M
y mother phoned to tell me she had readone of my articles, “Physical Intelligenceand Will” (
EM
, April/May 2003).Though she has witnessed my growing involvement with the Enneagram, the development of EnneaMotion(she even took a workshop once!),and the more recent growth of EPI(Emotional andPhysical Intelligence), she still has a hard timeunderstanding and telling others what it is herdaughter does.She said, “After reading your article, I thought Iunderstood what you were saying. But now I’m notso sure. What were you saying?” What a great question. Among other things, itopened the door to a touching conversation wemight not have had otherwise.First I gave her the quick and easy description: If you know of an issue that always pushes your but-tons, makes you feel uncomfortable, is disturbing insome way, we can translate the emotional energy of that feeling into physical energy. By exploring itphysically and by listening to your body, you canfind an antidote to that disturbing feeling. But let’sdefine some terms.
Antidotes
If you’ve been bit by a poisonous snake, the snakevenom could kill you. There is an antidote, however,that can reverse the effect and save your life. Theantidote includes some of the snake venom. Thesame technique can work emotionally as well.If, for example, you’re a type Nine, perhapsyou’ve been somewhat shy or reluctant about lettingpeople know your needs, how you really feel, andyou don’t speak up for yourself very easily. Can youimagine that? Taken to an extreme, you couldbecome frustrated that people don’t listen to you(because you don’t speak up), and become sick of your own behavior.Perhaps you’ve tried to be more confident, butthe confidence didn’t come. Perhaps you told your-self to stop responding to everyone else’s beck and call,but couldn’t help yourself.This becomes a venom that prevents you fromyour wholeness and taking a stand in the world.Using the “Focusing”technique designed by Eugene Gendlin, I would ask you to give me a wordor phrase that describes the body’s “felt sense,” aphysical sensation in the body, that captures how your body feels in response to this shy reluctancethat you’re sick and tired of. In Focusing, the wordyou come up with that describes the “felt sense” iscalled the “handle.” You say that your center of balance is tossedabout as you try to please everyone but yourself. Youfeel “scattered and tossed about.” That’s your handle.
Somatic Focusing
In Focusing, the discovery of the handle concludesthe exercise. I’ve added a somatic component, andcall this work “Somatic Focusing.”“Scattered and tossed about” is the handle and thevenom. We get out of the chair. We inject this intoyour system by moving in a way that will bring on andexacerbate the feeling of being “scattered and tossedabout.” Moving with repetition and exaggeration, youstart to flail around the room, and Iaggravate thatfeeling by physically (but gently) tossing you about.I often work with resistance, pressing you furtherand further into the undesirable state, re-creatingthe trap you’ve made for yourself, and making it dif-ficult for you to do anything but this. Imight con-tinue to physically toss you about, or put pressureon your head or back to make you feel smaller.Eventually, you truly have that familiar sick feel-ing of being scattered, almost sea-sick from being sotossed about, and you have certainly lost your centerof gravity. At this point, you’ve “bottomed out” andhave hit the “turn-around” point.
The Physical Antidote
Now it’s time to listen to your body. I tell you toask your body what it would rather do. You continuemoving as before, but the body doesn’t want to.Something in the body shifts. My intention is tonotice as soon as that happens, paying particularattention to where the energy is going in the body. Ifollow that, holding the head down, a little pressureon the forehead, pressing against the sternum, hold-ing the arms down, pressing into the back, etc. It’san unknown journey that is difficult to describe orexplain. The body knows how it wants to be. Whenforced to work against resistance, the body is evenmore determined to find an alternative.Iask you to walk. You drop into your belly cen-ter, moving forward slowly. In order to help youfind your core, I press my hand against your ster-num, causing you to press more deliberately for- ward. This helps you find and connect your belly center, your heart center, and your head center. Yourcore becomes sturdy. Your arms stop flailing and start to reach out- ward. I press down onto your arms as your armsattempt to reach out and upwards. In so doing, youfind an inner strength that makes you more solid,more connected to your core. As Igradually let go,you remain — solid and grounded.I ask you to find a word or image that capturesthe inner feeling you now have, a new “handle,” soto speak. You say, “Sturdy core.” Your body positionis wide and solid with arms reaching out to the side.“Sturdy core” becomes your
mantra
(Sanskrit fora word or sound with the intention to bring on aparticular inner state), and that body positionbecomes your
mudra
(Sanskrit for a body positionor gesture with the intention to bring on a particularinner state). Combined, they shift the body and theneuron pathways (physical-intelligence.com), which will change the inner state.Combined, you have a physical antidote for feel-ing scattered and tossed about. The next time youfeel the old venom of not speaking up for yourself, of feeling scattered and tossed about, you can use thisphysical antidote to shift your reaction. You can evensay your mantra silently in your mind, “Sturdy core,”and with your mental intention, you can energize theneuron pathway for the wide physical stance with thearms reaching out and up. This antidote will changeyour thoughts, feelings and your behavior.
Explaining to my Mother
Back to the phone conversation with Mom. Yes, this work can be done on
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