the challenges are still there, but I have changed
For those of you that have been coming to the live classes, you know I had quite a month. A clogged pipe created flooding in our bedroom, my daughter got lice and gave it to me (twice), and my thyroid went kaput. I’m sure each of you reading this could insert three of your own recent challenges. I know some of you are caring for aging parents or ailing partners, others are experiencing job insecurity and health concerns.
When I hit a rough patch, I’m especially thankful that I have experience with such a versatile somatic practice as Feldenkrais. Many times I rely on this work to settle little physical discomforts like a pinch in my neck or low back, but just as often I turn to it for managing the emotional ups and downs that life inevitably brings. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I lie on the floor for a few minutes and roll my head side to side or take a few intentional breaths. This calms my nervous system and helps me to restore energy when I’m spent. When I return to the upright, all the challenges are still there, but I have changed. I am calmer, I can think more clearly, and I can use my energy more efficiently. Developing this skill took time. Sharing this skill with others is my passion.
The versatility of Feldenkrais also brings to mind a recent comment by Kay, who has returned to class after a seven-year pause. She said, “I used to do Feldenkrais to find alignment to support my dancing. Now I do it to experience creativity, or disorder, or rest. The reasons why have expanded.” I can relate to that, too. Sometimes I get on the floor for no other reason than it just feels really good.
Developing more patience and compassion is another wonderful quality that one develops within this practice. See more on that below in the Community Notes! And if you need more resources for building patience, I found this recent dharma talk by Shugen Roshi incredibly helpful.
Community Notes:
At the end of Friday's lesson, I was quiet. To myself I said, OK, you didn't get it but it will come. Then I woke up on Saturday morning and somehow the pattern had put itself in place. I could feel what I understood intellectually but was not feeling in my body on Friday.
Today I redid the lesson with the excellent recording. Also, yesterday l watched the video attentively. While doing the lesson, the movements and the breathing were working together. It felt so good!
There are never definitive answers to anything (I think), but the conundrum of my body and the "life attitudes" it puts into motion no longer seems to be the frustrating and opaque mystery it used to be. You play a big role in that.
The biggest lesson I took away from Friday was learning to say, "OK, you didn't get it today, but it will come." Boy, does that make life a lot easier!
The patience and openness to both confusion and learning are what I am learning with you! I am changing as a person. So often these days, in a frustrating situation, I shrug my shoulders and do my best, allowing time to play its role in the process. I notice I get much less upset, I don't "fly off the handle" the way I used to. —Nancy