"Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It's been three and a half years since my last shiatsu treatment...."
I know what you're saying .... what's wrong with me? And then I expect my clients to be more regular visitors? I mean, I know how great this stuff is... what's my excuse?
Whatever.
Point is, I finally went yesterday to see my friend and lifesaver, Diane .. she of the contagious laugh and the listening hands. She who can make me cry before she even touches me, because she has a way of nailing me on whatever mind games I'm laying on myself.
In a compassionate way, of course.
A lovely little lesson I learned, for example, was the profound connection between "But I HAVE to..." and chronic physical contraction.
As in, "But I HAVE to.... (make this much income; drink less; exercise more; eat better; become a superior mom, shiatsu person, human being) ... and if I don't... well, you know....
The "Have To's" had taken up residence in my left shoulder and neck, and my lower back. The "I'll Never Be Good Enough's" were lodged in my chest and digestive system. "This World Is Too Much" was sitting on my lungs and crouched just behind my eyes, ready to let loose with the tears at any moment.
Diane reminded me how the "Have To's" were driving me the last time I had visited her, and how well that was (not!) working out for me.
Oh, and hey, guess what?
When the body contracts around the mind's imperatives to push push push, the horizons of possibilities narrows, the mind gets more frantic, the body contracts further, and so on and so on and shooby-dooby-dooby.
And while it would seem that meeting pressure with pressure would be the obvious way to address this (oh pleasepleaseplease just dig your elbow in under my shoulderblade...!) I was again blown away at how a simple holding of points in strategic locations freed up my back, my neck, my breathing, my mind.
Her fingertips just outside my ankles relaxed my lower lumbar and sacrum. Her fingers in my ears (!) caused my shoulders to drop. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "You have a neck again."
Not exacty a case study for shiatsu, (maybe one more for shin tai) but still a potentially astonishing example of how one's body can really reflect one's state of mind.
I have a client whom I've been working with for a year. Among other things, one aspect that always stood out for me was the twisting of her body, and especially how this presented in the disparity of her leg length.
It was obvious when she was lying face down: her left shoulder blade protruded slightly posterior, and the angle of her sacrum was hard to miss. And in both face down and face up psoitions, you could see how one leg not only appeared almost an inch and a half shorter than the other, but was turned out about 10 degrees more than the other leg.
While this condition didn't seem to cause her pain or even a call for her attention, I did try to address it on occasion (she had a number of other things going on that would appear as a priority), but with little success.
Yesterday, however, during our session, I noticed while she was lying face down that her legs were much closer in length. Making a mental note but not really thinking too much of it until she was face-up, I realized there was definitely a shift.
Usually when she first flips over, the legs will appear close to even, but as I work, and she relaxes, the disparity will reveal itself again and the one foot will flop way over to the side.
It just didn't happen this time.
After the session, she shared an experience she had during the past week. She was required to take a test as part of her job, one that typically caused her a great deal of fear and anxiety. The person who she was supposed to do this with was a no-show and she was instead paired with the head of the department, who, beside just giving her some advice in regards to her fear, also gave her, in her words, "life lessons".
She realized that she had never really committed to this job, that she went into it intending to just do this for a couple years then retire. She'd approached these tests, and her job, with just enough skimming of the material to get by. In her mind she'd be gone in a month anyway, and even though here it is twenty years down the road, she still had one foot out the door.
This man suggested to her that if she were to just commit to this, put herself into it, take the time to really learn the material... and this was true of anything.. her job, a hobby, whatever it is she's doing in her life ... put herself into it fully, the fear would disappear for her, and all would flow more smoothly. She would know this stuff -- it would be a part of her and there would be nothing to worry about.
I told her about my "hips" post, and we both agreed that approaching our lives wholeheartedly creates a sense of effortlessness.. a word that she sang over and over, as it's been a belief and desire she's always had..that life could be effortless.
Could it be that her body responded to this reconciliation? That it was now no longer reflecting this inner conflict?
The Gall Bladder meridian, which governs decision-making and expenditure of resources, runs down the sides of our bodies, right through the hips. So, when we are indecisive or are experiencing inner conflict, this is the area of our physical structure most directly affected.
I see many, MANY people (and myself included) that present with these mismatched sides. Is it a predominant symptom of our culture to have this lack of congruency between who we are and what we're wanting to achieve?
And an even larger philosophical question, can an emphasis on freedom of choice throw us into a state of perpetual indecisiveness, and a fear of commitment?
I've often referred to myself as a bodyworker. Which sometimes has had the effect of giving the impression that I work on cars.
That confusion aside, there has also been the reference made to shiatsu as energy work, I suppose because the primary intention is on the meridians and therefore, ki flow, and therefore, energy flow throughout the body.
