A series of simple exercises, insertion points to re-connect with your living environment.

During my practice I always wear some kind of sportswear. Jogging gear serves as a perfect camouflage, as you can do any kind of extensive curious exercise in public without people taking notice.

Bouncing

Place both arms by your side, bend forward and look through your spread legs. Choose a position where all sorts pass by: joggers, lovers, dogs and dog-walkers, young, wrinkled, stiff, bent people, and all other sorts… Observe in this upside-down position everyone's specific walking-bounce. We all bounce so beautifully when we walk.

Walking Backwards

In Asian culture there are many walking exercises. I heard about a practice of walking backwards. So here is one version: walk with a partner. One person is the guide and the other is blindfolded. The blindfolded partner walks backwards, while the other supports and guides them. In the beginning it's a bit uncomfortable; over time this gets easier. The guidance becomes lighter and lighter, while the blindfolded walker still feels safe. Walk for about 20 minutes. Find a nice place to stop and take the blindfold off. Then something remarkable happens, which is hard to describe. Try it yourself.

Sleepy Trees

In Morocco, I did an exercise with children in an olive grove. They climbed in or leaned against the trees and took their time to feel the tree with their eyes closed. Some children reported feeling drowsy. “Ohhh yeah it must be”, I thought to myself and did not pay further attention to it… While walking in the park a couple of years later, a corner of my eye was attracted to a tree. I just leaned against it with my hands. I relaxed my body as much as possible, made contact with the earth through my feet. For the rest I did nothing. After five minutes I started to get sooo sleepy. I could sleep for a year. I walked on and yawned and yawned, my shoulders were so relaxed. I didn’t know they could feel so relaxed.

Imprint

Spread your feet and bend your knees slightly. Lean with your back against a tree. Make sure your entire back is in contact with the tree. Close your eyes. Focus on the imprint of the tree in your back. Try to become a new whole together. At a certain point, slowly detach yourself from the tree and walk away. While the distance between your body and the tree increases, try to feel the imprint of the tree on your back, for as long as you can. Stand still for a moment. Turn very slowly, until your nose is facing the tree. Walk very slowly towards the tree while looking at it, until your toes touch the tree.

Luminous Green Leaves

In early spring, the air is still fresh in the morning, even though the sun shines quite brightly. There are these young, vibrant, light green leaves gently waving high up in the trees above you. They are the thin leaves, the semi-transparent luminous green ones.

Take a bit of time to let your eye rest on some of the leaves where the sunlight shines right through.
Now walk a little further on. Then stand still on a comfortable spot and close your eyes. Fill your whole body with this bright luminous green light. Fill yourself up completely: first your chest, then your whole torso, your arms, all of your fingers, your legs, your feet, your lips, your head, with this luminous green matter. Once you’re completely filled up, open your eyes softly and let them absorb the greening energy of your environment.

It’s a Grey Day

It's a grey day; stand still and take some time to look at a piece of this ‘grey’ sky. Observe the nuances and observe if there is any movement in the greyness. Close your eyes very slowly, and let this cloudy matter enter your body under your closing eyelids. Let it fill your body completely.

Then open your eyes and look at this exact same piece of grey matter again. Let it flow under your closing eyelids again. Try to fill the spots that had not yet been filled completely. Do this procedure a third time to make sure every little part of your body is completely filled. Then, when you open your eyes, attentively take a few steps and watch as the greyness dissolves from your body, into matter, into water.

It’s a Blue Day

You can do the same procedure on a blue day.

🍃