Your Body Tells a Story
If your body tells a story, what story does it tell? From a Creative’s perspective, I guess that depends on you. What story do you want it to tell?
A couple of Septembers back I was at a Master class with Canadian poet Joshua Whitehead. I was surprised when our first writing exercise was body mapping. No offense to writers but some of “us” are the most disconnected body people out there. Body mapping (synonymous with the Alexander technique) was founded by William & Barbara Conable in the 1970s. It was originally designed for musicians to consciously correct faulty body maps so they could move easily while making music.
The body map is the neuronal self-representation we hold of our body in our brain. Kind of like a hologram. I call it the body story. It is literally a picture of our body located in the brain that corresponds to and governs, amongst other functions, our senses. We have numerous maps which represent ourselves in all of our various functions and behaviors. These maps interface and communicate with each other in all kinds of complex ways.
“Joshua reminded us, “the body is a landscape. That scar, freckle, joint, broken or healed place … what story is it telling you? ”
Every body tells a story. Sometimes I get so curious about a person’s body story I want to stop them and ask, “hey what happened to your hip, your shoulder, your foot?... Even identical twins don’t tell the same soma story. That’s how different body stories are. Your body story is the landscape of your life. It’s a great way to mark events, correlate age with activity historically and even heal emotional wounds. How cool is that?... but how do you know what your body is saying?
Every piece of you is saying something, if you listen. I’m encouraging you to listen. Make time, pay attention, get curious, go there. What’s that scar you got back in grade school saying? How about your slight bones, flat feet or long torso? It seems so personal, almost like something we shouldn’t talk about, so don’t talk about it, write about it instead.
Here is a creative exercise I do with people who want to explore their body story:
1) Write about all the memories associated with your body part or symptom.
2) Write down your feelings and Self statements about the part. Notice your inner narrative and notice how you feel while you do this exercise.
3) Craft a character from the body part. What does it look like? What’s it’s age, attitude, likes and dislikes?… get specific.
After this exercise, there will be some personal transformation. It may be big or small but it will exist. Your body story relates to your inherited fate (genetics) and many of the circumstances that met you through life (popularity, athletics, injury, illness, energy). The better you become at relating to your body story the more conscious you will become in all areas of life. We are a mind-body-soul story, we can’t make changes to one area without making changes to the whole. Let’s connect your body story in Heart-Centered Alignment or in an individualized yoga program (YIP).
