Starfish: Moving From Center

We explore in this somatic session a way to reactivate developmental patterns of stability in our movement and our mind. The intent of these little movements done with big awareness is to invite steadiness and clarity into our everyday life.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Meg Ranaldi of Body Centered Inquiry and welcome to this Somatic Movement session called Starfish or Moving from the Center.

In this movement session we'll play with the image of moving from center to circumference to reactivate developmental patterns of stability in our movement and our mind.

When we know how to access steadiness in body,

The heart and mind can rest and we can move from reactive patterns to full-bodied centered responses.

For this session you'll be on the floor on a padded or carpeted surface.

You could also do this session on a firm bed.

Please have support for your head,

A folded yoga blanket or bath towel.

Bed pillows are too soft for this kind of movement.

Wear clothing that allows for ease of movement,

Remove your glasses,

Belt,

Jewelry,

Anything that might interfere with you moving with ease and have sock or bare feet.

And when you're ready please come to stand either on or off your carpeted or padded surface.

Please don't stand on your bed.

And take a few moments to check in with your breathing.

Have your arms long by your sides with your face looking out into the room and notice how you bear weight through each foot.

Notice how you bear weight through your legs,

Your hips.

Notice how your torso and neck and head come up over your pelvis,

Legs and feet.

Notice your quality of mind.

And when you're ready please come to lie on your back.

Remember that if this audio is moving too quickly for you,

Feel free to pause.

This is about your time and respecting your pacing.

Adjust your head support as needed.

Bend your knees,

Have your feet standing about hip width apart comfortably.

And have your arms spread comfortably wide.

Make sure your shoulders,

Arms,

Wrists and hands are supported and comfortable.

So in other words,

Have your arms moved away from the torso as far as you comfortably can.

Breathe and settle in.

Have your eyes closed or in a soft gaze.

For a moment,

If you can comfortably,

Have your legs long and take in the five points of the starfish.

Your head,

Each arm,

Each leg.

Five points.

And then bend your knees and have your feet standing.

When you're ready to.

And from the feet standing position,

Draw your right knee up over you and interlace your hands below your knee.

Not behind the knee,

But below it.

So your hands are interlaced below the front of your right knee.

The right foot is relaxed.

The left foot is standing clearly on the floor.

And allow the weight of your right thigh to rest into your abdomen.

Carefully breathing and resting in this position as long as it's comfortable.

Breathing into the hip joint,

Allowing it to relax a bit.

Allow the thigh to relax against your abdomen.

And just rest like that.

Feel your breathing against your thigh.

Nothing else to do right now.

And gently put the right foot back on the floor.

Rest your arms on the floor,

A comfortable distance from your torso.

Allow your breath to be easy.

And in a simple,

Quiet way,

Draw the left leg up over you in the same way.

Interlace your hands below the front of the left knee.

Allow that thigh to rest on your abdomen in a comfortable way.

Breathing.

Invite a softening and opening in the left hip joint as the thigh relaxes into your abdomen.

The right foot is standing clearly on the floor.

And breathe.

And now return the left foot to the floor and pause there with both feet standing.

Being aware of the support beneath you.

The backside of your body is supported.

You are supported.

And allow your breathing to even out so the inhale and the exhale become equal to one another.

There's a steadiness happening in the breathing.

Now draw each knee up over you again.

So each thigh is resting over your abdomen and bring your arms up over you so that the left elbow faces the left knee and the right elbow faces your right knee and your hands are hanging in front of your face comfortably somewhere.

You could rest the back of your hands on your forehead if you wish.

Keep the fingers loose and open.

So you're curled up.

Your upper arms can rest on your chest.

Your hands are hanging in some simple way where there's little work.

It's a very young pose.

And now slowly allow the right foot to return to the floor and allow the right arm to return to the floor spread comfortably wide.

And then do the same with the left foot.

Let it return to standing and let the left arm spread out on the floor somewhere that's easy for you.

Breathing.

Always breathing.

When we stop breath,

We stop movement.

When we stop movement,

We stop breath.

Then repeat this movement on an exhale.

So your next exhale,

Draw up the right leg over you and then inhale.

And then exhale and draw the left leg up over you like before and then inhale.

And then draw the hands and arms up over you like before,

Exhaling and inhaling with each movement.

And begin to play with drawing your legs and arms in close,

One at a time.

It's kinder to the low back to do that.

And coordinate your breathing with these movements.

And explore at your own pace till you find a smooth,

Organized way to do this for yourself that allows your breath and movement to support one another.

Drawing all the limbs in together and then slowly allowing them to open away from you.

So feet and arms are resting once again on the floor gently.

Very slow.

Slow,

Gentle,

Lazy movement.

And pause when you're ready.

And notice your connection to the floor or bed.

Notice your breathing.

Notice your quality of mind.

Now I'd like to have you imagine that your knees and elbows are connected to your navel via a rubber band.

So you begin to get the sense that your limbs are being drawn into your navel and then lengthening away from your navel.

So resume your movements of being drawn into or toward your navel.

And the knees and elbows come close to one another.

And then the rubber band lengthens away from your navel and your limbs move away from the navel.

Another image you could play with is that of a sea anemone.

Imagining yourself moving gracefully and rhythmically in the water drawing your limbs toward your navel and then allowing the limbs to lengthen away and the feet return to the floor and the arms return spread comfortably wide next to your body on the floor.

Do this movement at your own pace three or four or five more times,

Breathing and listening for a quiet,

Gentle rhythm.

Allow your head and neck to be free to move along.

It's all connected.

Opening and closing,

Keeping the navel as the focal point for drawing the limbs in close and allowing the limbs to lengthen away.

This kind of movement recalls young movement and helps to reconnect our limbs with our center.

It's a key idea in moving and embodying stability.

Again allowing your head and neck to be free as you explore this very primal movement of moving toward the navel,

Toward the center of your body and then lengthening away.

Notice what happens or what could happen with your breathing as you find a rhythm that's gentle and quiet and simple.

Taking your time,

Pausing the audio as needed and rest.

Notice again your quality of mind,

Your connection to the floor or bed beneath you,

Your breathing.

Experiment with having your legs long and comfortably spread if you can.

Have your arms comfortably spread if you can.

Don't push into any pain or discomfort.

That's not the point.

It's just a small reminder of the five points,

The two arms,

The two legs and your head.

That starfish image.

And if you can't spread your legs long,

Then don't do that.

Just rest comfortably with your feet standing.

And resume this simple,

Gentle movement a few more times if you'd like.

Opening,

Extending out with an awareness of your navel,

Drawing back in with the rubber band connecting you back into your navel.

Opening and closing.

Extending and flexing.

And take another rest.

And when you're ready,

In your own good time,

Bend your knees,

Roll to one side and slowly come back to sitting and then standing.

Please do take your time.

And when you're ready to,

Please stay in standing and check in with yourself to see what's present and compare that with your first impressions at the beginning of the session.

Make note of whatever is there or whatever is not there.

And thank you.

That's the end of the session.

Reviews

Thank you 🌀🌀🌀for the wonderful meditative movement 🌷like a starfish floating 🙏Namaste

Very helpful. Thank you