EXPRESSING
Dear Friends in the Fluid Field,
I write to you from the balmy warmth of Los Angeles, California, where summer is on its way. The hillsides have turned brownish in color. Birds express their joy while chirping and munching at the seeds of the passing flowers I enjoyed in spring.
I contemplate in awe the innumerable ways Nature expresses herself. Unapologetically! With no restraints! Not judging whether the “observer” will like it or not! Nature pours out herself and reminds me that EXPRESSING manifests in many forms….there are not rights and wrongs…..our uniqueness is the expressing we are seeking…
Etymologically to EXPRESS comes From Latin 'exprimere' (to press out) — pressing thoughts into words, thoughts into movement, movement into form…..
Emilie Conrad, my teacher and mentor till her last breath, kept reminding us that movement is not something we do, movement is what we are!
Life is movement. Words are movement. Thoughts are movement.
As I age, I feel redundancy in my movement. The way I drive…always taking the same route. My routines and patterns become more rigid, more predictable. I do my best to stay in the “safety zone” with all I do.
I yearn to express more freely. I yearn to move more freely. I yearn to find my unique “soul gestures” to engage in life more fully with freshness moment to moment to moment.
“The quintessential gesture or moment transports us to a world of meaning and inference that is basically silent and transcendent. The crack gets larger as we slip through.”
Emilie Conrad, Life on Land, p 180
Emilie often quoted Stella Adler….”you want to be an actor because you do not use enough of your soul in ordinary life."
I do not want to be an actor! I want to express my soul the way Nature does….unapologetically!
I find Continuum to be a unique and invaluable tool to play towards this endeavor!
When I slow down to notice the sensations in my body I feel a new aliveness in me. JUST by paying attention sensations become more available and expressive.
When I become intimate with my breath, I notice not one breath repeats itself. MY breath is an endless reminder of its unique and full potential in expressing!
When I invite my breath to become audible, I receive the reverberations of the sounds I make in my tissues. I begin to notice a subtle shift in the way my body contacts the Earth. I become aware of some softening, some pulsations, whispers of movement in the places I felt restriction.
When I spend time listening in with open, expansive attention my body EXPRESSES herself. Undulations….pulsations…spirals...wavy sensations from the depths of my being become louder and the invitation to follow and move with them is irresistible!
When I follow the prompts from my inner choreography the expression of movement surprises me with unexpected shapes my body expresses effortlessly. My mind is quiet. I follow with curiosity and interest. I discover gestures beyond my familiar repertoire.
I spend time diving in. Following without agenda. Allowing sensations to guide me. Expressing the playfulness of my inner landscape. Finding rest in the movement. Finding peace in not knowing where I am being led to.
When I return to my baseline, lying on my back, I feel very different. More contact with the Earth. More freedom in my breath. More peace in my heart.
It is from this place I feel my soul can EXPRESS freely and fully. I engage with my day renewed!
Join me and a group of dedicated practitioners in August to discover new ways of EXPRESSING your soul gestures through Continuum. The playground is open!
With Deep Gratitude,
Marcella
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We meet for 4 weeks on Saturdays to explore the principles of Continuum.
The first 3 Saturdays we meet 10 AM - 12:15 PM PST.
The 4th Saturday is an “Integration Dive” from 10 AM - 1 PM PST (longer time to dive integrating sequences from Weeks 1-3).
Please click here to register.
