There was a creek on the farm I lived on as a little kid. In the spring the water rose with the rains and snowmelt, and all kinds of things found their way down it. Branches and sticks that had fallen over winter, autumn’s leaves, a squirrel or bird’s nest that had blown out of a tree. Everything that floated down changed the flow.
Sometimes a branch would get caught between the rocks and leaves would begin to bunch up behind forming a dam. The water would rise until it found its way over or around or pushed things out of its’ way. Sometimes we would break up the little dams to watch the water rush through. It was a game, a way of keeping our creek flowing. Our way of taking care of it.
After a few days we got tired of the game and went on to explore something else. But the flotsam and jetsam would continue to find their way down the creek and build up along the way. As many times as we cleaned it out, it would never stay that way. A creek running through the woods can’t. Nature doesn’t work that way.
Our bodies are like that stream and that little forest, always changing. Sometimes the flow gets jammed up. We get a little dehydrated, we build up some scar tissue, we sit a little longer than usual or move a little more than usual and now we don’t flow quite as easily.
Movement and stretching are ways we keep the flow. Because our world and the way we interact with it are constantly changing it works best to keep things flowing by checking them every day. Getting stuck or sore or stiff doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. But it may be a sign that we need to find ways to move, to break things up and get them flowing again. Developing a movement practice that you can enjoy, that fits you and your life is a powerful way of keeping that lifestream flowing. Love to help you with that.
FLOW STRETCH AND MOVEMENT 