In nearly three years of study with Courtney in the AUM curriculum I have learned many, many lessons. I think the most important one I've learned is what a 'mind body connection' actually means. Sometimes we know things in our minds, other times in our bodies, and we know the most sacred things in our hearts.  Like kids in a sandbox, things go best when all of these forces know how to play nice nice. 

Within a month of starting this work I learned that I walk primarily on my baby toes and that very little weight is distributed onto the big toe side, or medial blade of the foot. At Anya we learn to 'Ground the Feet' and that means all parts. I had some work to do.

I learned with my mind where I could improve, and my heart earnestly wished for a quick quick transformation - but my body could not assimilate the change as quickly. This led me to explore grounding the feet whenever and whenever I could remind myself. At Anya we call this process 'purposefully fidgeting' - micro movements to achieve a goal with macro effects. Whenever I walked, danced, skipped or schlepped myself  throughout the city I would check in with my feet.

Three years later I'm still fastidiously working - celebrating the moments when I realize hey! I'm doing it, and laughing when I realize the change process is not finished. My shoes are still worn down more on the outsides and in moments when I'm exhausted or sluggish I go back to my old patterns and let my baby toes do most of the work. But like all relationships compassion, understanding and a good sense of humor are necessary to tackle these hurdles. The best news? There's a million posture projects to highlight so if one gets to be too much I can always shift my attention elsewhere.

 

Written by Sarah Sadie Newett
Body Banter