Connecting With Your Bones

Recently my surgeon told me that I may need to have spine surgery again. I really don’t want to have the surgery unless it is my absolute last resort. Then a friend of mine told me about a woman who is a Feldenkrais practitioner. If you are not familiar with this technique, it is an approach to human movement originally developed by Moshe Feldenkrais based on principles of physics, neurology and physiology, and the conditions under which the nervous system learns best. I believe some of what I have been experiencing in my back is due to the big challenges I have been going through this past year.  As I am learning to let go through this process of getting in touch with my bones and resting in their strength, it brings more spaciousness inside of me and this kindness and presence to be with whatever is happening in my life. 

I have seen this practitioner three times and she is connecting me with my bones.  It is very powerful. Last week she invited me to move my body in a way that felt like water going from the bones of my fingers that were raised high above my head, down through all the bones in my body, all the way into my legs and feet. This connected my whole boney structure together. At first I couldn’t feel it, but as she worked with me to do these movements very, very slowly, I finally felt all of my bones and tears came as I recognized I had taken another step on the journey of coming home to my body.

I share this with you because in some ways her work parallels mine. We both work on connecting with the body because for most of us, our attention is usually in our minds and that puts a veil of thought between ourselves and Life. What she offers that has been so powerful for me is the ability to rest in the strength of my bones. I am not sure I can even give it justice with words. One of the techniques she taught me is to tap my heels on the floor and pat the top of my head to give me a sense of the boney structure and support that is always here. She also taught me to imagine that when I am sitting, my sit-bones are like feet and the whole of my body is resting on these little feet. All of these movements are connecting me more deeply with my body and especially my bones.  After my second treatment with her, I was lying in bed that night and I began to feel waves of joy because I realized that in all my efforts to heal my pain, I had never been aware of my bones. 

For just a moment, say hello to your bones. Lift one of your hands and move it around. There are 27 bones in your hand that all work together to allow you to use your hands. It is a marvel of engineering! Now take your hand and feel the bones in your other arm. Don’t just think about your bones; recognize that you are feeling a living process that we call a bone. Can you see the magic and vast creativity of this hard thing underneath your fingertips? Can you recognize how much this bone has done for you your whole life?  Now open up into your whole body and recognize that there are 206 bones that all work together like a finely-tuned orchestra that allows you to live.  Your bones are inviting you back into the wonder and awe of the vast creativity that it takes in order for you to move, breath, talk and read this article. 

I invite you into this alive, intimate and inspiring relationship with your bones before you reach the end of your life. For all of us, one day our bones will dissolve back into mystery.  Whether you are 20, 40, 60 or 80, you are aging every day. Getting older is a fierce process, but there is much beauty and wisdom in it. Someone once said “To embrace loss is to know eternity.” We live in a land of impermanence and our bodies are breaking down and yet, we resist aging. You don’t have to like it, but the greatest gift we can give yourself is to stay open to the aging process. 

Know there really is a greater field that is always here if you can let go of the resistance when your body begins to break down. And to be amazed by your bones can help you to reconnect with this field. So connect with your bones, even as they get more weak and brittle with age, for they are always with you and will continue to support you in so many ways on this journey of Life.

Image – Spinal Cord by Artist Greg Dunn, 12K gold, ink, and dye on stainless steel, 2014, 24″ X 36″    www.gregadunn.com

For Feldenkrais Information:  www.sensingvitality.com or www.feldenkrais.com