Expansion and Contraction 2

Jodi in Bali working on “Okeanos”

I asked my kids to coach me on swimming while we were in Bali this Summer. If you want them to swim, make them your coach so they have to demonstrate. Surprisingly, they had something to teach me. I wasn’t flat. My feet were sinking during the crawl. When I lifted them, I went much faster. I slipped more smoothly through the water.

This morning I was doing laps in Berkeley. Get your feet up, I thought. It wasn’t happening. Then I expanded my front body. That slight arch is what I required to get my feet up. While I was locked down in front, my feet couldn’t float up.

I lock up in front when I am attempting control. Get a hold of the situation. Make it happen. Just do it. Force it. Deal with only what is within your reach - what is in front of you.

Expansion requires trust that there are possibilities beyond what we can currently see. Unlocking the front body, expanding, my feet are lighter, I smoothly glide through the water.

The body knows so much. Why am I contracting? What am I trying to force? How nice it feels to expand and open to possibilities I can’t yet see.

Thanks, body.