & our body.
Cultivating & nourishing awareness free of comfortable assumptive dogmatic biases, negative projections, knee jerk offendedness, manipulative dishonesty with self & each other which is an expression of low vibrational narcissistic consciousness.
Cultivating & nurturing awareness fueled with integrity & Love from open honesty with self & everyone, exploration, curiosity & appreciation for.the diverse expressions of being, creating & lovingly relating.
Viscerally enjoying experiencing the truth of our embodying soul. And the divinity of this when we choose to be & relate with full open honesty, authenticity, appreciation and playfulness.
With gratitude for the mystery of being and kindredly spiritually mature, integrally honest loving souls.
It can be nourishing, though not necessary, to stand next to a tree. Practicing next to trees can be nourishing as we share space & tune into the nature of trees with their rooting deep into the soil & simultaneous expanding toward the sun.
Like a tree, in zhan zhuang we allow the mind to quiet, heart to be open, crown of head lightly elevating skyward, weight and awareness to sink deep into core of the earth.
Body is intimately unified with the earth, feeling the connection of energy flowing in a circuit through the earth & our body.
Cultivating & nourishing awareness free of comfortable assumptive dogmatic biases, negative projections, knee jerk offendedness, manipulative dishonesty with self & each other which is an expression of low vibrational narcissistic consciousness.
Cultivating & nurturing awareness fueled with integrity & Love from open honesty with self & everyone, exploration, curiosity & appreciation for.the diverse expressions of being, creating & lovingly relating.
Viscerally enjoying experiencing the truth of our embodying soul. And the divinity of this when we choose to be & relate with full open honesty, authenticity, appreciation and playfulness.
With gratitude for the mystery of being and kindredly spiritually mature, integrally honest loving souls.
When we are truly fully honest with ourself and in our communicating & relating with each other, we embody true love, authenticity, trustworthiness, integrity & spiritual beauty.
We do our part to cocreate mutual understanding of & respect for each others diverse being, defaults of openness & self responsibly proactively honestly stated subjective boundaries, feelings and ideas.
Rather than unlovingly, abusively manipulatively negatively projecting, being misleadingly passive aggressive, lying, falsely accusing, gossiping to spread such spiritual - emotional cancer, stealing, ghosting, censoring & pretending to be a "victim" generally & from effects of such or otherwise reacting dismissively & claiming offense if - when someone honestly recognizes & holds one to equal responsibility & accountability for doing so & the effects of such.
Living & relating more healthfully, openly honestly with ourself and each other equally allows the energy which flows into and through us, which we embody, to be trustworthy, loving & worthwhile. Allows us to settle & open more deeply, authentically, free of negative karma created by manipulative passive aggressive, lying, stealing & related attitudes & behaviors.
Harmonizing our being with Truth & authentic Love.
#zhanzhuang #qigong #taichi #yinyang #yoga #meditation #fitness #wellness #scorpio #massage #nature #sanfranciscobayarea
We do our part to cocreate mutual understanding of & respect for each others diverse being, defaults of openness & self responsibly proactively honestly stated subjective boundaries, feelings and ideas.
Rather than unlovingly, abusively manipulatively negatively projecting, being misleadingly passive aggressive, lying, falsely accusing, gossiping to spread such spiritual - emotional cancer, stealing, ghosting, censoring & pretending to be a "victim" generally & from effects of such or otherwise reacting dismissively & claiming offense if - when someone honestly recognizes & holds one to equal responsibility & accountability for doing so & the effects of such.
Living & relating more healthfully, openly honestly with ourself and each other equally allows the energy which flows into and through us, which we embody, to be trustworthy, loving & worthwhile. Allows us to settle & open more deeply, authentically, free of negative karma created by manipulative passive aggressive, lying, stealing & related attitudes & behaviors.
Harmonizing our being with Truth & authentic Love.
#zhanzhuang #qigong #taichi #yinyang #yoga #meditation #fitness #wellness #scorpio #massage #nature #sanfranciscobayarea
How ones relates - with loving trustworthy open honesty / honest communicating, appreciation & respect,
or with unloving negative projection, passive aggressive manipulative, misleading lying, stealing & ghosting choices & abusively reacting offended & dismissive at being honestly recognized & held accountable for such -
reveals ones true character.
More accurately than presenting social facades & proclamations of being loving, "spiritual" and innocent pure faultless beings.
And shows how one likewise
deserves to receive.
Beings embodying authentic love, integrity & spiritual maturity understand & appreciate this truth & relate honestly accordingly.
or with unloving negative projection, passive aggressive manipulative, misleading lying, stealing & ghosting choices & abusively reacting offended & dismissive at being honestly recognized & held accountable for such -
reveals ones true character.
More accurately than presenting social facades & proclamations of being loving, "spiritual" and innocent pure faultless beings.
And shows how one likewise
deserves to receive.
Beings embodying authentic love, integrity & spiritual maturity understand & appreciate this truth & relate honestly accordingly.
A common cause of low back pain other than direct low back injury.
Low back pain is one issue commonly experienced by many people. Causes such as direct injury to the lumbar spine are usually obvious.
There can be many other causes of lower back pain. Also kidney pain can sometimes feel like low back pain.
One cause which is also fairly common, especially among people who sit often at desks, cyclists, etc., is tight quad muscles. Especially the rectus femoris muscle, which originates at the anterior portion of the pelvic bone, crosses the hip - thigh and attaches through tendons around the patella - knee cap.
And likely tight psoas muscles, which attach from the lower spine to the medial superior area of the femur - upper leg bone.