But, unlike say, Reiki, shiatsu often does require applying pressure to the body as well as using other physical techniques.
So, which is it?
Well, if you want to get technical, some would say that our bodies are energy. And that we actually have other, more etheric bodies that extend out far beyond our physical boundaries. It is in these bodies that our 'stuff' develops, and only when those issues aren't addressed, do they manifest in the denser physical body as illness.
One piece of writing I came across referred to our physical bodies as the 'energetic trash can' for our spiritual, mental and emotional layers. It also notes, as I've written about before, that our central nervous system is the interface between the denser physical and lighter outer bodies. If you can visualize the CNS as an antenna of sorts... bringing in vibratory information from the 'external' world to affect the tissues, organs, muscles and bodily functions, as well as sending out vibrations like a tuning fork, you can get a sense of the intention of the shin tai work I do, which is to clear any restrictions and stuckness from around the spine, within which the spinal cord and the CNS signals travel (as well as one of the main trunks of the meridian system, the Governing Vesel).
So, I guess, long story short, the body really is energy, and what we do to the body affects the energy. (And likewise, what we do to the energy affects the body..)
Interacting lately with sound healing ninja, Fabeka Fatunmise, I have been reminded of my shin tai teacher, Saul Goodman, who operated on the perspective that the truly healthy body has resonance. Listening to Fabeku's singing bowls, and feeling the vibrations penetrate deep within me, I can totally get what he means by that.
The shin tai work, as I've written before (in part one of a series that kinda languished), is about restoring that resonance. And so what does that mean?
If you have any experience with stringed instruments, bring to your mind a visual of that. A guitar string, for example, plucked gently, will vibrate and waves of clear and true sound will emanate outward. Pulled too tautly or with too much give, or even some hindrance on the string, and the sound is dull, flat, and lacking in fullness.
In shiatsu, we can view the body in a similar way, with the spine and central nervous system being the physical manifestation of the instrument of resonance. Palpation and rocking of the body show us where stuckness and tautness is held, as well as where energy is lacking. And the wave motion (or lack thereof) of the backbone with each breath, shows us where the guitar string needs tuning.
When our bodies are in tune, we feel a more healthy and free interchange with our environment and the other beings in it... like the way a tuning fork can start to hum within the proximity of another that is vibrating. Harmony. Resonance. We have more clarity about what and who we do resonate with, and what we don't.
Physical issues... tension, posture, injuries... all these things can impinge on our resonance, but so can emotional stuff. Inner conflicts. Which makes sense as this is the stuff that generally gets manifested in our physical form and subdues and distorts our true tone.
I'd to explore some of those things in future posts, and identify what goes in to creating a resonant life. Or rather allowing your natural resonance to be expressed.
*A phrase used with the practice of shin tai referring to the course a shiatsu session will take depending on what presents itself as priority in the receiver's body.*
I bring this up because there's something in me, and maybe you as well, that resists structure. Hate it. Even self-imposed. Okay, especially self-imposed.
I can make award-winning to-do lists, I can prioritize till the cows come home, but there are very few days when I can devote my time easily to each item of my list, and check them all off. Or even three of those items.
Attention and focusing issues? Yeah, probably. I blame chronic baby-brain (even though my youngest 'baby' is eight years old.) Lack of self-discipline and motivation? More than likely. But someone wise once wrote (and I should find this person again to profusely thank her) something to the effect of that you have to start out with motivation to get motivated. Or something similarly conundrum-sounding. I just remember going, yeah, exactly.
Another wise and insightful person suggested that we naturally move more rhythmically than what conventional productivity wisdom tells us, and in fact, she helps women find and make the best of their unique groove.
I like that. But I also lose sight of it. And then I came to see the parallels between time management and priority of treatment.
When following the P of T, a shiatsu practitioner recognizes that there are a number of levels of energetic manifestation in a human body: the dense physical structure, the meridians, the fascia, the chakras, the etheric bodies. And it seems that our core energy system can be better accessed through some levels better than other. Also, this access level can change throughout the course of a session. Depends on the person, depends on the practitioner, and a whole host of other factors. It's our job to find the way in on each unique body, to find that button that shifts the whole tone of the session. For example, sometimes meridian work may not be doing a whole lot, but turn the attention to the fascia, and (ahhhh!) the whole body just melts and relaxes. Instant connection.
So, this is what I'm noticing about my to-do list. The multitude of activities on it engage different parts of my brain, or in some cases, like housework, none at all. There are days when I can't write a blog post to save my life, other days when I can do nothing else. (And many days when Quicken incites me to fantasies about laptop-flinging...I have to be really attentive to those openings, and maybe even use a little force on myself to hunker down with budget spreadsheets.)
