5 ways of paying attention to yourself
Here are five types of question I find useful to create in my mind's eye a picture of myself in movement - one that's as complete and accurate as possible.
Questions about support. Where am I receiving and taking support from? For example the floor or a chair. Which parts of me are receiving that support? How much of me is that, how big of a contact surface? Is my support narrow or broad? Firm or soft? How does the nature of that support change as I move - does it narrow or broaden, harden or soften? What changes in myself would help increase the amount of support I can receive?
Questions about direction, orientation, distance. Where are parts of me pointing to or moving towards in space? Which way do my feet point? My nose? My belly button? My breastbone? Are my shoulders facing in the same direction as my hips? If not, how different are those directions? In what direction am I giving my attention? And how far away is my attention? Is it inside the physical volume I occupy? Outside that volume but close to me? Or far away? When I move, what am I moving in respect to what - am I moving a part of me with respect to my support? Or with respect to another part of me? Or with respect to a point outside of me?
Questions about the relationship between different parts of myself. Which joints in my skeleton are opening or closing, and how much? Which joints are not active? How do hip joints relate to each other in space? How do hip joints relate to shoulder joints in space? How do hip joints relate to ankle joints in space? Which ribs are getting closer together, which ribs are moving further apart? Which vertebrae are moving with respect to each other and which are not moving with respect to each other? How evenly is the work of moving spread over my whole self? Am I capable of spreading the work more evenly? If I constrain a part of me (stop it from moving), how does that change the movement?
Questions about breathing. How am I breathing? Do I prefer to breathe in or out with this movement? If I change how I breathe, what effect does that have on my action? Can I find a way of breathing that makes this action more comfortable? Can carry out this movement without tension, whatever way I breathe?
Questions about emotions and self-management. What emotions am I feeling as I move? How can I change what I am doing in the movement to make it more pleasurable? Should I take a rest now?
What questions do you ask yourself about how you move? Please leave a comment.