When the anterior leg muscles and / or psoas muscles become tight - shortened they pull the pelvis & lumbar spine into forward anterior tilt. Compressing the posterior lumbar spine and weakening some of the muscles in the lower back.
That creates an exaggerated sway in the lower back, which may be compensated for by further tightening the quad muscles, tensor fascia latae - it band and lower leg muscles to try to stay upright when standing and walking.
How to correct such issues if the pelvis is anteriorly tilted with shortened quads and weak & overly lengthened hamstrings? -
A combination of strengthing the hamstrings muscles to help keep the pelvis in a healthy neutral alignment.
May also need to strengthen the gluteal muscles if they are weak, since weak glutes tend to allow torso to lean forward too much posturally.
Stretching - lengthening the quads and possibly psoas.
Massage sessions addressing these & related issues.
Maintaining awareness of body positioning throughout the day & night.
Sit for shorter periods of time. Take breaks from sitting by standing & moving more frequently.
Do gentle hip tilts anterior & posterior, as well as on hip circling on horizontal plane one direction then the other.
There can be other causes of lumbar pain, of course. This post simply addresses these common factors.
There can be many other causes of lower back pain. Also kidney pain can sometimes feel like low back pain.
One cause which is also fairly common, especially among people who sit often at desks, cyclists, etc., is tight quad muscles. Especially the rectus femoris muscle, which originates at the anterior portion of the pelvic bone, crosses the hip - thigh and attaches through tendons around the patella - knee cap.
And likely tight psoas muscles, which attach from the lower spine to the medial superior area of the femur - upper leg bone.
When the anterior leg muscles and / or psoas muscles become tight - shortened they pull the pelvis & lumbar spine into forward anterior tilt. Compressing the posterior lumbar spine and weakening some of the muscles in the lower back.
That creates an exaggerated sway in the lower back, which may be compensated for by further tightening the quad muscles, tensor fascia latae - it band and lower leg muscles to try to stay upright when standing and walking.
How to correct such issues if the pelvis is anteriorly tilted with shortened quads and weak & overly lengthened hamstrings? -
A combination of strengthing the hamstrings muscles to help keep the pelvis in a healthy neutral alignment.
May also need to strengthen the gluteal muscles if they are weak, since weak glutes tend to allow torso to lean forward too much posturally.
Stretching - lengthening the quads and possibly psoas.
Massage sessions addressing these & related issues.
Maintaining awareness of body positioning throughout the day & night.
Sit for shorter periods of time. Take breaks from sitting by standing & moving more frequently.
Do gentle hip tilts anterior & posterior, as well as on hip circling on horizontal plane one direction then the other.
There can be other causes of lumbar pain, of course. This post simply addresses these common factors.
Creating time.
We can usually create some space - time in our daily living to enjoy more, focused meditative embodiment engagement. Whether tai chi qigong, baguazhang, yiquan, zhan zhuang, yoga, calisthenics, cross fit, or whatever else we enjoy regardless of what name we do or do not label it as.
After teaching tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang class this morning and doing some related business tasks, I noticed this park across from the post office.
The brilliant lush green grass and relatively mellow, sparsely populated space of the park felt like a lovely place for a qigong siesta of sorts. And so it is...
This is one of my favorite flows. Blending tai chi qigong, baguazhang after zhan zhuang....
After teaching tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang class this morning and doing some related business tasks, I noticed this park across from the post office.
The brilliant lush green grass and relatively mellow, sparsely populated space of the park felt like a lovely place for a qigong siesta of sorts. And so it is...
This is one of my favorite flows. Blending tai chi qigong, baguazhang after zhan zhuang....
Including wellness nurturing experiences in what we schedule in our lives
is a simple, worthwhile choice.
Yes, simple. And often helpful when done consistently. Many options supportive of our well being are very simple. Its in choosing to do them that we benefit. So often when I provide massages to people who have not scheduled & received sessions from me in a while, during or after their massages they express wishing they would be more consistent in receiving them more frequently. As they feel so much better, relaxed, healthy & enjoyable when receiving them.
Sometimes it can become a pattern to dismiss and not make time for choosing the simple things like meditating, stretching & strengthening, massages, hydration, alone time as well as relating with others, etc.. Thinking we are too busy for taking care of our well being with such simple, healthy experiences.
Yet it is in choosing to equally prioritize including these experiences in our daily - nightly living that we nourish our wellness, feel more enjoyable in our body and calm & clarify our mind & healthy priorities.
This simple opening for anterior torso helps release accumulated tension in the back, neck and jaw ( sometimes extending to hips and legs ) developed from holding our body somewhat upright as head, shoulders, neck, areas of spine contract forward of center.
As often happens when we get over focused on looking, hunching & leaning forward & down using phones, computers, reading, writing and many other activities. This is one of the most common issues & sources of tension & discomfort for many people in modern life.
Even using pillows under head when resting or otherwise lying down, pushes the neck & head forward out of healthy alignment.
This opening & variations of it bring deepening balance to our body. Helping release muscles & fascia from their accustomed shortened, contracted positions. Allowing us to realign through our center more comfortably & naturally. This reduces the amount of energy we expend compensating for unbalanced posture, thus increasing our energy. It also allows our lungs to expand more fully, deepening our breathing & vitality. And opening our heart.
Sometimes it can become a pattern to dismiss and not make time for choosing the simple things like meditating, stretching & strengthening, massages, hydration, alone time as well as relating with others, etc.. Thinking we are too busy for taking care of our well being with such simple, healthy experiences.
Yet it is in choosing to equally prioritize including these experiences in our daily - nightly living that we nourish our wellness, feel more enjoyable in our body and calm & clarify our mind & healthy priorities.
