Embodiment

I talk a lot about 'embodiment'. What is this exactly? In my recent dance practice (Dance Time.Her)- or lack therein - I have been feeling distinctly disembodied. When I arrive at my 30 minutes of practice (it's not a performance per se, although it might share elements therein) I aim be in that precise moment. However I am often head full of parental responsibilities, life challenges, and miniutiae of the day. This is not uncommon but unfortunately it draws attention away from my bodily moment. I can feel the disconnect of head to body. When I am embodied (as I was largely in my time on the Broomielaw) - every element of my form flows and responds in syncroncity and the miniutiae floats away. I suppose there is some buddhist like zen in this gift. If one can be at peace in oneself, one brings peace to the world. If I can be authentic in myself body and soul for at least 30 minutes a day, then I am contributing another 30 minutes into the 'peace pot'. Maybe the challenge is to allow that 30 minutes to eek into other areas of one's life - to take 'micro-moments' of awareness of self, body, emotion, space in one's day.

I am reminded of the Julia Donaldson book "A Squash and a Squeeze" - in it the central protagonist complains that she doesn't have enough room in her house (it's a squash and a squeeze) till the wise man instructs her to put ALL her animals in the house to solve her space problem. Of course it gets chaotic, and when they are all removed she realizes she had far more space then she originally thought. Whilst I am not suggesting we introduce farm animals into our personal spaces to find what we had all the time, it serves as a clever metaphor to see things with new eyes.

So maybe I'm more in my body than I thought - but it's a new body I need to learn to accept....