Presence in Yoga and Somatic Therapies

Remember when you were a wee one and you wanted to get something or somewhere? “Are we there yet?” See if you can recall that feeling. I’m not joking with you, I am serious. Use those words: are we there yet in that same questioning way that you did so many times before you reached the age of 12. Tune in to those words as you repeat them to yourself …. Maybe out loud… maybe just in your mind.

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Can you feel that feeling of anticipation building inside of you?

Are we there yet? 

Can you feel the tinge of impatience?

Can you see yourself … in the car? Most likely you are in the back seat of your family car and you are looking out the windows to see, to your best ability, from that low vantage in your small, little body.

Can you recall how it felt to have that level of desire, frustration, impatience, helplessness, eagerness, excitement or whatever emotion is linked with the memory you are conjuring up?

In order to do this exercise, you must become present. You can’t robotically recite the words while you are also reading the text and expect to achieve the connection with those feelings and that memory. If you want to truly conduct the experiment, you have to pause and become present. Tune in.

Presence is the key that unlocks the vast storehouse of memories you hold in your mind. Those memories, everything that has ever happened to you, live forever in your unconscious mind. When you pause to inquire of yourself, you tune in and the body, through the connection of the conscious and the unconscious minds, brings forth this powerful memory and in a few moments you can be right there in that car back in your 9-years old body. It’s pretty remarkable!

I may be over simplifying, but this very simple exercise is a key to a locked door. In fact, it’s a key to a guarded kingdom that lives within you and, because we know how to use this technique in our work, we can use it to produce pretty incredible results for you in your sessions when you work with your Yoga Therapist or Somatic Therapist. 

I may ask you a question during the session that causes you to become present to the moment.  As you prepare to answer, your body will bring forth information that your conscious mind has long forgotten or put aside. Have you had this experience?

If you engage completely with your Somatic Practitioner, the results you will get from the work will astound you! If you want to create notable change in yourself, in your body, in your life from the yoga you do, from the work you receive while on the table, to the somatic education and movement practices, learn the art of being present. Was it Einstein or Tesla who demonstrated that when we are present and observing, we are changing the outcome? I don’t recall, but I do know that presence equals power and that means power over yourself, your experience, and your life.