Massage & Bodywork

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2019

Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1174218

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 27 of 117

MOVING AT YOUR ESSENCE PACE Think of the last time you gave a session, and you felt like you were running out of time. How did your body respond when you told yourself to hurry up? Time urgency and identifying with clock consciousness can be a constant stress and results from moving out of pace and out of sync with your own essence. Rushing often adds unnecessary effort, tension, and pain in our mind, body, and heart. Researchers call time urgency a hidden driver of stress and demonstrate that it plays a major role in heart attacks, feeling distracted, indecisiveness, irritability, and the inability to connect and feel connected. 2 When we race against the clock, we know who is going to win every time. Unfortunately, our intrinsic timing and the natural pace of moving through life has been—and may still be—routinely disrupted from the outside. As children, the adults around us would demand we "hurry up," "settle down," "slow down," and "stop fi dgeting." As adults, not much has changed. There are now deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and mouths to feed, possibly creating the feeling of not having enough time. When was the last time you remember moving at your own natural pace without feeling rushed? It's probably been a while. To remedy this situation, try asking yourself these questions: What would it feel like to move at the pace of my own essence? How would it feel to work on projects or errands as though time didn't matter? If time didn't matter, how quickly (or slowly) would I move around the table doing bodywork? How long would I linger in different places on the body? How would moving at my own pace change how I practice and experience giving bodywork? A lot to consider, right? Our essence contains multitudes! When we wonder, explore, and grow into our vastness, our relationship with our essence—and our proximity to it—evolves and changes. Notice the open space you create, the ease and fl ow you invoke, and the greater freedom you uncover when you think, feel, and act from the core of your most intrinsic, uninhibited being. We invite you to invest your attention in exploring your essence, so you continue to live in alignment with the most fundamental core aspects of you and enjoy all the bonus features of living in the playground of your essence. There are many pathways in which we can discover, reveal, and amplify our own essential nature. Get curious and discover something new about yourself and who you are, so you continue to nurture, share, and express into the world the amazing, unique being you are. As one of our favorite teachers, Mr. Rogers, says, "There's no person in the whole world like you." And being you is greatest legacy you can share with the world. Notes 1. Merriam-Webster, "Essence," accessed September 2019, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essence. 2. The Hendricks Institute & The Foundation for Conscious Living, "Moving into Essence," July 13, 2019, accessed October 2019, www.foundationforconsciousliving. com/big-leap-programs/moving-into-essence. Heath and Nicole Reed are co-founders of Living Metta (living "loving kindness") and want everyone in the world to enjoy the experience of befriending their body. The Reeds lead workshops and retreats across the country and overseas, including Thailand, Hawaii, and France, and have been team-teaching touch and movement therapy for 16 years. In addition to live classes, the Reeds offer massage therapy and self-care videos, DVDs, and online trainings, which may be found at www.livingmetta.com. Essence is a path of self-discovery— revealing what things, places, and people most amplify our personal happiness, create harmonious relationships, and grow a foundation of appreciation and self-love. SAV V Y SELF-CARE Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 25

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Massage & Bodywork - NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2019