sunset: general 631

In our own little world that we perceive as our self, our body, our mind, … we can see, and profoundly experience, how imbalances affect parts of us, and how they affect us as a whole. Unnaturally, unnecessarily imposed inhibitions (為) affect and drive our whole being. (1) Organ functions, our postures, everything gets unsettled. Communication, all kinds of interactions get disturbed, if we are not allowed, if we do not allow ourselves to take the right place in our bodies. How easy it should then be to develop a more tangible awareness that the exploitation of our larger contexts definitely comes back to also haunt us as part of the context.  

Regarding our own physical experience: If, for instance, our will looking to achieve certain goals (our own or other people’s, our family’s or mirroring the wider social context) ignores the feedback of the body for too long, breakdowns easily happen in the body, minor or serious illnesses appear. Exploitation has bad effects, usually complex ripple effects. But the reasons for some of our troubles are comparatively easy to grasp intellectually. Most are beyond our grasp. It makes sense to search for practical, pragmatic approaches. 

You can not walk on any path without a body. Taoist and Buddhist bodymind practices are not mere physical exercises, simplistic fitness routines. A Taoist bodymind practice is an intelligent learning path. It is meant to be a profound experience and guide within the educational journey.

Some of my posts will only be accessible to people more intensely involved in bodymind practices or to practitioners of somatic therapies. But the topics I am writing about intersect with so many urgent sociopolitical topics and areas in life today. We definitely need more broadly interdisciplinary approaches to tackle these issues.

(1) This is why reduction (損) and “non-action (無為、為著敗之) are such important topics in the Daodejing.