Let's Do the "James Brown"

Moses: Pharoah! Let my people go!

Pharoah: Which way? Where?

You probably have heard about Moses. He's the one in the Old Testament Bible who led his people — the Jews captive in ancient Egypt — out of slavery and toward their promised land. Also, along the way, he went up a mountain and received the 10 Commandments. 

Interesting thing about Moses. Here is Charlton Heston in the role of Moses in the classic movie The Ten Commandments.

 

At an early part of the story our hero finds himself captive. Notice the staff lashed to his back and his arms and wrists bound. A literal image of subjugation and enslavement. Later he rises above his captors and is seen as the leader of his people. A staff is now in his hands. Upright. A symbol of authority and power. 

In metaphysics there are the horizontal and vertical planes. The horizontal represents the world. The vertical represents transcendence. So, now look at the captive and the emancipated Moses. See the horizontal bar? The vertical staff?

The Christian cross holds the same symbolism. The horizontal plane of the mundane world. The vertical ascendant. And Christ in the very center.

Something to contemplate. The Judeo-Christian narrative still rocks.

The Dharma of Gravity

Dharma is a vast subject. What exactly is it? In Buddhism it means, "Cosmic Law and Order". Also, the teaching of the Buddha about the way of things. 

The Dharma upholds us. We uphold the Dharma. Buddhist or not, Mother Nature rules. The sun starts to shine at dawn. Rain falls. Gravity ... pulls.

At a turning point in my life I got in touch with the simple fact that I was not paying attention to "The Way of Things", to my True Life needs. I was neglecting my spiritual life. I hated my job as an advertising executive. I wasn't taking care of my health. Things changed rather suddenly and abruptly. Not the least being a divorce and that heartbreak. 

Around that time I had tremendous success with my own Rolf Structural Integration treatments. It helped resolve lower back pain. And, I discovered how my body could change to be more graceful, powerful, and effortlessly upright. I chose that profession to support a way of life which contributed in a tangible human way; one grounded in reality. 

Structural Integration trains individuals to have an efficient and workable arrangement in the makeup of their bodies. 

That's where Gravity comes in.

Structural Integration was originated by Dr. Ida P. Rolf with the aim to educate human beings into a constructive and healthful relationship with that prime ecological fact — the constant and ever present pull of Gravity.

In a very real sense the force of Gravity is an item of Dharma. It is the Law. Ignorance is not an excuse. Ignore it at your peril. It will pull you down if you're not paying attention. Or, you're not in balance.

It's always there. It goes unnoticed as such. We take it for granted. Unless you want to go to the Moon, or you drop your groceries. Unnoticed or not, we do have to deal with it. Even a child learning to stack blocks is in a learning relationship to Gravity; albeit, it is a non-verbal process.

Dr. Rolf spoke eloquently. It sticks with me something she said, "Consign you body to Gravity". I take her to be saying, trust the force of Gravity. Trust enough in fact that when your body is stacked up in balance, you can see your way to letting go. Then, Gravity will heal you and support you. In a very real sense, the entire profession of Structural Integration is a project to demonstrate what it would look like to see humans correctly organized in their relationship to Gravity.

And, what I know of spiritual matters, a central point of the Dharma is letting go. Surrendering to what is. 

Oh, yes ... key point. Dr. Rolf had the genius to observe the obvious. Humans are not truly upright. In terms of the Anatomical design of their bodies. In terms of Basic Physics and what it takes in simple spatial terms to deal properly with the pull of Gravity. You can see for yourself. Most individuals live short of their easy natural potential for balanced order in their bodies. 

Quoting Dr. Rolf, "Some individuals may perceive their losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in their back, others as the unflattering contour of their body, others as constant fatigue, yet others as an unrelentingly threatening environment. Those over forty may call it old age. And yet all these signals may be pointing to a single problem so prominent in their own structure, as well as others, that it has been ignored: they are off balance, they are at war with gravity."

In order to balance your body with Gravity you have to think in architectural terms. Just what is it about the body — which, by the way, is just like any other physical structure on Earth — that needs to be there to work with Gravity. Work so well, in fact, that you could just surrender it to Gravity, and ... find yourself supported. Most of us would assume that if you let go you would fall down in a heap. And, for most of us, you would be right.

In order to "consign" your body to Gravity you need to see to it that it is arranged in alignment according to the dictates of Gravity. In the design and construction of buildings it's called Plumb and Square. At their very center physical structures need to be stacked up neatly in a straight line, all even and level. No less so with your body.

From that balanced position you can give your body over to Gravity. Why would anyone want to do that? Well, it is normal according to the basic design of the human body. So, it's healthy. Also, it's a platform for top performance. Full creative expressiveness. Also, maybe, that's were it gets into more spiritual concerns. 

In the following video a respected teacher from my school, the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration touches on the spiritual side of the work.

Do YOU Have ... C.O.P.E.D.?

Chronic Orthopedic Postural Ecologic Dislocation

In basic lay terms that's when your body is out of whack according to the simple dictates of Gravity. Mis-aligned. Imbalanced. Most people live with it. Surprisingly, it's so commonplace, it goes unnoticed.

If you are diagnosed with Chronic Orthopedic Postural Ecologic Dislocation (COPED), who do you call? Might as well call Ghost Busters! 

Huh? Why you say that, you ask?

Well ... That's because it's not on the books. There is no such diagnosis. Not yet, anyway. You can take a shot for it, but not the kind you would imagine.

It takes almost as many forms as there are people. A fairly typical example looks like this ...

We're talking here about how the human body over time can get out of sorts in simple architectural terms. This is due to many factors, unique to each of us: Injuries, accidents and traumas, both physical and psychological. Bad habits. Absence of correct training. The human body is plastic. It adapts. We are shaped by our experience. 

We learn to cope with life's challenges, and organize our bodies to compensate. Trouble is, those compensations get rooted into actual flesh. And, they persist as limitations which impede enjoying life as it is in the present moment.

Take my Uncle Stash. [Please!] Round shoulders, flat forehead. Anytime he was asked a question he would shrug his shoulders if he didn't know the answer (which was often). When he got the answer he would slap his forehead. Over time ... you get the picture.

We take random imbalances in the architectural makeup of our bodies to be normal. It is usual; but, not normal.

Normal, in structural terms, as any architect or building trade worker knows, calls for things to be neatly stacked up on a straight line, everything even and level. "Plumb and square" is the rule. It applies even in architecture that seems to defy Gravity ─ on the surface at least. The truth is that deep down, where the weight stresses are carried, you can be sure that Frank Gehry's and Zaha Haddid's wonderful fancies are all perfectly even, in balance.

That sort of thing in terms of the human body is a problem. We pay for imbalances in terms of living below our potential for vibrant good health. It saps energy. Limits the potential for top performance and full creative expressiveness.

Unlike architectural buildings the human body is not a static structure. It moves. Also, it's segmented. Holding this all together is an exquisitely interconnected system of balanced tensional forces. Muscles, connective tissues, bones. Each segment ─ head, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, pelvis, legs ─ needs to be in alignment according to that plumb and square standard mentioned before.

There's a fix. It's fast, effective, and long lasting. Since the body is plastic the relationships in the arrangement of the body can change back for the better. 

There's a lot you can do by yourself. Like Momma said, sit up straight. Let your feet go out straight in front when you walk. Raise your reading ─ book or computer screen ─ to eye level. Oh, yes, that little smarty-ass phone too.

If you want personal assistance to accelerate this transformation, you can call on a qualified  Structural Integration Practitioner like me.

Dont' Let the Coming Polar Shift ...

Find You Standing Beside Yourself