We all hear voices, it’s true, we do. Every time i run up a hill i hear a little voice telling me how tough it is, to slow down or stop and give up. I resist the voices and keep going. We constantly have a conscious and unconscious dialogue with ourselves. According to Deepak Chopra we have 70, 0000 thoughts a day and 80% are negative. An idle mind is idle thoughts, got too much time on your hands and negative thinking pops up in every direction.
The mind is fluid and constantly flows in both directions, right and left hemispheres, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. We are constantly shifting and expressing ourselves in the way we move, speak, function, hold our posture and react and respond to every day life situations.
A little yoga trick is to notice which nostril you are breathing out of. The right side of the brain controls the left side and vice versa. So if you are breathing out the left nostril your using your right brain. We constantly switch depending on the situation.
I have not been at class the last two weeks as many of you have noticed. I have been embarking on a journey of ‘unbound, unstructured play’ as Paul Chek would call it. I have been participating in one of the ‘Body mind centering’ modules. This amazing work developed ahead of its time by Bonnie Bainbridge. I feel Bonnie’s work is the next big thing in movement and is slowly filtering in to the yoga, pilates and movement community.
What has this got to do with us? Well it has great significance whether you are in pain, injury, illness, disease or looking to take different directions in your life as it’s the choices that you make that will shape your outcomes be it personal or your professional career. (Read my choices article here). Our creativity, ‘Aha’ or discovery moment actually comes from our unconscious. We hear this when people discover amazing inventions. Our conscious mind then continues to create a form or pattern in the creative process.
Any activity or healing can flow out of our unconscious mind. We often experience dreams or daydreaming with our unconsious mind and language and motivation with the conscious. We can begin any exploration or healing form injury, illness and disease through creative awakening. Or as an alternative we can begin on the path of unknowing and discover opportnities and experiences as we go along.
One of the similarities between Paul Chek and Bonnie Bainbridge is their acknowledgement of the thinking mind, the unconscious. As i always tell you “We can’t solve the problem with the same thinking that caused it”. This is why we have to change our thinking before we lose weight, get well or reach our goals. The same thinking will constantly lead us to the same problems and disasters that we have already been experiencing. Sometimes pain is a wake up call for change whether it be physical ,mental or emotional.
Paul Chek – Chek Institute, Califonia
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen – Body Mind Centering, Califonia
So my intention in my teaching both group sessions and one to one has always been to apply what you have learned unconsciously to every day circumstances that crop up in life. It’s like planting a seed that will grow over a period of time maybe next week or one to two years. It’s about the body’s experience of discovering something about yourself rather than just being told to do a series of workouts, exercises or routines.
As you always know i try to slip under your conditioning so that you can experience something in another way shape or form. The door of discovery always remains open on information. Healing injury, illness, disease and pain comes through personal self experience and the correct guidance.
A little deep yes i know but it’s working at both our Manchester and St.Helen’s studios plus a number of therapist’s who see me privately.
Give us a try you have nothing to lose and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Bibliography
“Sensing, Feeling and action ” – Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
“Eat, Move and be healthy” – Paul Chek
Matt Wallden – Chek faculty
