Creative Movement with SoulCollage

Why include a page on creative movement in a website overflowing with writing, self-growth and art ideas?

Because your body can be a wonderful ally in your quest for self-discovery.

We must never forget the potent and reliable wisdom of the body as an excellent authenticator and helper in times of confusion. As you are listening, pay attention to your delicate internal sensations. A positive direction expresses itself as a subtle release, perhaps in your solar plexus or your forehead or as an overall sense of ease. Being off the mark or heading in the wrong direction might feel like a tightening in your chest or a hunching of your shoulders or a clenching of your hands. With a little practice, your body can become a fine-tuned indicator of which voices to heed and which to gently put aside.
—Jennifer Louden, Comfort Secrets for Busy Women

Moving our bodies and paying attention to them are keys to breaking free from the wilderness of thoughts, ideas, and memories that can clog up our overcrowded minds.

Many times, all I need to do to clear away confusion or stress is to take some deep breaths, go for a short walk, turn on some Bruce Springsteen music really loud and dance, or ease my body into a yoga posture.

Being in my body and practicing creative movement in this way allows me to come “home,” so to speak.

It allows me to remember who I am.

I especially find it helpful to do any one of these things before I make a SoulCollage^®, or do a card reading.

There are many ways to include creative movement in your work with your SoulCollage^® cards.

Please take what you like from the suggestions that follow, and leave the rest.

Dance

• If you have an inner child card, place it in the center of your dance space. Turn on some music, close your eyes and invite her to dance with you. Pay close attention to her as you dance.
• Reverse the roles above. Become the child and invite your inner Good Mother to dance with you. Notice how this feels different.
• Choose a SoulCollage^® card at random and invite it to dance with you for five minutes. Move into its body and dance with yourself. What do you notice?

Yoga

• 

  If you practice yoga, make a SoulCollage^® Committee card and call it “The Yogi” or “The Yogini”. Place it on your mat with you the next time you practice yoga. Do one of the postures depicted on the card.

• Use the Warrior pose to invoke the energies of your Peaceful Warrior archetype. This is an excellent pose for stamina and strength as well.
• Increase your capacity for joy and playfulness by beginning each morning with the Breath of Joy movement.
• Instructions: Inhale arms up overhead, inhale arms out to shoulder height, inhale arms back overhead. As you exhale with a “ha” sound, bend at the knees and waist and sweep arms down below knees. As you warm up, you may be able to sweep the hands near the ankles or floor.

Walking

• Take a walk with one of your SoulCollage^® cards. Choose one at random before you go for your daily walk or workout at the gym. Imagine a conversation with that specific voice, being, or energy as you walk or workout. What is this card saying to you about the exercise, about moving your body, about how your body feels?

Labyrinths

• Choose one of your SoulCollage^® cards, and walk a labyrinth with the card in your hands. Walk slowly and mindfully. Be open to anything your card might want to say to you during the walk.
• Pause before you begin your labyrinth walk. What question seems to be calling out to you at this time in your life? Walk the labyrinth, holding this question in your mind and heart. When your walk is done, make a SoulCollage^® card that speaks to this question and to the answers that made themselves known to you on this walk.

Other Ideas

• Choose one SoulCollage^® card from your deck. Seat yourself in a comfortable position. Study the card carefully. See if there’s anything about this card that you didn’t notice before. If you have done an I Am the One Who exercise… with this card, or have other writings about it, read them over briefly. Then close your eyes, take the essence of the card into your being and slowly breathe with the energy that the card evokes. Breathe the energy in…1…2…3… Breathe out any energy that is stale or negative or unhelpful to you at thistime…1…2…3. Do this several times.
• Choose one of the cards from your Companions Suit. Sit with it for a few minutes. Use your imagination to enter the animal’s body. Turn on some music (or not, as you like) and spend several minutes exploring your space as if you were the animal.
• If you find yourself resistant to exercise/creative movement, make a card that honors this voice inside of you. Dialogue with it. Accept it. Notice what it has to teach you.
• Choose three SoulCollage^® cards from your deck who will support you on your quest for taking better care of your body through expressive movement. Be sure these are energies that are not judgmental or critical in any way! Place these cards on your exercise mat or near your walking shoes to remind you that their strength and stamina will give you the oomph you need to get up and move.
• Use the above three cards to create affirmations that will help you access their energy more fully. For instance, if you have chosen the Inner Child voice, a good affirmation might be I love moving my body or I feel good when I move my body. If you have selected the Warrior, you could say I am strong and powerful. Affirmations are positive statements voiced in the present moment. Take your affirmations with you into your expressive movement daily and watch how your attitude towards yourself changes.
• Practice listening to your body several times throughout the day. Get to know its signals for when it wants and needs to move. For instance, I know it’s time to move in some way when my hip starts aching, when my head feels like its filled with sand, and when my neck and shoulders feel stiff and sore.

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