Human 101

Sunday, April 12, 2015

 

What is a human being?

I tend to see human beings as works of art; an amalgamation of moods, emotions, thoughts, calculations, fears, histories and potential all contained within this package of legs and arms and fingers and things that are also pulsing and vibrating with their own energy. Humans are quite interesting little packages with all of this stuff coursing through their physiologies.

Each moment of life is different than the next, although from the outside humans look pretty much the same every day. Within each moment, however, is an emotion or a thought that wasn’t there a moment ago and will probably not be there five minutes from now. And because of that, each human is different within each of those moments.

Catch a human in a good moment, you’ll get a laugh from him in response to a goofy joke you just told. Catch him in a bad one, you may get a snarky remark.

I have always believed that within each human is a song or a dance that is uniquely designed for that person. Call it their rhythm, their well-being, their joy. I like to think of it as their connection to their Soul.

Most movement teachers know that stress can find a home in the body in the form of back pain, or tight hips. Anxiety can set up residence in the shoulders and neck. Repressed guilt is thought to be a contributor to arthritis and anger to digestive issues. At the very least, when someone is carrying a heavy load of emotion, their bodies become rigid and may even begin to shut down.

When the thoughts are clear, the emotions are healthy, the baggage is gone, the fears have been turned into faith and the potential begins to blossom – the human being moves more fluidly and has less restriction.

That is why it is important to me to consider all aspects of the person when they come to me for training. It is important for me to know them, not just what exercise mode they are into. In this way, I am more able to work with them in a way that allows them to connect to their deepest self and zero in on exactly what they need in that moment on that day. They begin to trust their instincts about their own health and fitness needs.

If they are open to the process, I know that I can help them find a motivation to continue their program even when I am not around to coach them. But it requires that they close their eyes, trust what’s inside them and go for it. If they are too tied to toxic beliefs, they will never let go to find out that they can fly.

It is not just an Integrated Body I am training, but an Integrated Being.