Photo credit: Tankowho
Body Love, Oh Body Love…
Fall 2014
I’ve been going to the same gym for many, many years. In the women’s section there is a large, wide-rimmed whirlpool. Women loll about, stretch out, submerge themselves, or just dangle their feet in the hot, bubbling water. Almost everyone is naked. Some are towel-less; some are towel-wrapped. This distinction does not blur over time. The women who are happy naked, remain happily naked. The women who are not, are not.
I am among the latter. For many women there is not any great significance to being in this group. Some are just naturally modest; for others it’s cultural or just a way of being raised. There is, however, a great significance to being in the other group. All of these women are, to one degree or another, comfortable with their bodies. Some are trim, fit, and slim. There are even a few who preen a bit – not in any sexual way – but as if to say, “Hey, I’ve busted my butt to get this butt, and I’m proud of it!”
Others are frankly, honestly, openly, unashamedly obese – and, as I slip up my towel and slide my body down in a move so carefully orchestrated that it leaves not an inch of naked flesh exposed – how I envy them.
Once submerged, the tune of that old Supreme’s song “Baby Love” often comes to me. Only the words aren’t baby love; they are body love, oh body love, I need you, oh how I need you.
The irony of the fact that I still don’t completely accept my physical self is that I have spent the last three decades of my life working at being in my body. The idea that the body is a temple is fundamental to my spiritual practice. It is based on the ancient yoga philosophy that says the human body is a microcosm of the cosmos and, as such, is being propelled along its spiritual path by the Divine – known, in this tradition, as Shakti. The human body is, in this sense, a container for creative force of the cosmos. A spiritual path like this shouts out the need for being able to be in and thus experience the body.
I have come to believe that this is true, not just for my path, but for all spiritual paths. Elements of Christianity, Judaism, and many other traditions teach the idea that the Holy Spirit – call it prāna, chi, ruach ha-kodesh – is the power of the divine that is with us, the power that calls us, moves us….
Clearly the more comfortable we are with our bodies, the more easily we can be in them – feeling and responding to this holy force. This is just one reason I am so excited about the upcoming “Embodyment” workshop Shelley Yampolsky and I are leading. I am eager to learn, grow and feel more clearly the connection between my body and my creative spirit along with the whole group….
Creativity Exercise
Harnessing the power of memory
It’s autumn and once again I can’t get apples out of my mind. There is a park right across the street from my house where an outdoor farmers’ market is held once a week in the summer and fall. Right now the reds, golds, greens, and burgundies of the vegetables burn their way deep into your eyes and linger on your retina. But it is the evocative smell of apples that pervades the market.
As you may know, researchers have found that smell and memory – especially early and/or emotional memories – are indelibly linked in our brains. Playing on this is always a good creativity exercise. For this one, in honor of autumn, use the most freshly picked apple you can find. (If it’s not organic wash any residue off well.)
Have the apple, a knife to slice it with, and pen and paper to hand.
1. Get yourself ready by doing Exercise One – the simple yoga breathing described and the awareness of prāna as life energy is important for this exercise.
2. Exhale. Bring the apple to your nose. Inhaling, holding, and exhaling as in Exercise One.
3. As you continue to breath, imagine that the scent of the apple carries the unseen molecules of the apple’s life force into your mind, bringing back memories until one stands out. (If you like, open your eyes, and carefully slice the apple at some point, noticing the subtle difference in smell and the different memories it may trigger.)
4. Write, describing the outstanding memory – which may have nothing to do with apples!* – in detail.
5. Later, use this writing to trigger further writing or other creative work.
* Much to my surprise the smell of apple (which I love) triggered a memory of apple pipe tobacco (which I detest) and this in turn led to a powerful memory of one of my most beloved friends from my college days – someone I hadn’t thought about in years.