Somatic Exploration of the Front of the Body
RESTING THE FRONT BODY
The front of our bodies contain our soft parts. The front is about how we see ourselves in the mirror, how we present ourselves to others, where we meet people. It is where we do things with our hands, how we experience walking through the world. Our senses are oriented towards the front. There is a lot going on there. This exploration allows you to feel support of your front, to find a restful release through the front, to re-set your tone in your front body.
Read the text first and then find a comfortable place to lie down and then make yourself comfortable. You may like a pillow or rolled up blanket under your ankles. If you have large breasts a rolled up towel on your upper chest helps relieve the pressure on your breasts. I like to have a pillow or put my hands under my forehead so there is room for my nose when my head is not turned to the side. I also like to bend my elbows and place my palms down about the height of my ears.
When you turn on the audio it will take you through the first part of the exploration. On the audio I didn’t continue with the explorations about feeling the back, then standing and walking because I want you to take the time you need to rest and release the front. The audio is only 6 minutes. If you have time it can be amazing to witness the changes that can happen if you continue 10 to 15 minutes longer sensing and feeling the supported and relaxed front body. So read first and then listen.
YIELDING TO THE BELLY SIDE:
Lie on on your belly, on a flat comfortable surface (bed/mat/carpet/floor). Make yourself comfortable. Feel the softness of the front body in relationship to the surface and the earth beneath that surface. Trust the supportive surface. Let your body yield into the floor/carpet/bed/wherever you are. Notice your comfort or discomfort. Soften. Feel your weight release into gravity. Let your weight drop down. Give yourself time to experience the support of your front body, the soft parts and the knobby parts. Rest and relax. Give yourself more time. Notice emotions. Notice thoughts. Notice where you yield and where you pull away. Let the noticing come and go without attachment to one story. Soften more. Be held by the earth beneath you. Breathe and rest.
After you have been resting belly-down for a while noticing your front body, move your attention to the back body. What is this like for you to have your back in space, your front facing down? Notice the difference in muscular tone, in emotional tone between the front and back.
When you are ready, slowly come to standing and feel the front body in space. Can you still feel its relationship with the earth? What is this transition from support to space like for you? What are you experiencing? Walk and feel how your experience changes or how it has changed you.
“ Resting is a deep interstitial re-set. The fluids settle and the cells can bathe in this settled fluid and then they find their own transformation from something confused, like simple colds and complex cancers, to their natural pristine clarity and balance. “ Patrice Heber wrote this in an email to me
May we all take care of ourselves. Listen for the balance between activity and rest that our individual body-minds need.
If you are interested in exploring more ways to rest and change the tone of your body you may like my class about Rest or other embodiment workshops.