A movement game: How are you sitting now: website "improvement"

This is lesson #3 from my book of Moving, Thinking, Feeling, and "Soul" activities.
Link here, if you'd like to see the 108 activities.

It is also on a new page on my website, called Movement Brain. Soon I'll have all the 4 brains on the website. The Website, as you probably know is http://4BrainFitness.com

Here' a game of improving
as usual
by a little of this
and
a little of that
and a
lot of
slowing down
and
AWARING.

GOOD:

How are you sitting or standing or lying down, right now?

What happens if you add on awareness of your eyes, and move them easily in a circle. Then easily right and left. Then easily up and down.

What happens if you are aware of your neck and nose?
What happens if you make a circle with your nose?
What do you feel in your neck?
Which way did you choose?
Try the other way, slower and try different sizes of circles.

Now put both hand on the top of your head, if you can easily do this.
In this position imagine making circles from in front of you and then up and then to the right and then down and then to the left with first
your right elbow,
then your left.

Find the pleasure in this.

Can you do it again and allow and encourage your pelvis to join the party.
Don’t try for “right.”
Try for learning, fun,
“interesting.”

And feel the added power when your pelvis is involved, and the change in your breathing.

Enjoy this, and keep moving slowly and with love of learning.

Rest.

Try the other elbow if you are in the mood.

How are you in sitting now?

Day 45: Moving Head and knees in side lying

Lie on your side again, knees and legs on top of each other. Knees in front of you with the thighs more or less straight out from your body. This is not, NOT, not about “doing it right.” This is about going slow and being present and getting easy feelings in you as well as the excitement of learning.

So, pillow again under your head.

Bring both knees toward your chest, sliding them along the floor. And then bring them back to the “neutral you started in.

Do this slowly and feel the backs of you involved in this, feel your stomach, feel your spine, feel yourself curling in.

Rest.

Now, put your hands behind your head and elbow point roughly the same way your nose does. If this doesn’t work, put your bottom hand under your cheek. Here, bend and bring your head toward your knees, and back, many times, feeling chest, ribs, stomach, back.

Rest. And then combine the two: knees toward head and head toward knees and back to “neutral.” Rest again.

Now, bring your knees backward behind you, leaving your legs in the bended position. Feel the using of your back. And return back to “neutral.”

Rest.

Now using head in your hands, bring your head back many times and return back to “neutral.” Rest.

Combine these last two: head and knees both back and keep returning back to “neutral.” Rest.

Now, do the curling in with head and pelvis forward and unfurling with head and pelvis back. Feel the all of you involved in this.

Rest.

For the day, remember this in imagination and play with stomach in and using your back to round and arch yourself.

Day 44: Pelvis and spine, on our sides, moving and learning

Learning about the pelvis and spine

Lie on whichever side is most comfortable to you. Put a small pillow or rolled up blanket or sweater under your head to keep your neck comfortable. Put your knees on top of each other and bend them, as if you were sitting, more or less. So your thighs are out from your body, and then your knees bend and your lower legs are more or less parallel to the top part of you.

Begin to play with moving the top hip forward, and the top knee forward. “Forward” in all movement lessons means the way your torso is facing. Lying on your back, forward is toward the ceiling or sky. Lying on your belly forward is into the floor or ground. Or your side, it is the way your face and chest are pointed.

So, begin to take your top knee and hip forward, so the top knee goes ahead of the other knee as if it were going to look over a ledge. Do this a bring it back.

Now, here’s the fun, here’s the learning. Learning is noticing differences that make a difference.

Roll your hip as you bring your knee forward, so that you feel as if you hip and pelvis are simply swiveling to make this happen. Do this five or six times. And then rest.

Now bring your knee not only forward, but somewhat down, as if pointing to a place in front of your feet. As you do this push out your belly and arch your back a little bit. This can feel quite wonderful. Do this and return to the start position a number of times.

And then rest.

Now bring your knee forward and a bit up, as if pointing to a place in front of your chest. As you do this, pull your belly in a little bit and round your back as if your were going to curl into a ball. And then come back to the beginning position. Do this a number of times. Then rest. Now, do these three different ways one after another.

