10 Awareness Through Movement Tips
10. Once it’s free, give it a job
Go for a walk, reach for a cup of water, do a functional activity with fresh awareness right
after a lesson. Don’t pick up your cell phone, drive your car, or engage in habitual actions right
away.
9. Use successive approximation
Repeat a movement in a new way, a different angle, sensing your breathing, smiling,
each time doing it with the same quality of ease. Don’t repeat the movement mindlessly like
exercise.
8. Feel yourself harmoniously
You are a whole system, not fragmented. Create a sense of unity. Find what is simple
and quiet. Allow all of yourself to participate in a movement unless the teacher offers a
constraint in order for you to experience something different. Reduce any stopping of yourself.
We are an integrated whole.
7. Make mistakes in learning
No judgment. Shut down the inner critic. Play like a baby, who is learning through trial
and error, again and again. There is not just one way of solving a puzzle, to get around in
space. Keep your breathing free.
6. Re-educate your eyes
When you engage your eyes, your sense of self shows up. You can keep your eyes
closed or open during lessons, and allow your eyes to move left to right, up and down, all
around. When you come to stand, soften your gaze and allow your eyes to move to the horizon
and sense the world with your peripheral vision, your sense of space expands.
5. Make it fun
It’s not so serious. Come to sense pleasure. It’s like a walk in the park. What do your
prefer? Learn what you like, what makes you comfortable. Practice exquisite self care. Use the
best blanket in the house to lie on. Don’t be fatigued or try too hard. Smile.
4. SLOW down
You can always do less. Are you using any unnecessary effort? Trying, willpower, going
too fast? Do less. Make the gesture of the movement. It’s not a destination, it’s a direction. A
process. Reduce effort. Your brain is attracted to it. This is a mind-body method.
3. Do many Awareness Through Movement lessons
There are thousands of different lessons. If you have a chronic condition, and are experiencing discomfort or pain, you may need to immerse yourself in awareness through movement lessons. Do 1-3 hours a day. Do a lesson every day. Keep your favorite lessons in mind to do whenever you want. They are reliable.
2. Move in comfort
Experiment with what bothers you less, start with whatever is comfortable. It’s paradoxical, but it will help your improve more. Start slow, small, pause. If you are in pain, do less, much less. Mobilize other parts of yourself that can support you. You can use your imagination and do the movement in your mind’s eye. It’s the quality of the movement that is important, not going to your maximum.
1. Breathe freely
Inhale and exhale through your nose, or mouth, what ever is comfortable. There is no right or wrong way of breathing. We breath in different ways in different orientations and in different situations. Sense what moves when you breath, the volume of your breath, and let it be natural and light. We have many different awareness through movement lessons on breathing, see saw breathing, 4 part breathing, voice work, etc. We teach freedom of movement, and you give it breath. Be there with all of yourself, including your breath.
