Sekhem All-Love: Meeting Emotions Through Breath and Movement

Let the body reveal what is beneath the words

The question is not only what you would like to receive. Ask what that quality would bring into your life. A participant named courage, although she was unsure that it was the exact word. Courage, she said, might give her the energy to be brave, move forward and change things in her life.

When asked what she would do if she had that courage, she described leaving her current work and beginning something new, even though she did not yet know what that would be. She was working full time, spending most of her day formulating cosmetic products in a laboratory, and felt that she had no time for her child.

Invite the person to close the eyes and feel what is happening in the body. Ask where the energy feels stuck while they imagine continuing in the same pattern. Then allow the body to do what it needs to do. Attention may be drawn to the vibration, including sensations around the eyes, and the person can be invited to let the energy come, feel the vibration, and become the wave itself.

When the movement of the energy seems to stop, bring attention to that place. Do not force an explanation. Ask what is happening, and if the answer is “I don’t know,” allow the person to remain with that experience. “I don’t know” can have more than one meaning. Sometimes it is a way of avoiding a feeling that the person already knows is present. In that case, continue gently toward the feeling rather than accepting the words as the end of the inquiry.

At other times, a person may truly not know. A genuine state of not knowing can be useful because it takes the person out of the mind. The distinction must be felt rather than assumed. Stay aware of the difference, and let the body show what is happening. Relax the jaw, breathe, and continue sensing the vibration.