In order to advance, I walk the treadmill of myself …

In order to advance, I walk the treadmill of myself
…

I love this opening line of Jean Tardieu’s poem and I think of it every year at this time.

For years I made resolutions. With all of the wrong qualities. There were far too many of them and they were impossible to achieve. Over time I got better at making realistic (and pleasant) goals, but there was still something about making a list that pitted me against myself.

By contrast, the feeling I get from this poem is a sense of continuity and expansion. There’s a sense of an ongoing practice of self reflection and self knowledge. For me, Awareness Through Movement (ATM) is the practice where I walk the treadmill of myself again and again. It’s no longer a habit but a way of being.

ATM is largely marketed as a pain management practice, and it has absolutely taught me how to take good care of my body. But the real gift of committing to this practice for the past 18 years is attention. It’s finely tuned attention that has given me agency over my internal experience. It’s my deepest pleasure to help others to build and strengthen this skill.

The Tardieu poem closes as powerfully as it opens: But within, no more boundaries!


Wishing you an opening and closing to the coming year that’s as potent as Tardieu’s poem.