Guided Focusing # 6 - Awakening To The Body's Spirit

Awakening To The Body's Spirit with Glenn Fleisch, Ph.D, a psychotherapist for over 30 years.

Transcript

My name is Glenn Fleish.

I'm going to give us a taste of a whole basic whole body focusing exercise that I particularly love and I call it awakening or awakening to the body spirit.

So I'm going to start as some of you may know I love poetry so just a few snippets to get us in the space and then I'll just guide us through the process and you follow along of course in focusing we know that you follow your body's own process so if my words or rhythm don't fit then just follow what your body is wanting you to do.

So Rumi says to us let go of your worries and be completely clear-hearted and Kabir says hiding in this cage of visible matter is the invisible life bird.

Pay attention to her she is singing your song and Mary Oliver says you do not have to be good you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

So with these three as our inspirations we're going to do a basic attunement in a whole body focusing way.

Begin to awaken our connection with what I call our natural body.

Our natural body is a body of aliveness of spirit of life energy.

So for this demonstration I'm going to stand I hope you can see me and hear me and I invite you in your own way see if it might feel right for your body to stand.

It may also want to sit or lie down so what we do is we're giving the body the invitation to find its own way into how it would need to be.

I particularly like to stand because it gives my body a little bit of a freedom.

So the first aspect is very simple as we're standing bring your awareness into your body.

I may close my eyes a little bit or open them maybe invite a breath and just give your body permission at the beginning just to sort of do what it would like.

We do this because we trust that the body has a knowing or a wisdom of its own.

We treat it as its own living being so when I go into the body and I say body what do you need right now to feel more present?

So I notice right away something may start to happen.

I feel a little bit in my shoulders just be aware of whatever happens in your body.

Give it some time just a moment see how would it need to be.

If you're sitting you may notice a little shifting in your seat.

If you're standing your body may sway however it needs to be just give it a moment.

In whole body focusing permission is very important.

We give it permission and we actually say that to the body treating it like its own little soft animal.

Body how would you like to be and then it starts to move or unwind and also be aware of whatever comes into your body.

It may not be what I'm sharing it may certainly not be what my body's doing.

Give it a moment.

So this is the very beginning.

Just let the body do whatever it needs and as that's happening and we're breathing into the body space begin to sense your own body as a living entity coming alive in its own way.

And that's the very beginning sometimes it needs to stretch.

Think of wakening.

So often when an animal wakens it stretches even when we waken.

When a plant wakens in the morning it opens to the sun.

So this wakening is a natural process of stretching out and opening up.

So we give that a moment in a longer attunement obviously we give it more time.

This is just a taste.

While the body is beginning to open then we bring awareness to the support structures.

So we sense the groundedness.

I like to feel my feet and legs.

So we bring awareness to this space the space of our physicality.

I feel my legs my pelvic area.

If you're sitting you may notice your sit bones.

So really feel that.

This is a support.

It provides a comfort.

It's a way of getting to know your body.

So we feel that.

This is a support.

It provides a contact with the physical environment.

Just hold that for a moment.

That contact provides a safety as if the hands or arms of Mother Earth are cradling our body.

Just to feel that in your lower body and then maybe through your upper body.

So we become aware of our physicality just as it is.

The physical body connected to the support structures.

And that naturally brings an awareness of the larger environment.

So our body is always interconnected so we may sense the space around us.

Be aware of that in this space outside of us.

So we may notice trees or nature.

Whatever brings an expansiveness.

In a sense everything is alive with spirit and with energy.

So we can open that possibility.

When I do that I do feel an expansiveness as if it's holding back to me.

So as we fill that space we bring awareness to our inner space.

Just noticing how it is in here.

In our inner body.

The place most of focusing happens.

Connected to our physicality.

Connected to our larger environment.

Now what we're going to do is a specific kind of invitation.

As we're standing begin to sense if you invite in whatever the felt sense of spirit feels to you in your body.

One way to sense it is just like Mary Oliver said.

What does your body naturally love?

What brings a joy?

What does it know?

What does it feel?

What does it feel?

What does it feel?

What brings a joy?

What is it naturally drawn to?

Just give it a moment.

And give permission for your body to love what it loves.

To awaken to its own life.

Its own energy in its own way.

Take a moment.

And when you sense something coming just give that a hello or a welcome.

My body loves to move for example.

Or it loves nature.

And this is very important to just give that permission to wake up or wake into its own life and love.

So take a moment to let that in.

We're going to do one more possibility before we close.

As you sense your body's energy coming to life.

Beginning to love what it loves.

Treating it like the soft animal it is.

Imagine you could hold that in the container of your physical body.

So as you leave today's webinar just begin to feel can I give permission for my body to love what it loves.

To connect with its natural rhythms.

And finally as a closing I'm going to sit back down for a moment and just close with a very short poem by Rumi which relates to awakening.

And he says don't go back to sleep.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you don't go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don't go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the door sill where the two worlds touch.

The door is open and round.

Don't go back to sleep.

Thank you so much.

Reviews

Lovely. 🙏

Poetic bliss! A good fast grounding & reconnection with the inner presence of joy. Thank you 🙏

Love the poems at the beginning and end. Such a helpful suggestion to ask my body what it needs and wants in the present moment. 💝 Thank you 🙏

Rumi..DONT go back to sleep!!!

An instant new favorite

This is wonderful 😊. Just what I needed this morning. A new favorite 🙏🏻. Thank you so much.