This simple opening for anterior torso helps release accumulated tension in the back, neck and jaw ( sometimes extending to hips and legs ) developed from holding our body somewhat upright as head, shoulders, neck, areas of spine contract forward of center.
As often happens when we get over focused on looking, hunching & leaning forward & down using phones, computers, reading, writing and many other activities. This is one of the most common issues & sources of tension & discomfort for many people in modern life.
Even using pillows under head when resting or otherwise lying down, pushes the neck & head forward out of healthy alignment.
This opening & variations of it bring deepening balance to our body. Helping release muscles & fascia from their accustomed shortened, contracted positions. Allowing us to realign through our center more comfortably & naturally. This reduces the amount of energy we expend compensating for unbalanced posture, thus increasing our energy. It also allows our lungs to expand more fully, deepening our breathing & vitality. And opening our heart.
Gratitude & honesty expands our appreciative awareness, respect & capacity to love.
Choosing to be respectful, honestly openly communicative & appreciative ( rather than choosing to negatively project, relate misleadingly passive aggressively and directly dishonestly, feel & act offended & hatefully accusatory ) of the validity of diverse ways of exploring, offering & sharing kindness & loving ways of being & relating in diverse contexts, opens our being to & embodies appreciation, beauty, love, harmony & clarity.
We can still have boundaries & preferences for how we live and how & who we relate with, of course. As long as we own our equal responsibility for simply proactively honestly directly stating to whoever we relate with if we have boundaries & preferences with an individual exactly what, when & where such are in any context before expecting to have them understood & equally respected. So such can be understood & mutually respected.
Appreciation, open honest communicating - relating & curiosity can wisen our consciousness to respect the fact that the limits of what an individual ( including ourself ) or ideology understands, appreciates, feels comfortable with & chooses personally at any moment are of course not the limits of what is natural, loving, respectful, worthy of appreciation, good & kind.
Gratitude for the beautiful creativity & freedom of natural life & open honest relating opens our hearts to the truth that we can appreciate & relate as we prefer while being mature enough to respect the equal validity & love available in many unique, other ways of exploring, learning, being & relating.
This also frees us from the unloving blinders of dogmatic ideas & unloving intepretations - reactions ( even if they are popularly held by groups & ideologies one may associate with ) to different experiences & people open to, offering & sharing them who appreciate & thus experience kindness, love, integrity & freedom in such.
Which is necessary to mature & expand our own loving consciousness & appreciation beyond comfortable familiar limits.
Yin & Yang.
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #yoga #love #freedom #balance #harmony #natural #gratitude #appreciation #honesty #diversity
We can still have boundaries & preferences for how we live and how & who we relate with, of course. As long as we own our equal responsibility for simply proactively honestly directly stating to whoever we relate with if we have boundaries & preferences with an individual exactly what, when & where such are in any context before expecting to have them understood & equally respected. So such can be understood & mutually respected.
Appreciation, open honest communicating - relating & curiosity can wisen our consciousness to respect the fact that the limits of what an individual ( including ourself ) or ideology understands, appreciates, feels comfortable with & chooses personally at any moment are of course not the limits of what is natural, loving, respectful, worthy of appreciation, good & kind.
Gratitude for the beautiful creativity & freedom of natural life & open honest relating opens our hearts to the truth that we can appreciate & relate as we prefer while being mature enough to respect the equal validity & love available in many unique, other ways of exploring, learning, being & relating.
This also frees us from the unloving blinders of dogmatic ideas & unloving intepretations - reactions ( even if they are popularly held by groups & ideologies one may associate with ) to different experiences & people open to, offering & sharing them who appreciate & thus experience kindness, love, integrity & freedom in such.
Which is necessary to mature & expand our own loving consciousness & appreciation beyond comfortable familiar limits.
Yin & Yang.
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #qigong #yoga #love #freedom #balance #harmony #natural #gratitude #appreciation #honesty #diversity
Foundational practices & process are core.
The foundational, basic practices are the core, the root from which quality is born. These and related processes are worth engaging daily.
Quality of focus, not flash, is what is most deeply fulfilling, imo.
Abiding in center with relative stillness of zhan zhuang.
Rooted, relaxed connection with & moving from the earth.
Head gently suspending from above.
Dynamic balancing of relaxed suppleness with just enough refined tension to be upright & aligined.
Unifying feeling awareness.
Exploring interplay of yin & yang.
Slow, full inhaling & exhaling.
Expanding & contracting.
Forward & backward.
Rising up & sinking down.
No matter how much experience & skill we develop, as in much of life we are engaging the process of exploration of being. Some moments we may skip a beat, so to speak. Yet we continue enjoying process & being. Regaining & honing focus, balance & flow in each new now.
Nurturing regeneratively fresh & alive embodying consciousness in the now.
Honest, exploratory, appreciative, present and quietly aware.
Solitude.
Solitude. What comes to mind & how do you feel when you think of solitude? Of being by yourself for a day? For a week?
Is this something you enjoy as a frequent part of your life?
Do you feel nervous, uncomfortable or confused if not relating with other people, the internet or television for more than one or two days? Or is this something you relax into and feel nourished by? Perhaps some combination?
For many of us living in modern urban areas, daily life usually includes plenty of external stimulation. We are routinely saturated with the energies of others from computers, vehicle traffic, coworkers and people we pass and meet in public, news, tv for those who watch it, music, family members and / or housemates if we dont live alone, and other sources.
While this can of course be informative and enriching when we enjoy & learn from these experiences, it is also beneficial for most of us to take some time & space away to be by ourself.
