episode four: gravity

Speaker 0 00:00:00 <inaudible> Speaker 1 00:00:08 Welcome to try and somatics gravity, Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Take a deep breath. This practice was developed on the sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri people of the coolant nations. I acknowledged that I'm a beneficiary of the ongoing violence. First nations people experience under the colonial project known as Australia. I pay my respects to the first nations elders past present and emerging and stand behind them in their fight for justice and self determination. This series is about fostering a deeper and stronger relationship with our bodies. And I acknowledge that black and Brown people in particular experience, explicit violence against that buddies, which far too often results in unjust imprisonment and death. While we all have our own struggles, I do believe that we will never be free until we're all free. So I advocate for first nations black and Brown trans people, and in particular trans women to always be at the forefront of our work. And I extend my gratitude and allegiance to all black and Brown trans people. And I pay my respect to all of our siblings that were taken from us too soon, May live forever, you know, working culture and rest in power. And in peace, Speaker 1 00:02:20 I invite all listeners, but especially those of us who are white and white passing. And those of us who are uninvited guests on this land to take a moment now to reflect on what you have recently done in support of black and Brown people and what acts of support you will do next, Speaker 1 00:02:56 The purpose of this practice is to offer another approach to dysphoria in our community. Often our knee jerk reaction is to remove ourselves from our bodies as far as we possibly can. And many of the suggested solutions to dysphoria are focused on changing our bodies while those are important aspects of who we are. I think we all know that they don't make dysphoria disappear completely either. I hope that trans somatics can offer something to you that helps us address the core issue of dysphoria. Trying to find a home in our bodies as always. This practice has the following intentions. First safety, we are practicing and not judging ourselves or our bodies. We are practicing in exploring bodily sensations. We are practicing in soft observation and experimentation. Speaker 1 00:04:07 Second nonviolence, nothing in this practice should hurt. All the movements should be soft at your own speed, into your own interpretation. And third slow. We are practicing in mindfulness, the practice of sinking into our bodies, which requires moving away from our busy daily minds. When we let our mind and body sink, we can unlock and explore bodily wisdom, which may otherwise not be able to access. And it's important to note that this means we may not know what information will be unlocked, and that brings us back to the first intention safety. If you do ever reach a point that is uncomfortable for you, for any reason, please stop. You may choose just lay still for awhile, pause this recording, or walk away from it altogether. Speaker 1 00:05:12 And if you would like to speak to me about it, you can always reach me. My contact details are in the description. I also want to emphasize that this practice involves observing without judgment. We want to explore app bodies just to understand this part of ourselves and our relationship to it. We want to observe with kindness and with patients, I called this practice trans somatics trans because it's for our community and somatics a term coined by Thomas Hannah, being the buddy as experienced from within in this episode, the focus will be on our form and posture. We will be standing and walking. So make sure you have a bit of room to move in. Speaker 0 00:06:06 <inaudible> Speaker 1 00:06:24 Standing here with the pot, bringing your concentration to your feet and the connection to the ground. Gently bend your knees a bit and feel the pressure in the souls of your feet. Feel higher, weight shifts. And then straighten up again, Just repeat this bend and stretch down into your feet. Feeling the solidity of the flow beneath you, noticing the subtle shifts in your way And noticing how solid your body is too. And then coming back to standing Solid and straight on both legs, shrug your shoulders all the way up to your ears And just hold them there for a few seconds before releasing them and letting them fall Feel how the weight falls into your hands with this movement and repeated a few times, Speaker 0 00:08:13 He can Speaker 1 00:08:15 Bringing your attention to the solidity of your body And the ripples that run through it. Relaxing your shoulders. Again, roll them from front to back. Making the rolls as big as is comfortable. Really loosening the joints. Speaker 0 00:08:55 Feel Speaker 1 00:08:56 The sensation in your muscles, along your neck and down your spine, And maybe bend your knees with each role as well. Speaker 0 00:09:07 <inaudible> Speaker 1 00:09:22 Now feeling relaxed and present in your body. Begin slowly, walking around the room and just taking note and observing your habitual walk, Where you place weight in which areas of your foot, Your heel, your toes, how your legs feel with each movement in your wall, Your arms, your shoulders, your head, just taking note Speaker 0 00:10:09 <inaudible> Speaker 1 00:10:22 And then placing both of your hands along your ribs. Imagine that your legs start from just below your ribcage. Imagine that they stretch right down from your diaphragm Speaker 0 00:10:49 To the flow, Speaker 1 00:10:55 Keeping your hands there, marking the beginning of your imagined legs Slowly and observe any differences. This makes Speaker 0 00:11:13 <inaudible>. Speaker 1 00:11:22 And now placing hands at the NAPE of your neck at the back, where your spine connects to your skull. See how far you can tuck your fingers beneath your skull, that small indent. And imagine you place a hook there. Speaker 0 00:11:53 That's connected Speaker 1 00:11:54 To a string, A string that's coming down from the sky and pulling your body up with Just take some time observing that sensation Speaker 0 00:12:20 <inaudible>. Speaker 1 00:12:31 And now with the hook under your skull and your legs beginning from under your rib cage, Again, walking around the room, Notice any differences. How does it compare to your habitual war? Speaker 0 00:13:11 What feels different? Speaker 1 00:13:21 And then coming to a standstill Feet, hip width, the path Strongly connected to the ground. Bring your attention to your hands, resting ear. The side of your body. I'm slowly rise creeping along your tour. So past your neck and your head up towards the sky, Let them stretch. As far as you can go, maybe letting your feet rise, feeling the space, widen between each rib and vertebrae. Notice the sensation of your skin along your whole body. I feel your muscles working and your organs shift, Breathing deeply into each little part of your body. Speaker 0 00:14:50 Relax down Speaker 1 00:14:52 With your exhale. And then again on an inhale reach back up to the sky. As far as you can go Creating space in all of your joints, between your bones, Pushing into the ground to go higher, And then settling back into the body on the exhale And standing still for a moment, taking stock of your connection to the floor, feeling the sensations all through your body. Let your awareness travel up through your feet, along your calves, to your knees. Up three off ties to your pelvis, Along your hips and through your belly, Reaching your ribs and lungs Past your heart, to your collarbone, Tracing your neck, And then coming to rest in your head. Speaker 0 00:17:00 <inaudible> Speaker 1 00:17:06 Reflect on the journey, just traveled on the form of your body inside and out, And then wrapping your arms around your body. Give yourself a little squeeze and breathe deeply in Speaker 0 00:17:40 <inaudible>.