One of my dance students from The Art School in Amsterdam by the name of Karen Ortega Garcia wanted to interview me about body awareness and health. I thought it might be interesting to share this interview here:
What is the connection between our body mind and energy and how do you use them in class?
There is so much to say about the connection between body mind and energy. They all have the ability to influence one another. If I relax my body the mind generally calms down and emotions (energy in motion) can start to flow. If I am very much in my head, my body is tense and generally, our energy and emotions will not be in flow. If I hold emotions in you likely will see the mind is involved in this and the body will have to hold and tense in order to not let emotions flow. Our mind tries to make sense of things and in making sense of things we are not in the experience of them. Generally, our mind by itself has no power, only when we 'believe' our mind and fuel it with energy it has a grip on our reality.
In class, I always use the field of the mind and the energy in order to facilitate a deeper opening in the body. If as dancers we want to reach new openings and move past the known patterns we should use imagery and connect to the energy in and around ourselves. Without a softening in the mind and playfulness in our energy, we won't discover the life that we are underneath these patterns. Once we tap into this inner pulsation and life we can start discovering new places in our body and open ourselves from deep inside. This has an amazing effect on our ability to then use our body in different ways and even the familiar movements will look and feel different. Enriched and refreshed.
What is whole-body awareness to you?
If I would have to give a definition of whole-body awareness I would probably take it even beyond the body. I would allow myself not just to observe my entire physical body but to zoom out into the energetic field that is around the body. From that spaciousness, I would look from outside into the body. This way I can feel and be aware of all of me at the same time. Not just on the level of my body but on all levels. I can then also feel how that whole body is connected to everything that is around and I shift from being aware of my body to experience the field of awareness itself. The awareness that we are.
How do all the body parts relate to each other?
To answer this question I like to dive into the vibratory realm of existence. Each tissue in the body consists of cells and all these cells are in constant movement. They are always talking to each other. So the whole system is a vibrating intelligence. Therefore you can't make a single change in the body without it affecting the entire inner dialogue that is happening on the level of energy, frequency, and vibration. Our body is one big vibratory play. This doesn't just connect to our own body, it connects to us in relationship with people, nature, and the world at large. On the deepest level, there is just an ocean of love, light, and potential that we are swimming in and that everything in creation is inside of.
You mentioned that our physical body is a map of our subconscious brain. How is this so?
To answer this let's go back to the idea that emotions are energy in motion. If all human emotions would be felt in the moment they appear then they would be in motion and we would be in flow. However, this is not the case. We have made certain emotions wrong. We have made them mean something about us and we have stopped their flow. In the history of humanity, we have felt unsafe and therefore unable or unwilling to feel what there is to feel. Whatever our ancestors were not able to feel is carried over from generation to generation. As a species, we have shut our hearts off and we have blocked the flow of energy inside. Everything that is energetically not felt is then stored in the body on top of the generational storage that we inherit. Goodness flows right through us and leaves no trace but what we label as bad and therefore block we keep inside. There is literally a density inside of us energetically that then also brings about physical ailments and illnesses. The good news is that by being willing to experience life from the heart again we can set free everything on behalf of ourselves and humanity at large.
What is the most important thing you want to bring to dance classes?
The first thing that comes to mind is joy. We all start moving from a pure sense of joy and we all have a big sense of joy in our hearts for Dance. This is why we started studying it in the first place. The moment we connect to that joy, we tap into a flow of energy and possibility that is beyond what we can reach when we are in a state of frustration or being demanding and determined inside of ourselves. It has a lightheartedness and curiosity to it. The vibe I set out in the class that allows you to find the joy in being you and expressing your energetic signature while moving is the most important.
What is dance to you?
Dance is an extension of our being, it's our body expressing itself fully through movement. The whole play of life is movement and dance is a way of celebrating our own energy through movement into this world.
How do we remember our true nature?
The remembrance of our true nature definitely comes from the acceptance of ourselves. Everything that we think is who we are, is actually a set of collective agreements that we took upon ourselves and personalized. The thought patterns were already there before we were born we just identified with elements of that and falsely made them yours. The same with the emotional residue we talked about from generations on end. Life is always moving you towards expansion regardless of how it looks from the outside or how we choose to perceive it from our limited perspective on reality. Maybe life is not giving us always what we want but it's always giving us what we need. maybe if we can relax into the experience of being us on every level and not in opposition we shift into alignment with the truth of who we are and we are once again in harmonies like nature and everything that thrives in creation. In this harmonic state, the truth of who we are is revealed. It expands beyond us. We become bigger than anything that was superimposed on us. We become the loving presence and the unique translation of this one loving presence that is all of creation and then we are free. All that has to happen on the level of our humanity is to accept everything and be willing to be in the experience of our life fully. Nothing else. It's really quite simple. We make it complicated with words, teachings, and self-help programs and we think the more complex and deep the things are the wiser they are. In my humble opinion, this is not true. The wise is in the simple and the simple is that you are just here to have the experience of being you. So let's just have that experience, shall we?