Especially when basking in the biologically natural rhythms of enviornments like forests, the beach, oceans, lakes, rivers, meadows and other such places. Away from other people. Relatively alone with our own unique individuating being.
This solitude allows us space, if we choose to consciously use it, to recognize & transform beliefs, feelings & patterns of behavior which we may have acquired by adapting to ideological, familial, social & other assumptions & biases, that no longer truly serve us & clarity. Or never truly did.
Especially when we maintain a daily meditative practice which quiets internal chatter & allows our awareness to harmoniously blend relaxed nondogmatic exploratory openness with focused attentiveness.
When is the last time you next to a stream, river,etc., and quietly appreciatively observed the flowing water? Feeling the misty breeze or relative stillness in the air?
Did you notice any resonance with the liquids flowing through your heart, arteries, veins, capillaries and organs of your body?
If you choose, make a point to reserve some time within this coming week & take yourself to a natural area where there are no buildings, people or technology. Even if just for 30 minutes. Longer if you choose. Of course it is your life so you get to decide.
Give yourself time & attentive focus in the ever present now to attune to the natural enviornment. Soaking in the reality that you are a vibrant part of nature.
Remembering that we all have vast freedom to choose how we regeneratively cocreate our lives.
Is this something you enjoy as a frequent part of your life?
Do you feel nervous, uncomfortable or confused if not relating with other people, the internet or television for more than one or two days? Or is this something you relax into and feel nourished by? Perhaps some combination?
For many of us living in modern urban areas, daily life usually includes plenty of external stimulation. We are routinely saturated with the energies of others from computers, vehicle traffic, coworkers and people we pass and meet in public, news, tv for those who watch it, music, family members and / or housemates if we dont live alone, and other sources.
While this can of course be informative and enriching when we enjoy & learn from these experiences, it is also beneficial for most of us to take some time & space away to be by ourself.
Especially when basking in the biologically natural rhythms of enviornments like forests, the beach, oceans, lakes, rivers, meadows and other such places. Away from other people. Relatively alone with our own unique individuating being.
This solitude allows us space, if we choose to consciously use it, to recognize & transform beliefs, feelings & patterns of behavior which we may have acquired by adapting to ideological, familial, social & other assumptions & biases, that no longer truly serve us & clarity. Or never truly did.
Especially when we maintain a daily meditative practice which quiets internal chatter & allows our awareness to harmoniously blend relaxed nondogmatic exploratory openness with focused attentiveness.
When is the last time you next to a stream, river,etc., and quietly appreciatively observed the flowing water? Feeling the misty breeze or relative stillness in the air?
Did you notice any resonance with the liquids flowing through your heart, arteries, veins, capillaries and organs of your body?
If you choose, make a point to reserve some time within this coming week & take yourself to a natural area where there are no buildings, people or technology. Even if just for 30 minutes. Longer if you choose. Of course it is your life so you get to decide.
Give yourself time & attentive focus in the ever present now to attune to the natural enviornment. Soaking in the reality that you are a vibrant part of nature.
Remembering that we all have vast freedom to choose how we regeneratively cocreate our lives.
The basic, foundational, core principles, practices & processes of zhan zhuang & tai chi qigong ( as with much of life and arts ) are such because, even though simple in ways, they develop & nurture our root.
The basic, foundational, core principles, practices & processes of zhan zhuang & tai chi qigong ( as with much of life and arts ) are such because, even though simple in ways, they develop & nurture our root.
Like trees need strong, deepening healthy roots & trunk in order to thrive, focusing on these core processes & principles with full focus & appreciative attentiveness nourishes deepening clear embodying awareness, understanding & creative freedom.
They need not be experienced as boring, trivial, etc..
When we are present & engage with focused, freshly curious & exploratory, appreciative awareness, we experience & nourish the expansive depth, beauty, creativity, love and pleasure available.
#taichi #taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #neigong #embodiedmeditation #yoga #yogalife #pilates #nia #martialarts #love #millvalley #sanfranciscobayarea #sfbayarea #tiburon #cortemadera #larkspur #sanrafael
Like trees need strong, deepening healthy roots & trunk in order to thrive, focusing on these core processes & principles with full focus & appreciative attentiveness nourishes deepening clear embodying awareness, understanding & creative freedom.
They need not be experienced as boring, trivial, etc..
When we are present & engage with focused, freshly curious & exploratory, appreciative awareness, we experience & nourish the expansive depth, beauty, creativity, love and pleasure available.
#taichi #taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #neigong #embodiedmeditation #yoga #yogalife #pilates #nia #martialarts #love #millvalley #sanfranciscobayarea #sfbayarea #tiburon #cortemadera #larkspur #sanrafael
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 rush through life?
Why rush through life? Sometimes focused speed is useful and beneficial, but not necessarily as a main way of being & relating. For much of worth is missed, rushed past, overlooked & unappreciated in such haste.
One of the main reasons & benefits of the relatively slow, fluid movement of tai chi qigong & stillness of zhan zhuang standing meditation is the opening out of the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system quality into a more parasympathetic rejuvenating, calm relaxing yet focused vitality. ( This also applies to & is how I give massage sessions. )
Enjoying the process, the transitions of movement & life which really is every now instead of just an isolated assumed end posture & time. It's all now.
Which allows us to cultivate deepening appreciating, loving, honest & focused embodying presence & awareness in the fluid present.
Harmoniously blending positive kindness with honesty about ourself, each other & life in its wholeness ( light & shadow, positive & negative ). And clearly proactively honestly communicating any boundaries we have with individuals so they may understand. Such cocreates mutual understanding, respect & love for ourself & each other equally.