Throughout the day notice your pelvis and spine.

What are we here for?

(half assed, literally as far a chair goes,
side bend,
wrists behind head so all back (not just neck)
comes along,
pelvis wakes up,
go both ways and one way pelvis can sink way
down,
fun...

you might enjoy this)


What are we here for?

to live
to learn

to heal the Earth
learn the Earth
feed ourselves and the Earth well

care for each other

be happy
help others be happy

be creative
help others be creative

love
help others to love

discover
what's this world
life
learning
awakening

all
about

something
like
that

6 awareness days left until Christmas

Ah,
to be aware while
browsing the stores

ah
to be aware of the guilt
obligation
habit
routine
and fear stuff
nagging away to
buy more
give more
do more

ah
to say no
to an invitation
or two

ah,
to say yes
to an invitation
or two

where do we want
to be present
and following our breathing

and remembering the three oceans:
gravity
calling on bones and brain and pelvis
how are we "grounded"
what is our weight doing
right now

and air
our lungs inside the rib cage
or can it be
a rib basket

and light, sound, taste, smell
the joys of a head
mobile and free at the neck
looking left
and right
even now
on the computer
keep the eyes forward and let your
nose
go up and down
and right and left
and following your breathing
and know
about your pelvis
and be
in love
with the you
right now

what else to do?
love others
love the earth

does that have anything
to do with Christmas?
it certainly could have.

and does awareness have
anything to do
with our ability to love?

yes

Listening

sitting down at the
computer
and
what do we listen to?

said,
the more Proper way:

to what
do we listen?

can we listen
to our pelvis?

is it there,
have we played and enjoyed moving it forward
and back
tucking tailbone under
alternating
with butt back and up?

pelvis
yes

and spine,
holding up our head
is our neck free
are our
eyes and jaw and neck
relaxed and mobile?

pelvis,
spine,
neck, jaw, eyes,

and ribs
how are they?
what would it be like to wiggle them
a little
before we play too much on/ with/ under the
spell of
the computer?

wiggle ribs?
rib basket
or rib cage?
lean, arch, curve left,
left hip up
toward left ear
this fun
ribs together on left
and expanding
like an accordian
on the right.
can we enjoy
playing that way,

and
of course
the other way.

and our breathing inside those
ribs
and down
into belly/ diaphragm?
is it in our awareness
and now ness
and
pleasure?

breathing yes
ribs yes
pelvis yes
neck jaw eyes free and easy, yes


so
can we listen
to healthy and mobile pelvis
aware and relaxed jaw, neck and eyes
spine holding up our head
feet on ground,
butt on chair
breathing in the air

and other words
can
we listen to what it
is really like
to be here
now

creatures of gravity
(pelvis, feet, spine, butt on chair)

creatures of air
breathing free the ribs the lungs the air

creatures of light
(free neck
to see easily in a wide variety of directions
on upright and rooted spine)

wow

there's lots to being
here
isn't there?

---

of help with this
is to sign up for
DEsk Trainer

Pelvis and Head

this organism has four
legs

we usually only have two

the pelvis
transmits and rotates
and powers
all the stuff above
the legs

see how their pelvises
do that
even
though
they don't have to balance
in their particular configuration

our head
is designed to bring in information
to taste, smell
and hear
and
see

in any position,
if our neck is mobile
we can look right and left
easily

while our pelvis
supports us firmly
and intelligently in either sitting
or standing

so,
today's monday yoga:

take any posture:

notice what your pelvis is doing
arch and round a little your lower back
and discover if your pelvis is free
to move
and if
it is using the muscles the way
that will make the posture easiest

and then,
comfortable there

let your head rotate,
slowly
and easily
right
and left

and allow your eyes
to move
easily
and comfortably
in the opposite way
your head is moving

still aware of breathing
and pelvis
and feet
and gravity

easy neck
easy eyes
easy brain
smart brain
intelligent pelvis

the brain body yoga
game

enjoy