What have been some revelations you have had through working with the body?
Interestingly enough it took me working with the body, to understand that we can fall beyond it. In the Ilan Lev Method, we use movement to tap into this very fast inner vibration and we run it through our system playing our own energy that of others (in groups) and that of the space. About two years ago we were in a big group doing this game of playing the energy inside and around and I had a moment where I disappeared. So solely by physically inducing this inner vibration, I ceased to exist in form completely. This was a revelation that till today I can't give words to. I have also experienced the opposite where deep meditative states allowed me to fall into vibrations this refined that I couldn't create with my physical body. So what is movement and what is stillness is a question for me. One seems to contain the other inside each others dept. So I guess that would be the biggest revelation
Do not read this closely. Best to pass through it lightly without any delay. If you feel the need you may go through this again and again but without stopping. No need to test yourself or memorize this material, and if you find yourself getting a little excited from it, know that you are in the right direction. In principle, let this matter storm your imagination.. and you are definitely in the right direction.
Life is larger than the ability to define it, meaning, it is impossible to define the concept “Life”. It is possible only to try and encircle or sketch life with as many insights that may come to mind.
On the other hand, it is possible and appropriate to say that life is whatever one chooses to make of it. And in this frame of mind, one can elaborate and say that life isn’t dictated, nor is it a necessity that one has to rush through. It would also be wrong to work hard at living because hard work is a forgery that doesn’t leave any time… to live. Of course this doesn’t mean that nothing should be done. Longings of the heart should be followed, and in that way we can discover life. You should know: life is not a goal that we strive for. Life is what happens to us all the time in a tangible way which means only in the here and now.
Nevertheless, within all this lack of clarity, is there any lead to hang on to when trying to answer this simple question – what is life? In the writer’s opinion there is a lead. Let us discover it.
Reverberation is the essence of life. The resonance between frequencies, the pulsating game among them is the entire story. Like a concert. Sounds derived from one instrument integrate with sounds derived from another, mix and roll with each other, constantly moving in and out of one state to another. The richness in sound that is produced, fits in with other sounds that are alike but different and it is this which creates this concert, which is a journey of life-beating experiences.
So, what are these frequencies, what do they contain and what keeps them together?
These frequencies are a collection of all the codes of life. All the codes needed to create the woven stories of our lives, there are no others besides them. Not in a different reservoir nor at any other place, nor in any other available form, nor at any other time. This is a complete holism. A wholeness that can surely change its shape from time to time but can do so only at remote times and places, and therefore unreachable for us nor relevant as far as we are concerned, according to any standard we have known, have not known or will ever know…
These are frequencies that were concentrated earlier in a different place, beyond our understanding, in a density that we have never met before and in time will most likely return but not exactly there.. which actually means the same to us. This current collection of frequencies is the one we are interested in, it is within the scope of our activity, inside the limits of its awareness and unawareness. This is our playground. All of it. When I say “ours” in this context I mean to every human, bird, butterfly, tree, brook, the sea, a stone - all we can see and touch, know about or not know about.
The stars, the signs, the planets and the entire creation. Our brain cannot comprehend this but our imagination can. What is it derived from? From knowing our limits and from our manipulative imagination which enables us to recognize even if only in an asymptotic manner the whole perspective of our infinity, in full understanding that it is some kind of local “endlessness” that is certainly a part of the “never ending” family structured one above the other, alongside each other and in continuation of each other. They all are in some sort of shared space everywhere and nowhere, all the time and in no time. This could be our inclusive existence or perhaps it doesn’t exist at all but is all an illusion. Those of you who find the idea of illusion disturbing, let us at least agree that the illusion too is part of this global existence. It is, isn’t it?
What is important in all of this is our present space with all its rules determined by those frequencies of creation as we’ve called them, they are registered there and only there. These are the frequencies that have been spread out as a result of the big bang as we’ve named it, and it is the beginning of our local infinity era. An infinity where everything exists and happens endlessly and contemporaneously, only when we are called upon to walk through it in our very best limited way, while bumping into what we will define as yesterday, tomorrow and the present, that might not even exist but that everything exists within it in a hidden shrouded secrecy, simultaneously. The problem lies within our limited ability to identify it because it cannot go beyond the point we are already facing, where we turn to or where we will turn to next and we will understand within this limitation what we understand. But between you and me just knowing this limitation will enable us to hover easily beyond it. All within our local infinity. That is pretty much all, isn’t it?
And so, we’ve come back to the question what are these frequencies and what are they made of? According to our most manipulative way of thinking, these frequencies are all the codes of life. It is important to understand that this is not only the distribution of the human life system, but a mighty concentration, of the entire cosmic knowledge compressed into this whole matter. This is very useful information that takes up no space at all -the most compressed microfiche* library, that doesn’t require any storage space. A collection of mighty knowledge that updates itself all the time in a remarkably dynamic way and is constantly available for whoever holds an appropriate credit card or a magical key, to access it.
The name of the game is being worthy of reading this, with reciprocity, with no need or intention to own in. This can only be done by recognizing our limitations, in a decent way, derived only from appropriate curiosity… these are the shortest and therefor also the fastest, the most official and the most appropriate frequencies. They are the mother tongue of the creation. They are the only common language for all creatures large and small above and beneath the ground and in all directions.
Where did these frequencies come from? Can we really touch these sources? Will we know what their end will be?
A serious analysis is not enough to get us all the way there. The things are way beyond our conception. It would seem that the only appropriate way for us to touch the story of creation and the hereafter is through the folk tales and free allegories. Only there we need to roam and choose words that are not directed to our senses but to our wild imagination only. Mythologies and folk tales that have survived the ravages of time have persisted in telling us the stories of creation. Above this narrative stands the Divine creator of Adam and Eve. He who created them did so out of desire to know Himself, no more than that as they are created in His own image. But because He dared not and could not fulfill His commitment in giving Eve back to Adam, and in His lack of ability to bear this matter consciously and morally.. He exploded, His particles shattered all over.. Pay attention, divine knowledge is within every single one of these tiny pieces. This is the frequency, or a collection of frequencies that were a little lost until they found other frequencies that showed empathy to one another and got together in little energetic groups that became more complex energetic structures in order to continue their struggle to survive this game, until they became bearers of different DNA. And became the DNA of a human, a tree, a flower, a bird, a rock, the sea, of all the planets, of whatever is visible and whatever is hidden etc. etc.. The ones who survived did so by justifying their existence thanks to the give-and-take within the working arrangement of the whole creation.
This is actually the whole story. All the rest is commentary. Even if this story continues and perhaps will continue to its expected but not anticipated end… this is actually the whole story. All the anatomy and physiology books, great researches from the past, the present and the future are all remarkable but lack, by definition, the prospect of attempting to see and contain the full reality. The source of this limitation lies within the functions of the two major participants that build and activate this happening: the brain and the imagination. The brain is the limiting factor. That is not too bad though.. the more we understand this, the more exciting it becomes, it “turns on” the imagination and awakens it more and more. And between you and me, this is the real thing. End of story. For me this story is important not for understanding the whole truth, because it is beyond our understanding but for us to use as an appropriate source we can turn to with every single question, and receive, yes receive, an answer.
Updated: Jun 9, 2021
I would like to share a bit about my experience Focusing with Dorry Aben. First I'll share a poem that describes the journey I went on and after that a few words on the session itself.
The small black monster.
A big, light, pointing finger.
I stand steady in between.
With my beams.
Holding the space.
No need to choose.
They are both allowed to be.
I grow like a tree.
Looking down from the top.
Both parts equally big.
The resistance.
A disapproving finger.
Also this is allowed to be.
My stomach wants attention.
It wants me to breath there.
Not wanting to lose control.
Also this is allowed.
My lower back is tight.
Fear to lose control.
I let the fear be.
The dark chest is heavy.
Sadness.
I give it attention, it lifts off.
Embracing all aspects
Letting go of thinking
Not having to search.
Not having to know.
Just acknowledge.
Accept and let it be.
Let me be me.
The session went very deep. Dorry guided me into a deeper layer within myself and at the same time she connected me to the universe at large. It was a most profound experience and continues to have it's effect on me. Our work brought a physical and emotional release and left me with a sense of freedom. The way Dorry holds the space for me during a session allows me to enter places that I didn't manage to reach by myself. She created a loving and safe cocoon in which I could completely trust and let go. Things that were hidden in my body started to show themselves to me as Dorry gently guided me to have a spacious relationship with different aspects of myself. I arrived at a more peaceful and accepting place around my own fear and sadness. Things that my body kept locked in place started flowing again.