While nourishing a strong rooted foundation through our lower body and central channel, from which we stand & move with graceful, sensual smoothness, love, authenticity & feeling aliveness.
One of the main reasons & benefits of the relatively slow, fluid movement of tai chi qigong & stillness of zhan zhuang standing meditation is the opening out of the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system quality into a more parasympathetic rejuvenating, calm relaxing yet focused vitality. ( This also applies to & is how I give massage sessions. )
Enjoying the process, the transitions of movement & life which really is every now instead of just an isolated assumed end posture & time. It's all now.
Which allows us to cultivate deepening appreciating, loving, honest & focused embodying presence & awareness in the fluid present.
Harmoniously blending positive kindness with honesty about ourself, each other & life in its wholeness ( light & shadow, positive & negative ). And clearly proactively honestly communicating any boundaries we have with individuals so they may understand. Such cocreates mutual understanding, respect & love for ourself & each other equally.
While nourishing a strong rooted foundation through our lower body and central channel, from which we stand & move with graceful, sensual smoothness, love, authenticity & feeling aliveness.
Autonomy, Interrelating & Authenticity.
There is such a rich diversity of ways of interpeting, being & relating in life. Its quite spectacular how people can choose to interpet & engage the same exact real or imagined experiences in diverse ways.
Personally, I prioritize honesty, integrity, autonomy, solitude in balance with mutually appreciative honest interrelating & freedom.
So when I relate with people I do so with a foundation & nurturing of integrity, open honesty & authenticity with myself and each other. Since this is a necessary foundation for being & relating with authentic love integrity, trustworthiness & maturity
The more we choose this fully open honest communicating & relating with each other, rather than deafly projecting at, being passive aggressively or directly misleadingly dishonest and flaky, the more integrity, mutual understanding & respect, love and trustworthiness we co-create. In ourself and in all our relationships.
Personally, I prioritize honesty, integrity, autonomy, solitude in balance with mutually appreciative honest interrelating & freedom.
So when I relate with people I do so with a foundation & nurturing of integrity, open honesty & authenticity with myself and each other. Since this is a necessary foundation for being & relating with authentic love integrity, trustworthiness & maturity
The more we choose this fully open honest communicating & relating with each other, rather than deafly projecting at, being passive aggressively or directly misleadingly dishonest and flaky, the more integrity, mutual understanding & respect, love and trustworthiness we co-create. In ourself and in all our relationships.
Cultivating embodied honesty, authenticity, appreciation, equilibrium, love, freedom,
nondogmatic open exploration and curiosity in the eternally flowing now,
is what we nurture through tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang when we focus on such.
nondogmatic open exploration and curiosity in the eternally flowing now,
is what we nurture through tai chi qigong & zhan zhuang when we focus on such.
Moments of Balance.
Major events such as vehicle accidents, falls from heights, impact traumas, and congenital physical conditions such as skeletal abnormalities are obvious causes of misalignment and pain in the body. Given their overt nature they are commonly considered when assessing individuals complaints of pain & mobility issues.
What is often overlooked are the rather mundane aspects of daily living. Like how we walk, sit, sweep, rake grass, write, type, read, etc.. Yet the way we do these basic actions effects the alignment of our body, stress patterns, strength & weakness of various areas, range of motion and more.
A simple, supportive choice is to do our best to balance our movements and use of left and right, upper and lower portions of our body. If for instance, we tend to sweep from right to left, make a point of spending half the time sweeping from left to right as well.
If we tend to cross our legs when sitting, cease doing so. Or if we continue to, switch it up by crossing the legs the other leg on top half the time.
When standing, allow yourself to settle into a center alignment & the springs of our legs and spine. Weight distributed evenly between left and right feet.
A common complaint of many people is neck back and hip pain, often caused from sitting hunching over a computer or desk for hours a day. That creates a forward hunching, contraction of the anterior torso, chest, shoulders and hips. And compression of the vertebrae, especially the lumber area. Leading to back pain, headaches, stiff neck and back, spinal degeneration, blood pressure issues and other complications.
Aside from changing to careers that allow more balance of standing, moving and sitting, less than 8 hours a day and naps ( seriously ), at least stand up for 5 minutes or more every hour will help. And do stretches to open up the anterior chest, torso & hip for a few minutes a couple times per day.
When using a computer, alternate between standing and sitting. And use a large balance ball as a sitting surface, which helps keep our core active in subtle ways to stay balanced on the ball. Also having the monitor set at a level height and angle for the eyes, not tilting head down or up or to either side - but straight ahead is best. And give the eyes a rest throughout the day as well. Remember the eyes have tiny muscles as well.
Being mindful of these and the many other basic things we do with our body, and focusing our mind & emotions to relate with honesty, appreciation, kindness and respect for our own & each others freedom & equal humanity, goes a long way in nurturing our overall wellness, vitality and enjoyment in life.
What is often overlooked are the rather mundane aspects of daily living. Like how we walk, sit, sweep, rake grass, write, type, read, etc.. Yet the way we do these basic actions effects the alignment of our body, stress patterns, strength & weakness of various areas, range of motion and more.
A simple, supportive choice is to do our best to balance our movements and use of left and right, upper and lower portions of our body. If for instance, we tend to sweep from right to left, make a point of spending half the time sweeping from left to right as well.
If we tend to cross our legs when sitting, cease doing so. Or if we continue to, switch it up by crossing the legs the other leg on top half the time.
When standing, allow yourself to settle into a center alignment & the springs of our legs and spine. Weight distributed evenly between left and right feet.
