Relaxation Articles
 

PEACE, EARTH AND THE BODY
By Paul Linden, PhD


International peace and environmental sustainability must
be grounded in a new way of living in the human body. The
old way isn't working.

Imagine sitting on a tree limb high in a tree, facing the
tree trunk, and working hard at sawing off the limb you're
sitting on. That takes a spectacular lack of understanding
of gravity and lack of awareness of what is supporting you.
How would it be possible for someone functional enough to
climb the tree and wield a saw to be that unaware? It's
really a kind of pathology, isn't it?

That kind of pathology is at work when people perpetrate
social aggression, war, and environmental degradation. It
takes a deep numbness and alienation not to know that
damaging the web of life within which we all exist also
damages oneself. That alienation isn't merely emotional or
spiritual. It is physical.

Take a moment to stop and create within yourself a feeling
of anger, fear, and aggression. You might think about
someone who has betrayed you and hurt you deeply. Or you
could imagine being yelled at by a violent stranger.
Imagine having to give a talk to a hostile audience.
Imagine your tax returns being audited. Or imagine any of
the many stressful situations that are part of modern life.

Notice what happens to your breathing, to the muscles in
your back and belly, and to your overall posture. Most
people experience a clear sense of contraction and
discomfort. In that constricted state, you can't breathe,
talk, think, walk, move, or act in strong, efficient,
graceful, and effective ways. In other words, anger and
fear weaken us. Moreover, contraction leads to a body state
of insensitivity and separation, which is the root of our
ability to do violence to ourselves, others, and the world
around us. Alienation leads to violence, and violence leads
to more alienation.

How do we break the cycle? Alienation must be addressed as
it exists in the body. By learning how to open the
breathing, stabilize the posture, balance movement, and
develop a radiant state of intention, people can achieve a
body state of awareness, power, and love and learn how to
use that to connect to the world and the people around them.

Every daily task can be a two-for-one. Whether you are
raking a garden, typing at a computer, swinging a golf
club, playing a violin, giving a lecture, or trying to
resolve a conflict, placing your body in a state of calm,
kind strength will lead to better results. And using daily
tasks as opportunities to practice being in this state of
mindbody integrity makes the little things of every day
life part of the path toward a peaceful, sustainable world.

The question, of course, is: How do you open and empower
the body? That is the essence of the body work that I have
developed, Being In Movement (trademark) mindbody training. The
simplest relaxation technique I have found is just to let
your tongue relax and hang softly in your mouth. What does
that do? Most people find that as soon as they relax their
tongue, immediately their throat, shoulders and breathing
soften as well. This trick is rapid, effective and totally
unobtrusive. You can practice it anywhere, any time, and
use it in any situation to help decrease your stress level
and improve your performance.

However, I can teach only a relatively few people
directly, and to help the rest of the people on the planet
learn the simple yet profound processes for opening the
body, I've written three e-books on the topic of
peacemaking. These books (and others as well) are available
as downloads from my website: www.being-in-movement.com

 *Embodied Peacemaking: Body Awareness, Self-Regulation
and Conflict Resolution
*Teaching Children Embodied Peacemaking: Body Awareness,
Self-Regulation and Conflict Resolution
*Reach Out: Body Awareness Training for Peacemaking -
Five Easy Lessons (A free download)
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PAUL LINDEN holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education and a
sixth degree black belt in Aikido as well as a first
degree black belt in Karate. His work focuses on the
application of a mindbody state of awareness, power, and
love in such areas as stress management, conflict
resolution, performance improvement, and trauma recovery.

Paul Linden, PhD
Columbus Center for Movement Studies
614-263-1111
www.being-in-movement.com
paullinden@aol.com

 

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