“Okay, this time I’m really going to meditate. Focus…focus…I’m hungry. What should I make for breakfast? Oatmeal might be nice. I could put some raisins in there. My sister said her daughter used to sing out that she wanted oatmeal and raisins. I bet that was cute. Oh, yeah! I’m meditating! Focus…focus….”
That’s how my meditations used to go. I have a very busy mind, and an acute awareness of my body. Off and on for years I tried to sit and meditate. Then I would give up and just do nothing for a while, feeling bad about myself, that I was a failure at meditation.
Then I discovered body-centered meditation practices — movement meditation, breath work, yoga and Tai Chi. All these were so much more suited to a kinesthetic being such as myself. When I move my body, my mind becomes much more quiet. I drop into a calm space where stillness is at the center of the movement. Inspirations drop into that stillness like flashes of insight.
For the past 25 years, I have evolved a collection of practices that use the body to still the mind. The ones that I have found to be the most potent are breath work and micro-movement.
Breath work as I do it is a process of using vigorous breathing to activate all the cells of your body. This is combined with relaxing spinal undulation to distribute the energy throughout your whole body. Your body becomes lit up, like the sunlight shimmering on the surface of a lake.
Micro-movement is the process of noticing how your body feels when you move just a millimeter in any direction. Does it feel better? Then you’re on the right track. You can use micro-movement to slowly align your body with the flows of the universe, so that those flows can flow through your body more easily.
This becomes a holographic experience. Your cells are activated in the microscopic level. Your body is activated on the 3D level. And then you can extend it out to include the solar system, and the galaxy. This is a wonderful path to merge with All That Is.
If you are a kinesthetic being, one who may have been told to sit still in school, then this approach might work for you as well. You can learn to use the wisdom of your body and your breath to take you to a place that is far beyond the body. To activate your light body and merge with the universal field of light and love.
Satya Lila will be offering workshops, private sessions, and a “Healing the Waters” ceremony in the Twin Cities in July at Tai Chi Center, 2561 Burnham Road, Minneapolis. Free Intro: 7-9pm July 7. Workshop: Noon-8pm, $95 ($110 after July 1). For more information, contact Kat Luther at 612.408.0412 or [email protected]. Visit satyalila.info.