A common complaint of many people is neck back and hip pain, often caused from sitting hunching over a computer or desk for hours a day. That creates a forward hunching, contraction of the anterior torso, chest, shoulders and hips. And compression of the vertebrae, especially the lumber area. Leading to back pain, headaches, stiff neck and back, spinal degeneration, blood pressure issues and other complications.
Aside from changing to careers that allow more balance of standing, moving and sitting, less than 8 hours a day and naps ( seriously ), at least stand up for 5 minutes or more every hour will help. And do stretches to open up the anterior chest, torso & hip for a few minutes a couple times per day.
When using a computer, alternate between standing and sitting. And use a large balance ball as a sitting surface, which helps keep our core active in subtle ways to stay balanced on the ball. Also having the monitor set at a level height and angle for the eyes, not tilting head down or up or to either side - but straight ahead is best. And give the eyes a rest throughout the day as well. Remember the eyes have tiny muscles as well.
Being mindful of these and the many other basic things we do with our body, and focusing our mind & emotions to relate with honesty, appreciation, kindness and respect for our own & each others freedom & equal humanity, goes a long way in nurturing our overall wellness, vitality and enjoyment in life.
Creating space - time to open in relative stillness allows layers of accumulated tension to become conscious and release.
Giving - creating space - time to open in relative stillness allows layers of accumulated tension to become conscious and release.
Rather than forcing ourselves to open & deepen our root and stance, opening in stillness and movement with appreciation, honesty and alignment allows release and deepening to organically emerge.
#taichi #taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #yoga #pilates #nia #embodiedmeditation #now #standingmeditation #honesty #movementarts
Rather than forcing ourselves to open & deepen our root and stance, opening in stillness and movement with appreciation, honesty and alignment allows release and deepening to organically emerge.
#taichi #taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #yoga #pilates #nia #embodiedmeditation #now #standingmeditation #honesty #movementarts
Simplicity is sometimes underrated.
Simplicity is sometimes underrated. Even in relatively simple, slow movement and stillness we can experience deep pleasure, awareness, harmony and growth when we engage with honesty, appreciation & curiosity.
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #embodiedmeditation #qigong #yoga #harmoniousembodimentarts
#taichiqigong #zhanzhuang #embodiedmeditation #qigong #yoga #harmoniousembodimentarts
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.
Honesty, Boundaries & Diversity.
The blue sign is one I have prominantly posted in my office
in support of mutual honesty, clarity & respect.
One foundational fact of life is that we live in a world full of diverse individuals with diverse perspectives, defaults of openness and lifestyles. The limits of our personal preferences, boundaries and ways of relating are, of course, not the same for many other women & men.
One requirement for us all to do our part in co-creating mutual understanding and respect for each others equal humanity and freedom, is to simply own our personal responsibility for proactively directly honestly stating if & when we have boundaries, expectations, feelings & preferences with anyone in any context.
Before expecting to have such understood & thereby equally respected in this diverse world. And respecting such if & when honestly directly specifically clearly told & understood.
A major source of disharmony and divisiveness among people is the refusal to recognize & own ones negative assumptions that the limits of ones own understanding comfort & boundaries are or should be oppressively forced to be the default of all other women & men. And not owning ones' own related projections, passive aggressive and directly dishonest misleading behaviors and the effects of such.
Combined with the passive aggressive or direct refusal to proactively directly communicate ones boundaries and preferences & relate directly openly honestly with each other in order to co-create clear mutual understanding & thereby respect.
The fear of being fully openly honest with oneself and each other in a nondogmatic, exploratory way is, unfortunately, a normalized way of relating for many. As we learn to evolve beyond that pattern of relating, we greatly increase our capacity for authenticity, mutual respect, freedom & humanitarian love.
This first image ( blue marble background with blue border ) above this text, is a sign I made and have posted prominently in my office. Which I also always verbally state for mutual clarity & respect when first meeting people, because of these facts.
Through the years I've experienced countless women, and occassionally some men, indirectly & directly express desire for, and do things indirectly and directly during massages I give and in other contexts, which are within and beyond my personal preference, boundaries or comfort for what I'm open to giving or doing during paid massage sessions or generally. Or at least more open than the most conservative attitudes.
A large percentage of women I meet relate with what could be considered fairly open, european attitudes about their body during sessions & generally.
As have some of the massage teachers in schools I learned from.
These are facts which many people wonder about but are self conscious, ashamed or fearful to openly honestly ask about & discuss.
Yet that fear, reluctance or taboo about such non reactive open honest discussion just creates & perpetuates needless fear, confusing behaviors, multi-layered assumptions, dishonesty and shame in people.
Creating a barrier to true wellness, honesty, mutual understanding, love & respect.
Although I have my personal boundaries and preferences relative to paid massage sessions and generally in life, I respect other people's ranges of defaults of openness, desires & comfort even when different than my own. Even if I am not comfortable with such.
As long as my boundaries are also respected, including for open honest direct mutually respectful communication. And I am not abusively negatively projected onto, passive aggressively or directly misleadingly lied to or about, which I do not meekly tolerate.
The fact of such diverse preferences & defaults is why I am open to honestly discussing such truths.
To be mutually respectful & non shaming of the diverse range of humans default openness, boundaries, interpretations, desires, appreciation and preferences.
Because I care equally about women and men and individuals freedom to explore, appreciate, have boundaries, desires & ways of learning & relating both similarly and diversely from my own preferences at any time.
As long as people equally respect my boundaries and preferences when I tell them and dont lie, there is no real reason to feel offended.
Thankfully many women & men I meet and provide sessions for relate in mutually respectful, openly honestly communicative ways with me.
