A breath token is a breathing exploration that I develop for friends & clients and send out as a gift.
Lifting and lowering the arm with breathing
Yesterday I was with a group of women explaining the term „somatic“ and it sounded rather dry and a bit boring to me. This is actually not so surprising because somatics is about an experiential relation-ship with the body: we communicate with the body or let the body speak for itself, rather than us talking about it. And when we use words, we describe what‘s happening and what something feels like rather than lecturing.
Here I‘ve outlined a simple example in which we do the same movement but first „conventionally“ and then somatically.
Conventionally: In standing, inhale and lift your arm, exhale and lower your arm.
Do this three times, sense the effect and then repeat on the other side.
Somatically: In standing, let your arm hang by your side. Sense the weight of your arm and let your arm sink. Let the sensation of sinking and softening transfer into your pelvis and knees. Bend your knees a little and lift your arm, as if you were scooping something up. Let the inhale come by itself and the exhale come by itself. Accompany the exhale lowering your arm. (The inhale can come early on in the lifting of the arm or right at the top or anywhere in between)
Do this three times, sense the effect and then repeat on the other side.
You can do this movement very gently or vigorously by bending the knees more or stretching the hand, in whatever intensity you like.
What‘s the difference between the two different ways of lifting and lowering the arm with breathing?
Benefits I experienced were:
Clear differentiation of movement quality, organisation of the body, perception of the body, breath flow, state of mind in comparison of the different versions.
There are surely other benefits for you to discover. If you have any questions or feedback please contact me.