Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:02 Welcome to Tran semantics. This is a practice food trans and gender non-conforming people to have some space and some time to explore the relationship we have with our buddies for now just find a comfortable seated position, maybe on a cushion, either on the floor or a chair, just close your eyes for a moment. Just let your awareness sink down into the body. Noticing how it feels to sit, Noticing the surfaces against you. Maybe the air around you And just acknowledge This practice was developed and recorded on the unceded suffering lands of the water and tree people of the Kulin nations. And I pay my respect to the elders of this land. Those who have passed, and those who are here today, I also extend my allegiance to all first nations people in this continent, in their fight against the colonial project known as Australia. If like me, you are an uninvited guest on these lands. I encourage you to take a moment now to consider how you support first nations people in your day-to-day life And how you can do more As always chance. Medics has three cool intentions that I want to remind us of. The first is safety. We are practicing in not judging ourselves or our bodies, this space, and this time is to observe sensations,
Speaker 0 00:02:39 To acknowledge them with kindness and patience. Second, non-violence Nothing in this practice should be uncomfortable or cause pain. If anything does feel uncomfortable, Please stop The movement should be soft and at your own speed into your own interpretation by that, I mean do what your body wants to do. And remember that you are the expert of your body. And third going slow. This practice is slow on purpose because we want to practice in mindfulness, practicing sinking into our bodies, which requires moving away from our busy, very easily distracted daily minds. And so I want to encourage you to go slower, listen to your body and be present again. A reminder, if anything is uncomfortable, just stop. You might want to lay still for a moment, find a different position. You'd rather be in right now. You can pause the recording, walk away from it all together, all of those good options. And you can always come to talk to me about it. Um, my contact details are always in the description or wherever you found this recording
Speaker 0 00:04:35 And please know that any guidance I give is just a suggestion. You afraid to alter it or ignore it. However you please, And as always, my Wish is for you to honor whatever your body asks you to do And take only what you want from this practice. In this episode, we are focusing on movement. We're going to do a sequence that moves between sitting, being on our hands and knees and also standing. So repeated sequence, also known as a flow if you've ever gone to a yoga class. And the reason we do flows is it helps us become in sync with a buddy, be present in the moment and it makes it easier to embed bodily patterns and sensations into our daily lives. Having repeated movements can help slur our minds and focus the mechanisms of the body and gently push all other thoughts out of the present moment. I find it especially useful when I'm struggling to connect with my buddy to work through movement, Because it allows me to truly feel and experience how all of these different parts of my body work together to create movement, how sensations can ripple through all of me.
Speaker 0 00:06:35 So I recommend doing these movements slowly at your own pace intentionally. And with curiosity, I hope that that will give you an experience where you can feel your body from the inside. So staying seated, let's start by finding our breath, close your eyes. And if you like, you can place a hand on your belly and a hand on your ribs or your chest, And just feel how the breath comes and goes in its natural rhythm without forcing any changes to it.
Speaker 1 00:07:23 If
Speaker 0 00:07:24 It naturally becomes deeper, as you sit here, let it Bring the breath to the center of your awareness And keep in mind for every movement we do in this practice. We want to be doing it to the rhythm of the breath, Moving on the inhale, Moving on the exhale. So let's be into lean or rock forward so that you can transition onto your hands and knees. And we're going to do three rounds of what is known as cat and cow poses. So once you found yourself on your hands and knees feet against the floor, hands underneath your shoulders, knees underneath your hips, As you breathe in arch the back, trumping the belly, lifting the head and your gaze pressing into the ground with your hands and your feet. Rolling the shoulders back. This is your account. Staying here. A moment, reverse the shape as you exhale, still pushing your hands into the ground. Rolling your shoulders forward. Head pals down, chin tucks into your chest as your backgrounds, your catch. And as we repeat this movement, remember to move in ways that are comfortable to you. Remember to be gentle with yourself and to sense and acknowledge anything that happens in your body with curiosity and no judgment. So as you inhale, coming back into the arched shape of the cow, rolling the shoulders back, head up and on your exhale, curling into the cat shape.