And unfortunately I have also experienced some women violate my stated boundaries, including by being - relating misleadingly passive-aggressively & directly manipulatively, dishonestly, negatively projecting. Some aggressively pushing past & acting vindictive when told my stated boundaries and having their desires declined for more than I was open to giving or relating with them. To try to steal and in other ways project their own shadow, dishonest issues onto me & the world.
And some people have chosen to misinterpret - project negatively or as expectations or demands for relating with them, my simply honestly mentioning these facts and asking for open honest communication for clarity and honesty.
( Those behaviors are actual abuse & disrespect. Which I do not meekly tolerate. )
Openly honest, authentic communicating & relating with people is a strong preference & my default. Beyond the blinders of personal, ideological and related biased assumptions. Which is why I include open honest discussion also of these aspects of human beings & life.
Rather than skirting around such subjects as many people do but quietly hold layers of assumptions, beliefs & questions which they do not ask & communicate openly honestly with each other about.
Mutually open honest, direct communicating about these & other aspects of life, with each other is essential to co-create mutual understanding, respect, freedom & care in this world with so many diverse default ranges of openness, boundaries, related interpetations, preferences & appreciation.
While I am not shaming of individuals desires & openness even when beyond my own boundaries & comfort, as to do is unhealthy, unloving, hateful & hypocritical, I still have my own boundaries & preferences. Including for ways of giving & relating which I consider more overtly intimately affectionate.
Friendships are far more important and prefered by me than sexual relating without such, for many reasons.
And I prefer to reserve overtly sexual affection to times where money is not exchanged, and an ongoing personal relationship is nurtured.
The point of sharing about such aspects of life so openly - honestly is to support us all in remembering that we are equally human & have diverse defaults of boundaries & openness, interpretations & preferences.
And mutual openly honest, proactively direct communicating with each other about our personal boundaries, preferences, expectations & feelings is essential for co-creating mutual understanding, respect and harmony.
As is respecting each others diverse ranges of default openness, and boundaries once directly honestly told & thereby understood exactly what, when and where they are.
Just because people have different defaults of openness, interests, ways of exploring and learning different than our own preferences, does not invalidate our own or theirs.
Rather than devolving into abusive knee jerk negative assumptions of peoples intentions, feeling offended or angry at people for not mind-readingly knowing & sharing our limits of comfort & interpretations at some moment in time, we can choose sane, mutually respectful & non hypocritical ways of being and relating.
Choosing instead to be & relate with maturity. By contributing to the healthy freedom, harmony & kindness in life by respecting each others equal freedom to be, offer, explore, relate and interpret life and relating both kindredly and differently without jumping to feel hateful, offended or blaming for not being mind readers of our own limits of appreciation and preferences.
Treating each other with equal respect for our shared humanity & freedom to live & explore similarly and diversely.
This is how we co-create heaven on earth, so to speak.
Not by dogmatically attempting to oppressively force one religion, ideology, belief system or personal preference onto everyone else.
But by communicating our boundaries & preferences with each other honestly proactively for mutual understanding & respect.
Respecting each others boundaries once clearly told what they are.
And by respecting each others freedom to be both kindred & different, as we want our freedom to be equally respected.
Living & relating with this mutual kind regard & appreciation frees our consciousness from the stunting blinders of dogmatic thinking. Opening our heart & mind to more clearly love & respect each other. While also allowing for more freedom & growth in our own appreciative awareness.
Another positive effect of this is a gradual releasing, relaxing of mental & emotional tension. And an expansion of our capacity for appreciation and open honesty.
One requirement for us all to do our part in co-creating mutual understanding and respect for each others equal humanity and freedom, is to simply own our personal responsibility for proactively directly honestly stating if & when we have boundaries, expectations, feelings & preferences with anyone in any context.
Before expecting to have such understood & thereby equally respected in this diverse world. And respecting such if & when honestly directly specifically clearly told & understood.
A major source of disharmony and divisiveness among people is the refusal to recognize & own ones negative assumptions that the limits of ones own understanding comfort & boundaries are or should be oppressively forced to be the default of all other women & men. And not owning ones' own related projections, passive aggressive and directly dishonest misleading behaviors and the effects of such.
Combined with the passive aggressive or direct refusal to proactively directly communicate ones boundaries and preferences & relate directly openly honestly with each other in order to co-create clear mutual understanding & thereby respect.
The fear of being fully openly honest with oneself and each other in a nondogmatic, exploratory way is, unfortunately, a normalized way of relating for many. As we learn to evolve beyond that pattern of relating, we greatly increase our capacity for authenticity, mutual respect, freedom & humanitarian love.
This first image ( blue marble background with blue border ) above this text, is a sign I made and have posted prominently in my office. Which I also always verbally state for mutual clarity & respect when first meeting people, because of these facts.
Through the years I've experienced countless women, and occassionally some men, indirectly & directly express desire for, and do things indirectly and directly during massages I give and in other contexts, which are within and beyond my personal preference, boundaries or comfort for what I'm open to giving or doing during paid massage sessions or generally. Or at least more open than the most conservative attitudes.
A large percentage of women I meet relate with what could be considered fairly open, european attitudes about their body during sessions & generally.
As have some of the massage teachers in schools I learned from.
These are facts which many people wonder about but are self conscious, ashamed or fearful to openly honestly ask about & discuss.
Yet that fear, reluctance or taboo about such non reactive open honest discussion just creates & perpetuates needless fear, confusing behaviors, multi-layered assumptions, dishonesty and shame in people.
Creating a barrier to true wellness, honesty, mutual understanding, love & respect.
Although I have my personal boundaries and preferences relative to paid massage sessions and generally in life, I respect other people's ranges of defaults of openness, desires & comfort even when different than my own. Even if I am not comfortable with such.