I'm thinking the key is to look over the tasks at hand for the day and notice where is the most accessible way in. It's hard when certain items seem urgent, but even so, pushing against them, like trying to get a muscle to relax with an ineffective technique, just spins my mental wheels and makes me feel frustrated.
Also, certain days and times of day have an effect on the openings. Like trying to write when the whole house is still asleep obviously goes much easier.
It's like a dance. And it requires a certain level of awareness and listening.. a kind of panning out to see the whole picture of the day, and a honing back in on the details. For me, I like to mix it up, between cerebral work, like budgeting stuff, and more physical grounding housework or pulling weeds.
Everything needs to get done, and somehow it all does. At least the most important things.
How about you? How do you work best and get through your workday?
PS... I should tell you though, sometimes it's about finding the right structure, as in one that reflects the way you most effectively work. Setting up the dance floor in such a way that you don't keep banging your shins on the furniture....know what I mean?
PPS... Thank you again, Lisa Hunter, for setting me on this path, and showing me that there was another way to see productivity. And for the dance floor metaphor...
PPPS ... More on how you can apply P of T to your life coming soon.
After indulging in a small but intense rant yesterday (and receiving a few affirming comments), I got to thinking things like: Okay, so now what?
And: If one can't figure out whether one's funk is due to physical or emotional conditions, where does one start in order to make some positive changes?
And: Does one really have to know which came first, the mind or the body, in order to get out of one's funk? (Because, usually what happens is that a deeper funk.. not to mention crazy-making.. can be created just from the mental masturbation of it all... at least for me.)
I think these are questions coming out of a more Western scientific mindset ... in which one should investigate possibilities, narrow down and identify root causes, then apply a 'proven' solution. Get a handle on that whole 'chicken or egg' dilemma. For such specificity, it's interesting that what often follows is a one-size-fits-all prescription for that particular condition, regardless of context.
Barring some hugely as-of-yet undetected health issue, do I really have that kind of time and patience to do such thorough and potentially unnecessary research? Do you? Or, as it hit me last night, can I just use my shiatsu-mindset (more of the Zen approach) to look at the overall picture and notice where the opening is?
In other words, what would be the easiest area to create change in right now? Where can I introduce movement in either body or mind, with as little effort as possible, that will shake loose other areas of stuckness?
Because, really, that's what a lot of this feels like... stuckness. And as one place gets stuck (a thought or feeling I can't let go of, a sore hip, a conflict with a loved one, lethargy) it's like a domino effect. Then, there's just no energy for anything.
In Asian thought, the physical, emotional and mental all arise together. Working on one will generally affect the others... not usually a necessary need to determine where the imbalance appeared first.
And, what appears as an opening may or may not have anything to do with a 'root cause'. Zen shiatsu is about meeting the whole body as it presents itself in the moment. Seeing the area of greatest distortion and making balance there. Shin tai, as well, is about awareness of how to access deeper energy levels starting with whichever one appears as 'priority'. Maybe that's not the 'problem' area, but it's a way of getting to the deeper and more resistant layers.
Back to my laundry list of potential causes of funkiness... (or yours... bring 'em if you got 'em!) here's what I try to do, once I finally stop whining for a moment:
First, a brief mental shutting up. Rein that brain back in and get present. My method: bring awareness to sensations in my body at that moment.
Then, bring awareness to what's actually happening in the room around me... no interpretation. Just noticing.
It is usually with this exercise that I notice 9 times out of 10 there is nothing happening in that moment that is actually 'wrong'. This makes it easier to separate out the uncomfortable physical sensations or thoughts from the reality. As well as breathe.
Now. Is there something I can do in this moment to bring relief, or motion? Big thoughts like, I should eat better, or start exercising, or fix my marriage, are generally too huge to deal with that minute, and will often create a physical sensation of resistance or stress. What about a cup of tea? Or an apple? Or a gripe session call or email to a friend? A nap? A walk? A good cry? A glass of wine? (Yes, I know, not the ideal holistic solution. However, alcohol = yin. Stuckness and contraction = yang. Yin is expansive, and I think, used consciously and judiciously, it can have a place in helping to relieve a pressurized situation. Unless you have an issue with alcohol dependence. In which case, that would be really irresponsible advice on my part.)
Sure, there's a point at which short-term methods become a means of avoiding deeper, harder issues. Funkiness can actually be an unconscious way of avoiding more dynamic and scary forward motion toward real change. Development of self-listening skills are crucial in determining whether we are in denial that something larger is at work. But we need to be able to at least relieve the immediate funky overwhelm.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 06:44PM | 5 Comments
Whether you think it's 'the bomb' or complete and utter BS, there's no doubt the 'Law of Attraction' has hit mainstream consciousness.
