Thursday, November 15, 2007

Body Mind Spirit Play


HOUSTON, Spring 2004: The stained-glass windows in my studio were flung open on a crisp spring day. I was dressing the massage table for my next client when I heard the faint sound of laughter. My third-story walk-up studio was near Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, and I had a bird’s-eye view of the playground from my bathroom window. It sprawled over an entire half block along Fairview Street. Kids were out for recess doing what kids have done for recess since the Dark Ages, or at least since I was a kid in the 1960s. I paused at the window to enjoy the sights and sounds of kids playing and having fun.

Two teams of kids scampered across the grass playing kick ball. Three girls added giggles of delight to their cartwheels. Phys-ed teams leaped like frogs, racing each other to a finish line; the winning team let loose a whoop. A gang of girls practiced cheers, stacking themselves into a human pyramid and laughing when it fell down. The playground could have been any circus, with the acrobats wearing red or blue school uniforms instead of colorful sequins and feathers. The breeze carried the sounds of squealing, happy children.

I pondered a mystery of life. Sometimes I still wonder why I was in such a hurry to grow up. Somewhere along the way the carefree play of children shifted to the march of adulthood. We traded running, jumping and tumbling for walking, standing, and sitting. Instead of crawling through bushes like kids, as grown-ups we lean against water-coolers. Rather than stomp around the great outdoors, we sit at our desks for too-long hours. We trade glee for the safety of our paychecks.

At a certain age we began to really slow down. The normal movements of our every day suddenly caused a dull ache that often, over time, spasmed into full-blown pain. We attributed these accumulating aches and pains to “getting old.” We resigned ourselves to the march of time without ever asking, “Does it have to be this way?”

The answer is, “No. It doesn’t.” I don’t believe in “getting old,” per se. I believe that with our minds focused on the daily rat race, our bodies simply forget how to feel vital and free: a classic case of “You lose what you don’t use.” Those once young and limber bodies have become tired and brittle.

One natural antidote to the ravages of time is to realize consciousness throughout the body’s five essential intelligences. A somatic life empowers a man or woman to live with a relaxed and concentrated mind; a strong, flexible body, and with sparkling, mature emotions that enables that person to share their love with others. It is a life that is dynamic, creative and harmonious. The bedrock of this vital life is our physical intelligence, the first layer of consciousness. The physical IQ is the densest of the five layers so that it can provide a stable foundation. It includes our muscles, joints, and bones, as well as the connective tissues: the tendons, ligaments, and fascia.


Be Brilliant.
Love your way, ad
Alan Davidson, founder of
http://www.throughyourbody.com/
and author of Body Brilliance:
Mastering Your Five Vital
Intelligences (IQs)

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body
1103 Peveto St.
Houston, TX 77019713-942-0923

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