Think of nature for a moment. What comes to mind? Various phenomena, of course. The ocean. Mist. Rain. Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Fire. The deep serenity of the redwoods. It is difficult to travel too far down the path of imagining nature without beginning to project human elements of feeling and emotion. A violent storm. A serene lake. What makes these types of descriptions so readily available? I believe the answer lies in the fact that our bodies are nature themselves, and the deep collective heritage of countless generations of evolution affords a readily available memory of what the movement of our consciousness through our bodies can feel like internally and in its expressive forms. It is easy to relate to similar movements out "in nature." Working this backward, what does a violent storm feel like in the body? Can you imagine the energy of it inside of you? Can you imagine the energy of a calm lake inside? The quality of gently flowing waves? Or, a volcanic eruption? These all have various emotional qualities, but they also have very distinct patterns and expressions of movement. The body, nature, is movement, and we are constantly evolving and steeped in this process. The psyche, our minds, are irrevocably intertwined and inseparable with this movement. From the earliest days of our conception, we move, are coming into expression, and into... formation. Watch Jiro Bosma’s wonderful visual nature short called FORMATIONS and feel it move through you.
Mental Health is a full spectrum occasion, involving the dynamic interplay, the creative exchange, and fluid equilibrium of all aspects of our selves within the larger context of our lives that for many are fast-paced lives of family, work, and significant relationships. Unfortunately, the body is often left out of the eaquation in therapy. When times arise where one feels overwhelmed with recurring patterns, met with what appear to be insurmountable obstacles, or straddled with apparent unresolvable dilemmas, accessing the body's inherent resources can be the fuel needed to develop the insight, understanding, and momentum that one needs. Our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are most meaningfully housed, patterned, and expressed in our bodies. The active integration of the body into one's sense of self can be the incredible untapped resource one is unknowingly longing for.