Speaker 0 00:10:00 Take your time, move with your own breath. Maybe one small arching up drop the belly. Ks comes up to the cow as you inhale and exhale to the curve shape of the cap. If you like, you can stay on your hands and knees a moment longer listening to your body, moving in whatever way feels good right now, Maybe shifting your hips from side to side, rocking forwards and back. See if there's anything your body is asking you to do right in this moment. And then when you're ready, see if you can lean or rock back until you sitting on your knees or crouching with your feet on the ground, knees up when your hands on the floor for support. And we're going to very slowly curl up until standing, trying to go vertebrae by vertebrae. Let your arms and head become heavy. Have a generous bend in your knees. And with each exhale, let something go Slowly, rising up head. The last thing to come out, remembering to be gentle and get back
Speaker 0 00:11:49 And what standing, let your arms rest by your side. Take a moment with your eyes closed just to take stock of your body and how it feels in this moment. And then you can take your arms up of your head, your hands together, lift up a little. And then as you inhale, gently, lean back, arching your upper back, just subtly Exhaling. Now fold all the way forward. Coming back to the ground. Find your seated position. Went out back at the beginning of the sequence. Once more let's recenter center on the breath, taking a few breaths here, just noticing how it flows through our bodies and then it's released. And then we're coming forward to hands and knees into the arch pose on the inhale. Stay a moment. And then exhale. As you curl into the cat, push into the ground with your hands and knees to make the shapes of his spine. A little deeper, Repeat a few more times, inhaling to Ash like a cow, exhale Cole and a cat. Keep your breath at the center of your focus. The movements come after and move slowly so you can feel all the mechanisms of your body.
Speaker 0 00:13:34 And then it might be time to lean back onto your knees or crouching on your heels. And slowly begin to rise up to standing, remembering to keep a bend in your knees, arms and head heavy, breathe into your spine. Feel that stretch along your upper back. Cause you slowly color breathe into it. Remember to take it easy, be gentle on yourself. Don't do anything that isn't comfortable for you in this moment. If you're free to standing, take a moment to rest, feel any sensations wash over your body. Maybe breathe in some appreciation for all your body can do how it holds you. Breathe out anything you don't need on the next inhale, raising both arms above your head, hands together, lift the upper body up a little more and lean back into a soft arch exhale. As you make your way back towards the floor or the chair, find your seated position and we'll go one last round, Close your eyes and to your breath and your focus feel as it flows in and out of your body moves your body. And again, on an exhale, really something Coming forward onto hands and knees. Three rounds of cat and cow arching into the cow on an inhale exhale, curl into a cab,
Speaker 0 00:15:24 Going at your own speed to your breaths rhythm. Take your time to feel what your body is doing, how each movement feels Maybe last inhale into the cow. Now hold a moment before exhaling curl into cat from here, leaning back onto your heels on knees. Ready to slowly go up into standing one last time, Remembering to breathe into your back, let your head hang, keep your knees bent. Once you're upright. Again, a moment to take stock and acknowledge what your body is. Feeling. An exhale to let something go, Bringing your arms up hands together, lift a little higher softly arch the upper back. As you inhale exhale to come back down towards the ground. Now, instead of coming to a seated position, you might want to lie on your back or however else is comfortable right now, place your hands right below your ribs on the diaphragm or rest them by your side. These next few moments for you to feel the body, whatever is causing through it at this moment, whatever you are feeling, Breathe in what you need release, what needs to be released, Perhaps reflect on the body, what it does for you and what you can do for it.
Speaker 0 00:17:28 Movement and movement with breath in particular. I think it's such a nice, gentle way to get in touch with the body, to feel what it is doing, feel what it is holding for you. Maybe you've noticed some tensions that can be worked out stiffness that can be relaxed. And lastly, as you rest a little while longer, breathe in some love and care for your buddy. It is strong, clever supple. And though it might not always be easy to get along. I think we can take comfort in the fact that no matter how much we feel tension, Buddy, and you, my buddy and I are always there for each other at the end of the day, Someone to hold Someone to be held by Maybe.
