What I love about teaching Alexander Technique is how thinking about what I'm going to say to my student, as well as the work itself, has me delve more deeply into what it means to be aware of where I am in space and time. I've been working with Rana twice a day, interspersed with walks in the countryside, some weeding, just sitting outside, and also a fair amount of typing on my iPad. I haven't yet figured out how to use my iPad without compressing myself somewhere, somehow, which as a teacher of ease is especially confounding! It also alerts me to my operating perception of needing to be online, to stay up-to-date with everyone else's goings-on, to find answers to my questions. Ideally, I would be able to successfully manage my physical well-being while checking email and scrolling through posts. But what if those are mutually exclusive? In the interest of confronting my own bad habits, I am asking myself: Can I take a break from Facebook? Can I, for a little while, just stay focused on my own experience? Can I let go of wondering what to do next, and just be here now? I've given myself the gift of being in a novel place, removed from any sense of everyday, and the Alexander Technique is an exceptional means to awaken all my senses, to give up any impulse to get ahead of myself.
I mentioned in a prior post that I have infrequently wondered if I could have lucid dreams. It's not surprising that I haven't managed yet, because I haven't been clear what I might do if I were to become lucid in a dream. But working with Rana and being in a secluded environment gave me an idea. Before going to sleep last night and again after waking from my first dream, I intended to become lucid by repeating the phrase 'I'm dreaming,' since sooner or later I would be - and hopefully I'd realize it! My intention, once lucid, was to be Fully Aware in my body – to use all my Alexander Technique training to be as Here, Now, in my physicality as humanly (!) possible, and to express love and appreciation for every cell in my body.
I didn't quite make it to lucidity in my dreams last night, but one was actively physical (successfully navigating traffic on a bicycle) and the other was visual as well as auditory (I heard a voice speak in French a poem that was being filled in as I watched, a poem expressing confidence in my abilities). The feeling I experienced upon waking from both dreams was a deep sense of appreciation for me, like what you can sense emanating from a parent or teacher or audience when they are admiring your determination, talent, or obvious enjoyment, when you are doing what you are doing not for approval but for the sheer thrill of exploration and expression.
My dad used to say, "You're a piece of work, kid!" And my mom, for all of my life, has positively radiated this kind of love for me. Believing this sort of appreciation from my parents can be tough, because my own ideas about myself and them get in the way. But when I'm sleeping, I know I am more receptive to messages from the Universe. And these dreams tell me that my efforts to focus on experiencing my embodiment are a source of awe and joy and inspiration; that my desire to wholeheartedly embrace and revel in my physicality are cheered and celebrated by the awareness of All That Is.
 |
| Wild strawberries and yaourt |
Don't I have the best fans, ever!!
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment