The focus of today’s Nia practice, chosen at random from the basket of cards, was “Loving Movement.”
Loving movement – as in “I love to move!”
Loving movement – as in a gesture of love or an offering to a person or to the Holy.
Loving movement – as in a chapter, an episode, a section of music or life.
Loving movement – as in a revolution, like the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the men’s movement, and now, the loving movement of collective consciousness toward more loving.
The motion of love comes in all sizes, shapes, layers and dimensions.
The body itself has a natural affinity for loving movement, as does the mind, the heart, the spirit and the energy body. We could actually say loving movement is a definition of life.
All life is movement, even if it’s dead or so-called inanimate. Atoms and molecules moving, gravity and electricity moving, the imagination and the spirit spiraling, contracting and expanding. All 75 trillion cells of the body are in constant, loving movement.
All life is love. The movement of heaven’s energy pours down into the flesh. The movement of the Earth’s energy rises up through the feet. These are movements of love. And moving in between heaven and Earth is the mystical third thing, known as life, known as now, known as the human being, known as the love child of heaven and Earth, moving, wriggling, dancing, crawling, reaching, shimmering, intending.
How do I recognize the sensation of loving movement?
I ask my body, “Body, precious body, are you experiencing the sensation of loving movement?” The asking itself is a loving movement. Listening for my body’s reply is loving movement.
Loving movement is a practice. Like Nia’s practice of the joy of movement, loving movement is a practice that can sit right next to any emotion, any thought and any intent. The practice of martial arts is loving movement when we understand the martial arts is the practice of just enough – using just enough force, not too much, not too little, just right.
A path, such as Nia or the martial arts or music, is itself a loving movement. And our response as we move along and toward that path is a loving movement.
Breathe in the loving movement of the breath, in and out, like the ocean tide, and ride the waves of loving movement in the belly. Let the movements of love soar through the body.
Be held by the moving fields of love, moving and being moved. Let the waves of breath carry the body. Let the waves of love carry the body. Rock yourself in your own arms and let the loving movement of the Earth hold the loving movement of who you are from underneath.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Jill Campana // Jan 13, 2010 at 6:06 am
As usual, Rachael, your words “move” me (no pun intended). I shall ask once again if I might read your words to my class.
And where are you getting these photos? I love them. Are they ones that you’ve taken or are they part of Flickr?
BEAUTIFUL, as always, Rachael.
Love,
Jill
2 Richard Seidman // Jan 13, 2010 at 7:22 am
Wow! “All life is movement, even if it’s dead or so-called inanimate. Atoms and molecules moving, gravity and electricity moving, the imagination and the spirit spiraling, contracting and expanding.”
Beautiful and profound articulation. Thank you, Rachael.
3 Sarah Rose Marshank // Jan 15, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Your words and photo choices are exquisite articulations of Nia as a practice, and Nia as a dance: a dance through life.
I love how you are working so deeply with each focus. And, of course, the magic of how “perfect’ the focus is for each class.
I love how the creative energy flows through you in all forms and how you are using this ongoing blog to make art, moving art.
Thank you for your always heart-full sharing…
Loving you deeply,
Sarah Rose
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