Softening the Body
Our culture has emphasized, and continues to emphasize, the body as a muscular system that should be firm, strong and fit. We have projected ideas onto the body that simplify the living sense of a body into rigid conceptualizations that no longer reflect true anatomy. Dr. Rollin Becker, a famous Osteopath in the Cranial Osteopathy tradition, said that living anatomy is really anatomy AND physiology in a dynamic play of movement and responsiveness.
A bone is not what we think it is. If asked to imagine an image of a bone, we tend to picture the bone of a dead and dried up body: hard, rigid and lifeless. A living bone is alive, active, fluid, bending and full of responsiveness on a cellular level. The experience of a bone from the inside, from an “interoceptive” perspective, can be of a vibrant and moving part of our anatomy.
The Chinese system of Chi Gong emphasizes the importance of softening, of letting down one’s muscular system, in order to settle into the ability to move energy within the interior body. This allows one to bring attention and life to areas of the body that may have pain, pathology, weakness or have been neglected in other ways. This invigorates the entire organism and brings it closer to optimal health and functioning, as well as bringing the person to a greater sense of alertness and vibrancy.
The avenue to begin to sense the realness of our lived experience in the body itself, is a simple process called “softening the body”. If one allows some time to rest on a bed or a floor, and directs the attention inward toward the bones, one can begin to discover that the mind and body are pliable. Intending one’s body to “soften” can bring incredible relief from stress. Simply say the words in your mind: “let the shoulders soften”, and then without trying, see if you can let the softening happen by staying out of the way. This can be done for any part of the body and is a powerful aid to facilitate sleep, relaxation, healing, and rejuvenation.
TRY: Give yourself 10 minutes to rest, staying still, on a comfortable surface. Invite softening to occur and let yourself feel it happen. See if you can eventually let the bones soften…