We are born to open and expand. At the perimeters of our universe waves rush outwardly, echoing the first great stroke of creation, the big bang. Opening and outward expansion are the nature of creation, of music, of calligraphy, of art, and of our gifted bodies.
To think of ourselves as a vital part of our expanding universe opens us up, implores us to breathe. Don’t you feel that to be true? If so, that can be incredibly rich, both for you and for me. Breathe, open, expand. It can break our chains.
And yet, we contract. We suffer assault. We’re touched carelessly. Just getting on a plane or going to the store, we contend with unwanted touch, far too much it seems, and we won’t even mention office parties. For some very real reasons we contract, pull into ours selves, and if we are not very mindful, we begin to live in that state. Turtle-like, we withdraw into our shells and that is tragic.
At first it may be a habit, but too soon a fixation. The concavity of age can be permanent. Rage against the approach of that condition. Think. We are born to open and expand.
To overcome stiffness
Come to your self. Stand.
Let your shoulders be less fixed.
Let them know the ground, their weight, and the play of gravity.
You don’t want to slump.
Think up. Let your freeing neck deliver your head to the sky.
Your spine will welcome its job of supporting your head and shoulders. You can feel it. “Live in the along”said poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Live in the letting. That’s more of Alexander Technique than you might expect in one day.
