An Experiential Enquiry into the Energetic Nature of our Bodies

I am intensely focused just now on completing editing my book, The Breath of Life: An Introduction to Craniosacral Biodynamics. As part of this writing process, I have realized that I am writing as a female in a field lacking female authors. I have challenged myself to consciously write from a feminine perspective, which I have come to see as including intuition, creativity, and direct body-based experience. The book includes experiential explorations, largely inspired by my other passion -  Continuum Movement. Please enjoy this excerpt, and I'd love to know how it affects you!

It is not unusual to experience the body as a solid, physical structure. This is, after all, what we were all taught in school, if not before. We cannot walk through walls, and it can hurt to try. At the same time, we live in a world where the mind of science is shifting. While we have all learned about the rules of gravity and how to operate in a Newtonian state, we have also been exposed to revolutionary declarations from the world of quantum physics assessing all things as being aspects of one continuous whole. As David Bohm wrote, “relativity and quantum theory agree, in that they both imply the need to look on the world as an undivided whole, in which all parts of the universe, including the observer and his instruments, merge and unite in one totality. In this totality, the atomistic form of insight is a simplification and an abstraction, valid only in some limited context.” (Bohm, 1980, p.13).

We seem to be beings of light and space, rather than the solid forms we tend to see and feel. For example, cell biologist Bruce Lipton points out that we can only see each other because light photons bounce off of the energy of the otherwise invisible human body (Lipton, 2015). Apparently, our bodies compose themselves from used stardust, that has arrived on earth after stars have died or galaxies exploded (Schrijver and Schrijver, 2015).

Clearly, there is some mystery involved in our bodies in that they appear physical but consist of energy and light. Rather than attempting to explain further this phenomenon, which we directly perceive in Biodynamics, I would like to guide you in a brief exploration of this matter (pardon the pun) through your own body experience. If you are curious, please settle yourself in a comfortable position and lets begin the journey! You may want to record these instructions in your own voice to enable you to explore with your eyes closed, if you find that helpful, but this is not necessary.

 Take some time to get comfortable in your seat. Notice what sensations inform you in this process. Now, let yourself include one hand in your awareness. Take a moment to squeeze and open this hand three or four times, really letting yourself feel the muscles working and the tissues contracting and expanding. What are those sensations like? Does it feel hard or soft? Warm or cool? Tight or loose? Tense or relaxed?

Now, slow down the movement. Let yourself orient more to the sensations involved in moving than in the end goal of making a fist or opening your hand. As you slow the movement down, how do your sensations change? Do you sense them only in your hand, or do you sense anything being affected elsewhere in your body? You may begin to have more of a sense of flow, of ease, of fluid wholeness, where more of your body is involved. There may be a sense of energy elsewhere in your body, or perhaps a wave moving from your hand up your arm and through your chest. Your head and neck may begin to want to move, or even your feet. Let yourself be curious, slowing the movement down more and more.

After a few minutes of exploring this more fluid state, let the movement slow down even more, so it becomes more about stillness than movement. Let your focus be more on the space between your fingers and around your hand than on the micro-movements of the hand, itself. What are the sensations like now? It is not unusual in this slow state, with a wider field of orientation, to begin to feel like your hand is not so physical. It may begin to feel more like energy, suspended within a larger field of energy. Notice how it is for you. When you feel done with the process, or no longer interested, come back to the sensation of your physical hand and body, and look around to orient yourself.

Chances are, if you explore this repeatedly, you will find yourself experiencing increasingly slower movement, with an enhanced energetic awareness. If you stay with this, you may even begin to find some familiar aches and pains dissolving, as a kind of inherent treatment plan spontaneously emerges and healing ensues. We have entered now the mysterious realm of Biodynamics! Welcome!