Autumnal Sunrise Over the Sangres
Notice where you can do less. Jill Van Note
You don’t have and ‘Aha!’ moment. An ‘Aha!’ moment has you. Woody Tasch
Happy Autumn! After greeting the Autumnal sunrise in the labyrinth, the muse niggles that perhaps a better title this first day of a new season might be ‘Falling Into Doing Less’. Cute. I smile at the idea and decide that I like the title as a question. ‘Where can you do less?’ is one of my favorite elements in the Feldenkrais method. I appreciate that it’s posed frequently in most every lesson.
The question gently calls forth awareness. Last week it did so in a profound, expansive, and most unexpected way, when, calling attention to a limb that wasn’t involved in the movement we were doing, Jill, my Feldenkrais instructor, said the phrase I’ve heard countless times: “notice where you can do less …”.
Suddenly, I was aware of holding tension in the ‘uninvolved’ leg. I hadn’t fully relaxed my leg muscles to allow the floor’s full support. I was doing ‘work’ that was already taken care of. Expending energy that I had no need to expend. Wasting energy. My precious energy.
Aha! The question isn’t just about doing less with the parts that are moving! Aha! It’s about the whole body and the support available to be received. Aha! Wow, it’s about all of life: body, mind, and spirit. Aha! The moment ‘had’ me. It’s had my focus and curiosity since.
Wondering ‘where can I do less?’ became a personal ‘energy audit’, discovering where body, mind, and spirit habitually engage where they need not engage, leaking energy like worn out weatherstripping around a door or window. I’m discovering more deeply my habitual tendency to do more than what’s needed. Yes, Cindy, the floor will support you. Indeed, it does.
I discovered (yet again) mental energy wasted thinking of things that I’m not engaged in at that moment (and may not need to engage in at all, at least in the near term). I noticed the monkey-mind of worry creeping in, thinking about how, for example, to word an email when I was far from the computer and not ready to respond, or whether to participate in an event not occurring for quite some time.
I’m reminded of a metaphysical teacher who has on occasion asked me, “are you giving this more energy than it needs or deserves?” Busted! Gratefully busted! I notice the inefficiency, the waste of taking awareness away from the present moment how doing so not only requires more time and energy to complete the task, but likewise reduces the joy and satisfaction that full presence and attention bring.
I’m reminded too of the support provided by the Universe, requiring only that I have the courage to trust and the willingness to receive.
Aha! No wonder the subtitle/subtext of the Feldenkrais Method (and others) is ‘awareness through movement’.
Labyrinth Bell Greets the Morning Sun