During the last 13 years, I have dealt with massively debilitating muscular tension in my body (an disorder known as “myofasciitis” or myofacial pain syndrome). And in my journey for solutions, I have gone deeply into Yoga and Qi Gong practice. Meanwhile when I first arrived in San Francisco, I was taught Aikido by Sensei Robert Nadeau who repeated something in every lesson:

“Let THE body … BE a body”

There’s something quite profound in considering that THE body isn’t MY body. There’s also something quite powerful in letting it BE. This is similar to where yoga is practised to the point that, “yoga is the cessation of the movements of consciousness”: for example, the surrender performed in the Shavasana, the corpse pose. It is also similar to the Wu Wei practice in Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Put simply, awareness expands, awareness of now … and a lot more. Thoughts are set aside and there is a coming back to being receptive to what is felt in the present moment – the sensations, the breathing, the flows of energy. Its a return to the nature flowing through our body.

“Let THE body … BE a body”

Sensei Nadeau would repeat this like a mantra, emphasising that when we loosen our mind’s control and sink deeper into our body, we open a door to a greater sense of ourselves – the innate natural power running through us and all around us. And the more we come into contact with this natural side to our self and life itself, the more we sense a greater feeling of power that can enliven us, that we can flow with. There’s exceptional magic and mystery in this and in what nature gives us – when we are receptive. Could this be our natural wisdom and source of well being?

“Imagine YOU are a passenger … in A body. And one day you get to the pearly gates and St Peter is hanging out there. He asks you the question:

“so how was it – the ride that was your life?””

The basic vehicle for our ride … in the flow of our lives … will always be our body. And life itself will be felt both by and through our body. So what can we do to look after our body, to tune it into better frequencies of health, vibrancy and well being? What can we do … to make the most of both our lives, and the rides that are our lives?