Your personality can’t be seen more clearly (to me as a body reader) than when you are moving freely.
The same is true for me. If you know me, you know I’m a “muscle through-er.” I push. I TRY. I WORK. Everything is to be OVERCOME, DEFEATED, WON.
I’m not saying this is bad or good; it just is.
So I always thought that FAST and BIG and LOUD was best when it came to movement. I always thought that that would get me to physical sorts of goals quicker. (And when I say physical goals, I’m not talking weight. I don’t weigh myself. I’m talking about how I feel and I how I am able to move.)
Then I started studying Butoh (with the world renowned Maureen Fleming), and we moved so slowly, paying so much attention to every freaking detail.
It was agonizing. I never sweat so much. I’ve never been so sore.
And I’ve never been so completely and utterly captivated and engaged.
It challenged me on every level of my being. It made me a better and more interesting mover. It elevated my teaching and my work.
I’m a convert and I’m here to convert you too.
That’s not to say that fast and fun doesn’t have it’s place, but it shouldn’t be a place of primacy.
As I said in a yoga class this morning, too often we’re moving quickly to AVOID FEELING.
And then we get hurt. Because if we’re not feeling, then we’re not noticing, then we’re relying on momentum and shit happens.
The physical practice once again teaches us everything we need to know about living life.