Our story of what it means to have a body, be a body and be in a body shapes and informs every aspect of our lives. These seventy-two trillion cells of ever evolving organic process, we call a body, are an infinite source of intelligence and wisdom. We have swallowed a wealth of information about the body, however rarely do we actually slow down and rest into the body or take up an inquiry of the body?
The body does not lie. The body is always present. We can discover the body is our greatest teacher and ally, when we take up this inquiry.
“It makes a wonderful difference whether we find in the body an ally or an adversary.” Goethe
Last year we were asked if we would receive the gift of a horse. Four years previous we had said yes to a similar request and discovered personally you “never look a gift horse in the mouth.” Our gift, an Anglo-Arabian Gelding, was missing a few teeth and what was left required special care and feed. After looking him directly in the mouth we both said a whole-hearted yes to becoming his retirement care providers. He has grazed the pastures and offered many gifts and blessings, including fertilizer and an endearing presence in our hearts.
The new horse came with a story that touched me deeply. The owner had ridden him in the ring for the past five years. His Purebred Arabian beauty however could not override the fact that he had a severe injury to his back left leg. Horse Aspirin assisted her to ride him and perform according to her training and interest. When his leg began to get worse she contemplated expensive surgery to see if it could be fixed. Several years previous, she had met my husband and he had shared the story of our old guy and his great retirement package.
One night as she lay awake contemplating what she could do with her horse, she suddenly thought, “I’ve never asked him.” Meaning she had never asked her horse what he wanted – to be ridden in that way, to have the surgery or what? Just asking the question opened a portal into a deeper pool of wisdom that could support her decision. Immediately on the wave of this thought she had an image of the face of my husband, John. The next day she called him and so the “gift” was offered.
As it is well known, horses that are no longer “useful” do not have a very good chance at a graceful passage in their later years. So it is that we have jokingly become the Equine Assisted Living for these gentle beings. No I am not soliciting other four legged elders however I do have a point to make.
In many ways when we took up “animal husbandry” we also took up the “husbandry” of the body. Husbandry actually means “farming or frugal management”. The body in many ways has become some sort of “thing” to take care of, fix, manipulate and manage to our ideas of beauty, fitness and even health. Have we actually ever paused and asked what the body needs, wants or feels.
Through the Re-enchantment of the Body, Movement and Life, I offer a safe container in which to encourage and support this inquiry through perceptual explorations, Continuum movement (which invites the body out of the well beaten path of habit) and the possibility of reclaiming the primordial intelligence the body carries. After all, the body has billions of years of evolutionary history at the tip of each cell!
Ask the body. Enter the body and tend the magnificence of awareness that is already waiting for you. We are human beings. We have bodies for this journey and they are integral to our healing on all levels of our being. Treating the body as if it were an object is a disservice to the greatest ally we have in trusting this ever evolving organic journey we call Life.
Penny Allport is a Creative Explorer in the journey of what it means to be human. She is a Certified Yoga Instructor, trained in Integrative Yoga Therapy, an authorized Continuum Movement Teacher and most importantly a human being taking up the inquiry of what it means to be human as a practice for living a healthy, whole and sustainable life.www.pennyallport.com
Penny Allport 