Basics Are Beautiful
Basics are beautiful, too. We can vary a basic movement and give body and brain variable loads by simple changes. We can also vary or enhance our experience by doing it to a song or adding a little attitude...
Something like changing the rotation of a limb, adding a little side bending, rotation, extension, or flexion to a basic movement can make a big difference, as can changing our relationship to gravity in some way, or changing the rate, rhythm or direction of our movement. We can change our gaze, or our breath.
Take a beautiful "basic" and bend it, extend it, twist it, roll it, jump it, balance it, breathe it, and SEE it differently. Experience it and yourself differently by imbibing your beautiful basic with a tiny dose of novelty or freshness. It does not have to be a big thing, or a big change.
And BASICS are always BEAUTIFUL when done with presence, attentiveness, fullness, wholeheartedness, and/or joy.
Is there a simple or basic yoga pose that you like to do? A simple dance step or a basic movement that you can toy or tinker with in some way? A movement like walking is a good place to start! If you are out for walk, try walking backwards, or skipping (my personal favorite) or maybe swinging your arms a bit more that you might normally swing them. How does that make you feel? Is there anything that you are learning or observing? Are you having fun? Are you smiling or laughing at yourself?
Maybe try the walking game by walking around your apartment or house while listening to different types of music. Put on 'Stayin Alive' from Saturday Night Fever and strut like John Travolta...Play Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' and do YOUR OWN version of her iconic dance. Move to Frank Sinatra’s 'Fly Me To The Moon' or 'Let It Go' from Frozen. You get the idea.
I have occasionally witnessed people in NYC with their headphones on literally dancing down the street. Or just simply walking in a way that lets you know they are in sync with the music in their ears, and with the soul in their steps. It is hard not to smile when seeing a beautiful basic embodied in these ways.
There are so many ways to play with a beautiful basic.
Take your breath...for instance. Maybe you can play with your breath by blowing up a balloon. Or better yet, blow up the balloon while doing a basic yoga pose or movement. Perhaps blow up that balloon, and bat it around for a few minutes while preventing it from hitting the floor. It is great for eye/hand coordination and a little low stakes play!
It has been a tough week in the world. Very tough for those amid war and turmoil.
I am inspired by their heart and courage. And though some of us are fortunate enough not to be experiencing war directly, we are still experiencing it in some way. It takes a toll. May we take a moment and find a little joy in some simple, basic, human thing. May we have enough space (mentally and physically) to play in some way. Play is a way to recuperate, and to explore possibility.
Recently Anderson Cooper shared a video that was posted on social media. I am sure many of you have already seen it. If not, the link is below.
It is of a young Ukrainian girl, who dreams of being a professional singer, singing for her friends and family in a basement bunker. She was singing the song 'Let It Go' from Frozen, in Ukrainian. Singing it acapella. Singing it simply, honestly, beautifully. A small human, sharing her voice, bringing much needed joy and hope to those in the bunker. And in this case, to the millions watching on TV.
Link
The human spirit is beautiful.
To play, even in a small way, is to celebrate our human spirit, our resiliency, and to feel a sense of possibility.
Basics are Beautiful. And so are YOU.