Author: dwdragt@gmail.com

  • I entered the cocoon. Again.šŸ›

    I entered the cocoon. Again.šŸ›

    I entered the cocoon. Again.šŸ›

    The past few days were spent at the Lichtenberg in the village of Fischbachtal with less than 2800 residents. Itā€™s one of those environments that lends itself extremely well to enter the proverbial cocoon; a state where your usual self dissolves due to the absence of your usual distractions. It is in this state where we, much like the butterfly, we break down parts of ourselves in order to reorganise them.

    The past few days there were spent on the topic of our larynx (DE: Kehlkopf, NL: Strottenhoofd), or as Iā€™ve now been reminded to see it: that little friend inside of my throat.

    This organ is as fascinating as it is mysterious. Itā€™s claimed an autonomy by descending deeper into our throats throughout our evolution, telling the rest of our body: ā€œI can do different pitches all by myself!ā€, yet when we speak or sing, how often do we find ourselves using so much more ā€˜muscleā€™ than we actually need?

    Its composition is intriguing, as it holds nearly every different types of tissue that we find throughout our body. The large amount of sensory nerve endings and it coming from our Vagus nerve invites us to see our throat organ as a sensory organ.

    The result of when we do this is astounding; depth, resonance and brilliance of the voices of all participants increased. Ease becomes such a vivid dimension, and the reverberations throughout the rest of our body-mind system are felt, as the self-organising principle & innate intelligence/wisdom of our body is put in the drivers seat.

    This switches into an unraveling process that is not only pleasant. Due to the larynxes primary function, protecting your lungs, there is a deep survival instinct embedded into the tissues there. This process of familiarising ourselves with it also leads to coaxing it to let go of strong fear responses. Even for me, as someone whoā€™s been working with their voice for the past 20 years, this has taken on new meaning.

    However, Iā€™m curious about your relationship to your voice and presence! Is this a part of you that youā€™ve befriended yet, or is this something youā€™re completely unaware of? šŸ¤”

  • the power of surrender

    the power of surrender

    Surrender is a curious concept. In a time when wars seem to be on the rise, we often assume that surrendering means there must be a winner and a loser. But what does it mean to surrender when we’re talking about our bodies?

    In Body-Mind CenteringĀ®, we learn that the first stage of movement is “yielding,” which involves releasing bodily tension and allowing gravity to guide us. Here’s a great workshop on YouTube about this that I recommend. When I was first introduced to this idea ten years ago, it didn’t click with me. Both my body and mind resisted the act of yielding. Fortunately, wisdom did come with the years ;-).

    In our Western society, we’re conditioned to believe that action and effort are everythingā€”that without them, nothing will change, and even if it does, it might not be for the better. But this blog post isn’t advocating for a complete abandonment of action; instead, it’s about reflecting on when and how to act intentionally.

    When it comes to life and movement, taking a moment to pause and reflect before taking action is essential. Yielding allows us to release tension and find a more balanced and efficient approach to achieving our goals.

    However, in our action-driven world, surrendering doesn’t come easy. We’re conditioned to constantly act and put in effort, which makes it difficult to embrace yielding. It’s essential to understand that surrendering isn’t the same as giving up; instead, it’s about letting go of unnecessary tension and trusting our bodies to find the most effective way to move through life.

    In my personal experience, surrendering has played a significant role in my well-being, whether itā€™s about releasing resistance to a situation mentally, or letting go of tension physically. Concrete example: since childhood, I’ve had a tendency for my lower ribs to flare, causing occasional discomfort and affecting my posture. Yielding here means fully releasing my diaphragm in order to calm my lower ribs. How? A simple sigh of ā€˜releaseā€™ will do the trick to ā€˜reset the toneā€™ in that area, allowing for a fuller breath into the back and sides of the ribs instead of the low front of the ribs.

    From the moment we’re conceived, our bodies possess an innate intelligence that shapes our form. By connecting with this principle through sensory experiences, we can deepen our understanding of ease and movement. All we need to do is relinquish the idea of constant effort.