When I was younger I was able to power my way through anything — I was physically strong and was proud of this quality. I was mentally strong and when challenges arose, I met them head on. I started 3 separate businesses–two while raising 3 children and taking care of my family while my husband at the time traveled internationally frequently for his job. We moved across the country 3 times in six years and I managed each move from start to finish, practiced vigorous sweaty yoga 90-minutes/day, 6 times/week. I was strong and efficient and capable and could handle anything!
But in the past few years I’ve been brought to my knees.
Besides being older and having less energy, I’ve been through some pretty darn challenging life events that left me holding relentless tension in my body from anxiety and chronic stress. I’m slowly recovering from adrenal exhaustion and I’m having to find a new way to live and to be — a way where I don’t have to force my way through challenging physical and emotional situations.
It’s a scary proposition to not be able to rely on my own ability to power through life.
Perhaps you can relate to some of this.
And although, I can’t say I like having to change my ways, this is what I’m discovering….
Being easeful is actually powerful
In my Feldenkrais practice—as a teacher, practitioner, and student—I’ve learned to make very slow, small movements within my own range of comfort. I pay attention to my physical sensations as I move.
I’ve learned to observe where I feel muscular resistance and effort or thoughts that tell me to “try harder” or “do more,” to make the movement I’m practicing “happen.”
When I sense I’m contracting muscles to make these small, gentle movements, then I do even less and go more slowly.
And the paradoxical thing that happens is, within a few minutes, the ease of this movement improves and the range spontaneously becomes bigger. On it’s own. With no help or forcing or managing or “pushing through” on my part.
In fact, if I do “help” or “force,” the improvement doesn’t happen.
This is the same principle applies when a client is on my treatment table. I’m listening with my hands for what range and trajectory of movement is completely easeful for the person. And as I join her nervous system, with no agenda on my part, she suddenly has more movement and mobility available. Muscular contraction melts away almost spontaneously.
The work is easeful and the results are powerful.
In other words, in order to have a powerful result, I must practice ease.
Last weekend on a hike in Boulder, I felt my energy was low. My legs felt heavy and my breathing felt forced. Initially I walked quickly and was pushing myself, berating myself for not going faster.
And then I remembered the process of Feldenkrais and thought “Is it possible to create power ease-fully?”
I slowed my steps way down, to the point where I was breathing easily and my pace felt effortless. I started to look at the flowers and my surroundings. I stopped for water breaks frequently and to breathe in nature. I didn’t allow myself to feel tired or as if I was pushing myself at all.
And I gave myself this leeway without judgement or it needing to be different.
At around my turn-around point, 45 minutes into my hike, I noticed that my pace had become much faster — effortlessly. I wasn’t tired at all and I was breathing evenly. I had energy and my hips and legs felt light and loose.
I can only conclude that this phenomenon is somehow related to what happens on the treatment table— that the nervous system is involved in all aspects of life, movement, thinking, and manifesting.
In other words, ease creates power in more areas than the physical.
My practice this week has been to notice when situations arise that cause me stress (which is multiple times each day in the world of an entrepreneur).
Initially, I observe myself automatically go to: overwhelm, anger, fear of not being able to handle something, self pity, forcing my way, overexerting, overworking, and so on.
And then I remember to ask myself: how can I create the possibility of ease and power?
I want to spread this quality of ease into my daily life and trust it in the same way I trust this process when I work with people in my practice.
So, the next time a stressful situation comes up for you, try noticing what your habitual thoughts and emotions are. It’s likely that you, like me, respond this way every single time you face a stressful situation.
It’s an opportunity to ask yourself how you might create the possibility for ease in this situation? Where might you do less? And observe if somehow, a sense of power arises that you never expected or could have anticipated while doing things your habitual way.
To learn more about how The Feldenkrais Method® works, click here.