SHARING NATURE

Take a moment to think about the idea that nature is flowing through you all the time.  Think about everything that is solid within your body. Bring to mind your bones, your muscles, your teeth, your skin and hair. Consider that they all come from the natural world. They are all made from the elements that, before becoming part of your body were part of the rest of the natural world. And they will be returned sooner or later. Consider that these elements never belonged to you, you are sharing them with the natural world.

Think about the water in the world around us. Water is found in our sea, lakes, glaciers, rivers, streams and clouds.  It is also found in our bodies. We have water in our cells, our blood, our saliva, our tears and our sweat.  Recognise that we are sharing this water with the rest of nature around us.

Air is all around us, we can feel it against our skin and hear it moving through the leaves of trees.  Plants release the oxygen we breathe, and the air we exhale is used again and again by the plants.  We are an integral part of the natural world.  Air is continually entering and leaving the body as we breathe in and out, we can’t hold on to the air, any more than we can hold on to any of the other elements we share.

By kind permission of author Claire Thompson

I thought you might be interested to know about this book. It is a collection of pieces about the experience of working with body and awareness, written by 20 different therapists, artists, writers etc. 

I have written a chapter for this book called the Emanation Body that uses a buddhist model to show how I work with my clients using psychotherapy and movement therapy (Rhythmic Healing). So far I have read about half of the other chapters and have really enjoyed them, they are both accessible and informative. I thoroughly recommend it. 

“The field of embodied awareness is transdisciplinary and multi-faceted: it has no academic subject listing, but is of central importance to those seeking to understand art, dance, the psychology of health, trauma, learning & development, the psycho-ecology of extinction and climate change, proprioception and interoception, ecological awareness, meditation, and the need for societal transformation in an age of multiple convergent crises. Here 20 practitioners bring a wide range of perspectives to bear on the subject”

Warm wishes, Anna Murray Preece ATH member