This 'theory' that we humans are able to create our own realities by fleshing out a vision of what we want to that reality to be: prosperity, vibrant health, fulfilling relationships, and then positioning one's mindset in an expectation that these experiences are already coming to us, making it irresistible to the ever-responsive Universe to 'make it so', has understandably attracted many, many followers, and of course, many critics and detractors.
I have been intrigued by the idea of "deliberate creation' for some time, say around 12 years. I can understand, from a naysayers perspective, how the idea of 'attracting' wealth, and success, and all good things, runs counter to the noble and traditional Protestant work ethic, leaving itself open to criticism, especially when these ideas always seem to be presented by spokespeople of the fringe, and with an air of total self-gratification, and just a little greed.
It's a shame that this potentially useful tool has become so maligned, particularly when probably all of us make use of its principles under other names.
I'm not so well-equipped with the scientific understanding or vocabulary of how this all works, and while I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me could fill in most gaps, I also believe there is still a realm of as-yet-undiscovered capabilities of the human nervous system that would account for the seemingly mystical workings of the law of attraction.
But here's what I think.
For one, we got a heck of a lot more going on in our brains than we are aware of. I'm sure there's some scientifically-established number given to the particular bits of sensory information that bombard our brain in every moment. But suffice it to say that it's a lot more than we could process and still be able to function throughout the day. As a necessity, our conscious mind acts as a filter, and the parameters of that filter are determined by past experiences, beliefs, paradigms, expectations, etc. We are not, nor can we ever really be totally objective observers.
Life is undoubtedly full of endless variations and possibilities. Stuff going on all the time, with quite possibly no real rhyme or reason, or meaning, except we what we humans ascribe to it, once again, based on the parameters mentioned above. It's what we pay attention to and the meanings we overlay onto the events we notice that shape our unique experiences.
The foundation of the law of attraction, and really of anything we set out to do, is the setting of an intention. On a conscious level, this determines where we want our path to lead. On a subconscious level, a clear stated intention sends a message to the brain to adjust the criteria of the filter... allowing our subconscious to bring our attention to those things happening in the external world that will help us reach our goal that we might otherwise have missed. I think we grossly underestimate the feedback loop.. how our belief systems shape not only shape what we pay attention to, and how we interpret those things, but affect the subtleties in our words, tone, and actions that reinforce those beliefs. And then, of course, how the world around us responds in kind. People who 'magically' or synchronistically appear in our lives at the right moment may have actually been there all along, but through the power of intention (or expectation), we just happened to more receptive at that moment.
Believe me, I'm not discounting the wonder and miraculous nature of this process... on the contrary, I am in continual awe as I discover how much more capability we have in the human form that we've believed up until recently. A certain prominent voice in the "Law of Attraction" field has likened the human form to a radio antenna, and setting our intentions is like adjusting our radio frequency. My Shin tai teacher, Saul Goodman, also believes in the resonant and vibratory nature of our central nervous systems, affirming the power of the mind/body connection, and radio frequency-like nature of our physical forms. This is the aspect that I will refrain from going into here, but it offers continued support of the idea that our attitudes, beliefs, life experiences, expectations and moods shape and are shaped by our physical posture... we project out into the world our particular paradigm, and we are receptive only to that sensory stimulus which supports those paradigms.
The 'L of A' folks, in my opinion, are really only encouraging a challenge of those paradigms.
But we can talk about that in other ways as well.
When we hear about 'putting yourself in vibratory alignment with your desires' what does that mean? It means that no matter how much you may want the object of your desire, if your entrenched underlying beliefs systems run counter to attaining that goal, and your subconscious filters are keeping potential opportunities from entering your field of conscious awareness, the status quo will hold firm. I believe most of us have experience with self-sabotage.. the underlying need to keep things as they are, without threatening the dominant paradigm. "Vibratory alignment" also suggests that your actions, and your mind/body posturing have to reflect the belief and environment within which the outcome of your desire can exist.
I think too many people, both supporters and critics of the "L of A" have come to equate it with 'positive (or even, 'wishful') thinking". Sonia Simone, in her awesome post, "Are You Ready for Your Audition?" says:
"You’re getting more chances than you realize to strut your stuff for someone who could help you. (I’m convinced
that this is how the “Law of Attraction” really works. Great stuff
doesn’t show up because you focus on it. You’re just able to suddenly perceive all the great stuff that’s always been right in front of you, because you focus on it. )"
Which I guess I could have said just as simply.
So, the question is: Do you want to know what signal you are projecting? Start by listening to your own story about what you're receiving. Feel free to email me your insights, or share them here.
Friday, November 5, 2010 at 11:41AM | 
