…such powerful words, simple really…straight forward…right?
Ha!
How often do you say ‘YES’ when you really mean ‘NO’? Or perhaps you say ‘NO’ but wish you were saying ‘YES’. It can all be so complicated!
This is precisely why I love exploring yes and no through the body…through movement and through the powerful bioenergetics of each of these words. Try it yourself…say ‘YES’ and see what your body wants to do. Some times it helps to close your eyes and feel into it…then say ‘NO’ and see what your body does.
In a recent group, we got curious about ‘YES’ and found the natural openings in the body. We found arms open and raised was the corresponding body posture…a feeling of openness. We then explored ‘NO’ and found more of an edge, a punctuation, and feeling of tightness was reported by some. We tried adding a hip thrust while saying ‘NO’ and this brought more power and possession of the energy of no…a great discovery and a bioenergetics strategy.
When we were done I witnessed a shift in the room…as if something got unlocked. It was palpable, the range of expression and movement expanded. The YES became fuller and the NO more clear and defined. Timidness melted away and the essential energy of these words were being owned and embodied. Both power and joy entered these moving bodies. I could see and feel the magic we were creating.
As the music and expression began to settle and move towards quiet, as bodies began to rest and find their own stillness, I could feel more space in the room. So interesting. More space…when we practice boundaries, where we start and stop, what we will and will not allow, do or engage with, you might imagine it would be limiting. I experienced the opposite.
With clear boundaries there comes new permission to fill out the YES space with more expansion and energetic possession as if it became more ok to ‘take up space’ or to ‘exist’. Standing for what matters.
When we give ourselves permission to have clear, empowered, embodied boundaries we create more space for what really matters. We clear space for us…for our desires, for what is most important. We invoke safety for our self so we can relax, knowing we will champion our most precious truth. We soften into this and simultaneously find the clarity that creates the container. What a powerful teaching from two ‘simple’ words moving in, through and with the body.
You too can practice your own embodied YES and No…feel it, own it, and let it guide you to more clarity and power.
Dr. Shannon Simonelli is the co-founder of the NeuroImaginal Institute a professional development group linking neuroscience to the arts and experiential healing. She is the brilliant mind, guide and luminary behind CreativeWell Consulting and the Luminous Life Maps™ System, neurologically based creative arts experiences for professional and personal transformation. Shannon has devoted more than 20 years of her professional research, education and practice to designing engaging ways to catalyze change for and with her clients.
You can join the journey online by subscribing to Shannon’s LoveNotes and being part of her online Soulful Self-Care Program: Embodied Creativity: Re-Enchant Your Work Life. View all posts by Dr. Shannon Simonelli / View events at: https://luminouslifemaps.com/products/