Lesson 3 The path of least resistance

Moving according to how your body feels most comfortable and easiest… Many of us do not pause to sense whether what we are doing feels good or that we have chosen the path of least resistance. Many people move mainly on autopilot with their minds already on the outcome. And we have often learned ways of moving that we keep repeating unquestioningly.

When I was little, my parents often went on holiday with the caravan. I can still remember vividly how the holiday began when dad put the caravan in the garden and the packing began. And then one day later we would set off, avoiding the highways, so that we could have a picnic on the way. Late in the afternoon, we would stop at a campsite. So that there was time enough for a splash in one of those cold French mountain rivers, and to cook and enjoy the countryside. Steadily, we continued on our way to our destination. More than once, we would spontaneously stay a little longer at a nice spot. And more than once, the destination changed along the way. It was true traveling in the moment.

How different it was in the last 10 years when I went on tango trips with my love. Often we booked an overnight flight so as not to lose precious vacation time. Nothing could be further from the truth. We usually arrived in the morning exhausted. We then needed a few days to recover from stress and too little sleep.

It is the same with a movement journey. We can focus on our results -the destination-, and travel ahead of our bodies with our minds. We could also travel together with our bodies and focus on the path itself. 

The latter is where the dialogue with our bodies begins. We can interrupt our autopilot for a moment and question what we are doing. Does how we are doing, feel comfortable?  Or do we have other options available; a little slower, a little smaller, a little more up, or to the right… What option feels most pleasurable and gives more energy?

The path of least resistance is in the now and in the body.

It is about playing in the present. Listening to the feedback -our sensations-, we can adjust movements or make a completely different choice, just like my parents did when we were on holiday.

Our mind listens less openly when it is occupied with the future. It might also get in the way of our nervous system’s ability to create efficient movement patterns. Lacking better options, our brains then repeat and reinforce limiting patterns formed by past experiences.  We actually traveled back to where we left off instead of moving on to new destinations and possibilities

How will and can your body move now?

By moving small and slowly, you can hear its suggestions clearly and provide the nervous system with new information. In this way, the less efficient patterns in our feeling, thinking, and doing can cease to exist. We invite our mind to listen with childlike curiosity and attention so that it can become silent for a moment and learn from the body. And where that will take us is a surprise and a yet unknown point on the map.

Are you ready to meet your body where it is now and create something beautiful with it?