As long as my boundaries are also respected, including for open honest direct mutually respectful communication. And I am not abusively negatively projected onto, passive aggressively or directly misleadingly lied to or about, which I do not meekly tolerate.
The fact of such diverse preferences & defaults is why I am open to honestly discussing such truths.
To be mutually respectful & non shaming of the diverse range of humans default openness, boundaries, interpretations, desires, appreciation and preferences.
Because I care equally about women and men and individuals freedom to explore, appreciate, have boundaries, desires & ways of learning & relating both similarly and diversely from my own preferences at any time.
As long as people equally respect my boundaries and preferences when I tell them and dont lie, there is no real reason to feel offended.
Thankfully many women & men I meet and provide sessions for relate in mutually respectful, openly honestly communicative ways with me.
And unfortunately I have also experienced some women violate my stated boundaries, including by being - relating misleadingly passive-aggressively & directly manipulatively, dishonestly, negatively projecting. Some aggressively pushing past & acting vindictive when told my stated boundaries and having their desires declined for more than I was open to giving or relating with them. To try to steal and in other ways project their own shadow, dishonest issues onto me & the world.
And some people have chosen to misinterpret - project negatively or as expectations or demands for relating with them, my simply honestly mentioning these facts and asking for open honest communication for clarity and honesty.
( Those behaviors are actual abuse & disrespect. Which I do not meekly tolerate. )
Openly honest, authentic communicating & relating with people is a strong preference & my default. Beyond the blinders of personal, ideological and related biased assumptions. Which is why I include open honest discussion also of these aspects of human beings & life.
Rather than skirting around such subjects as many people do but quietly hold layers of assumptions, beliefs & questions which they do not ask & communicate openly honestly with each other about.
Mutually open honest, direct communicating about these & other aspects of life, with each other is essential to co-create mutual understanding, respect, freedom & care in this world with so many diverse default ranges of openness, boundaries, related interpetations, preferences & appreciation.
While I am not shaming of individuals desires & openness even when beyond my own boundaries & comfort, as to do is unhealthy, unloving, hateful & hypocritical, I still have my own boundaries & preferences. Including for ways of giving & relating which I consider more overtly intimately affectionate.
Friendships are far more important and prefered by me than sexual relating without such, for many reasons.
And I prefer to reserve overtly sexual affection to times where money is not exchanged, and an ongoing personal relationship is nurtured.
The point of sharing about such aspects of life so openly - honestly is to support us all in remembering that we are equally human & have diverse defaults of boundaries & openness, interpretations & preferences.
And mutual openly honest, proactively direct communicating with each other about our personal boundaries, preferences, expectations & feelings is essential for co-creating mutual understanding, respect and harmony.
As is respecting each others diverse ranges of default openness, and boundaries once directly honestly told & thereby understood exactly what, when and where they are.
Just because people have different defaults of openness, interests, ways of exploring and learning different than our own preferences, does not invalidate our own or theirs.
Rather than devolving into abusive knee jerk negative assumptions of peoples intentions, feeling offended or angry at people for not mind-readingly knowing & sharing our limits of comfort & interpretations at some moment in time, we can choose sane, mutually respectful & non hypocritical ways of being and relating.
Choosing instead to be & relate with maturity. By contributing to the healthy freedom, harmony & kindness in life by respecting each others equal freedom to be, offer, explore, relate and interpret life and relating both kindredly and differently without jumping to feel hateful, offended or blaming for not being mind readers of our own limits of appreciation and preferences.
Treating each other with equal respect for our shared humanity & freedom to live & explore similarly and diversely.
This is how we co-create heaven on earth, so to speak.
Not by dogmatically attempting to oppressively force one religion, ideology, belief system or personal preference onto everyone else.
But by communicating our boundaries & preferences with each other honestly proactively for mutual understanding & respect.
Respecting each others boundaries once clearly told what they are.
And by respecting each others freedom to be both kindred & different, as we want our freedom to be equally respected.
Living & relating with this mutual kind regard & appreciation frees our consciousness from the stunting blinders of dogmatic thinking. Opening our heart & mind to more clearly love & respect each other. While also allowing for more freedom & growth in our own appreciative awareness.
Another positive effect of this is a gradual releasing, relaxing of mental & emotional tension. And an expansion of our capacity for appreciation and open honesty.
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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 natural affection with people in all but the most tightly constrained contexts.
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 natural beauty of being.
Sometimes, afterward, when some people go back to their regular lives they may fall back into old shame, worry, tension & fear fueled patterns of interpreting, feeling & reacting. Which can be perpetuated by relating with others who are interpreting life & people through such lenses of shame, guilt, fear & negative assumptions.
When the driving force in a society, ideologies 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 & open to share beauty, love, exploration and growth through the same & different experiences, that needlessly creates divisiveness, fear & hate. It distorts perception & feelings.
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 natural beauty of being.
Sometimes, afterward, when some people go back to their regular lives they may fall back into old shame, worry, tension & fear fueled patterns of interpreting, feeling & reacting. Which can be perpetuated by relating with others who are interpreting life & people through such lenses of shame, guilt, fear & negative assumptions.
When the driving force in a society, ideologies 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 & open to share beauty, love, exploration and growth through the same & different experiences, that needlessly creates divisiveness, fear & hate. It distorts perception & feelings.
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
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 in many contexts.
It is unfortunately ( in my belief ) common in our society for many people to view & relate at - rather than openly honestly 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.
Hopefully we mature to equally include each other in our empathy. To recognize, admit and transform where & when we have done such in our ways of viewing & relating with 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.
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.
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.
