104 Av. Victor Hugo, 1750 Luxembourg
MOVING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
All of us go through periods that seem particularly arduous, painful, stressful. Sometimes we have the impression that life is too demanding, that we can’t see the forest for the trees, that we are losing our ground and centre.
Sometimes values and people that we could rely on seem far away, references that we could trust in seem like vanished. What was true yesterday, isn’t true today anymore. We lose confidence, courage. A future that we were trusting in becomes uncertain and threatening…
In these phases, the practice of conscious movement reveals itself as being a powerful resource.
Moving in Uncertain Times is going to be a sequence of 6 Open Floor classes.
We will use the resources that our practice has to offer us, resources that we have been exploring during the last months. And we will start with breath…
BREATH AS A RESOURCE
“Breathing is life-giving. In every breath, we take oxygen into our bodies to nourish and sustain us. We inhale the molecules we need; we exhale what we do not need. Breath is constant: Its rhythm moves within us whether or not we are aware of it. Buddhist, Hindu, and many other wisdom traditions have taught conscious breath work for centuries: When we pay attention to our breath, our minds are called to the present moment. Not the past, not the future. Here and now. Inhale. Exhale. Breathing creates space and time to be present. Present to emotion. Present to sensation. Present to surroundings. Present to one another. Present to ourselves.
Deep breathing, and paying attention to sensations in our bodies as we breathe, increases our resilience. Shallow breathing makes us more vulnerable to stress and illness. Breathing from the diaphragm engages the parasympathetic nervous system (also called rest and digest system), inducing calm in the body. It changes our blood pressure and heart rate and reduces the risk of inflammatory diseases, including those caused by social trauma and chronic stress. Breathing is perhaps the most universally available wellness tool. Try it out: Take one deep breath. Notice the sensations in your body as you do this. The ability to notice and slow down our breath connects us to a sense of agency, of control: Even in dire circumstances, even when we cannot control anything else, we can consciously take one breath, and then another.
Breathing creates space in our lives to think and see differently, enliven our imagination, awaken to pleasure, move toward freedom, and let joy in. For those of us who live in bodies that are denigrated by society, breathing like this is a political act. The world sends a barrage of signals that our bodies –as women, people of colour, women of colour, queer people, trans people, and disabled people- are not beautiful or strong or worthy of love. Taking the time to breathe-literally and metaphorically- is a way to assert that our bodies are worthy and beloved. Loving our bodies is the first and primal act of loving ourselves.”
Valarie Kaur in “See no stranger“
Deeply inspired by Valarie Kaur’s manifesto “See no stranger“, I invite you to the next Open Floor class where we will take the time to focus on our breath.
Breath is an innate movement. That means, as long as we live, it’s in us. We do not have to produce it. Often we are even not aware of it and we forget this “wellness tool” that can help us to manage stress situations.
Equally important is noticing all the motions of continuous aliveness in the body that go on without our conscious will – innate movements such as heartbeat, expanding and contracting of the rib cage, rising and falling of the belly and chest, tingling, streaming, pulsing etc. These are the ways life is always moving us, without our effort. In this noticing we realize the dance within our bodies that is always happening, the movement that is gifted to us, even at rest, from first breath to last.
Good music is going to support us: Music that calms us down, music that is going to help us activate or settle the rhythm of our heartbeat and of our breath!
Inscriptions by mail to Catherine until Friday morning 14th, 10.00 latest: celvinger@pt.lu
Don’t forget to bring your Covid certificate, please.
Price: 25 €
You can pay cash at the beginning of the class
You can use PayPal if you have an account
You can transfer 25€ on my Bank Account IBAN LU85 0024 1521 8570 0000
Wear comfortable clothes in layers, you might like also to wear socks at the beginning or during the whole class
Bring your bottle of water or tea.
… and bring your love for movement, music, your curiosity and your willingness to breathe!
BornToBeMoved 