A stop light moment
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A stop light moment
I would not have known years ago how powerful and beautiful it can be to change my thoughts and feelings and experience a different reality just by moving my body in a more purposeful and connected way.
When I reflect on how much my life has changed because of this understanding and consider those times where I have focussed my awareness on how I am moving, I’m reminded of a particular day where I was driving to work. I was stopped at the traffic lights and as I sat there waiting, I realised that my body felt quite tense – I was literally gripping the wheel as I had been thinking about what had to be done that day at work. In that moment of observing my tension, I let go of my shoulders and did an exercise that I do quite often. The exercise is simply lifting your chest up and outward and then rolling your arms over so that your palms are facing the sky.
I noticed as I did this exercise and stayed present with the movement of my body, my chest opened up and I could feel a warmth spread through my whole body, as if I had made it easier for the blood to flow. This had the effect of dissolving any thoughts that were passing through me moments before, so I was no longer completely in my head because I was feeling my whole body in a more aware and present way.
Even though the movement was subtle, I experienced a very different reality in that moment – a reality that was much more spacious. I felt an openness that felt to be connecting to something bigger than in the previous moment.
I had a sense that everything I needed in that moment was right there with me.
The moment before had been cluttered with thoughts of what had to be done, worrying about how I would get it done and overall feeling unequipped to meet my expectations. Allowing myself to feel the tension in my body that resulted from those thoughts was a stop moment, and it brought my attention to how those thoughts were running me. With that new awareness I could now bring focus to adjusting how I held my body and with the movement from a simple exercise, the only thing I brought with me into that next moment was my absolute presence. It was a completely fresh moment.
That’s where I felt a sense of purpose, and a feeling of my movements not only being powerful but being more than only for me. I felt like there was so much more potential to access and know. It felt like I was literally saying, “Okay, I’m here… I’m ready for what’s next”. I was connected with something much grander than just my human self, which I have come to know as my Soul.
For me in those stop moments now, it’s like saying, “Soul, move me, I’m with you”.
I still experience those stop / start moments within my day, and with each one of them I am building on living more moments that are free of the clutter and fiction that can be everyday life. I’m choosing to move more from the absolute simplicity of being present with my body and how I move so that I can align to a greater sense of purpose and clarity in all that I do.
Every moment deserves that quality that only we can bring. Of course it’s not about trying to be perfect at it, but more and more choosing a movement in that moment that allows space and flow and the absolute potential for so much more.
Our very being is full of purpose when we are present with our bodies – these divine vessels that are capable of so much when moving from their own innate rhythm, the rhythm of our Soul.
Filed under
Body awareness, Conscious presence, Tension, Work stress, Surrender
