John’s Sunday Blog

Systems

The organization of a whole including all its constituent parts. We have many external systems within our world, economy, culture, governmental, etc. As these systems grow decline and collapse, one system remains that does not progress to win, but progresses to adapt and adjust, to balance. Yes, that would be the system of nature which appears before us each day as the sky, the land, the waters, and in the mirror. Since a body is a piece of nature, with an expiration date on it, what do most of us want during our turn on the wheel? Well, I think most of us would include a desire for health in our answer; health and happiness. This leads to the question… “What is health?” Wouldn’t the answer be a calm body with plenty of energy?

Of course, I’m going to say taking up a good daily practice of mindful movement will help in medicinal ways! Such as improving posture, reducing pain, and even regaining lost abilities. Why mindfully? Why does this work? We can look to the ancients for that answer. In 1569, Girolano Murcurials did a study on the Greek and Roman scholars and physical fitness. They all mentioned something about the mind, which they considered the “soul”, being paramount to health. Not only that, they practiced three types of exercise: medicinal, military, and sport. Medicinal was practiced for regular health. Military was aimed at pushing the body to the limits, in weather, water and hard terrain. And sport, which was as hard as military, but geared towards a particular sport. These last two listed were not known to be healthy but dangerous, yet had goals other than health. Now it seems that these last two, military and sport, are the main choices these days as well. For the individual who wants a more integral, balanced way to maintain or improve health whilst calming the mind, an embodied practice, in my opinion, is best. And what is embodiment again? It’s simply being where you are. Allowing yourself to be here, noticing sensations, and allowing those sensations to be. It’s learning to hold steady under pressure and to take information in without losing your center, your calm. It’s seeing that you belong to a system that is not human. The system of nature is what keeps your story going on. For a bit.

So, how does the mind slow in practice? Remember, a habit, a daily consistency, is what the body understands. As one practices, if you breath into your belly and exhale slowly it calms the nervous system which calms the mind. Try it now, drop the shoulders, soften the jaw and breathe in, pause, then exhale by letting your body relax, yes it exhales for you! Slowing the breath and breathing less works wonders for anxiety. During a practice, so does using a kind, gentle, and curious approach towards oneself. When you are following breath, pressure, movement, without force (fluidity), your mind is occupied by actuality. And if your mind is occupying itself and feels safe and accepted… that feels wonderful - Just as it is.