“All good things are wild and free.” – Henry David Thoreau
Close your eyes and think of the last place you remember feeling really FREE. Where were you? What did that place look like? Smell like? How did you feel there? What do you remember about that place that made you feel different?
Now stand up and picture yourself in that happy place and notice your body’s response. Did your shoulders relax? Did your heart lift and open? Did your breathing become full and deep? Did your face and gaze soften, and did you feel yourself smile with your whole body?
When we feel FREE our body naturally aligns more optimally all over. Our breathing naturally becomes more effective. And… we feel joy and ease. We are happy!
FREE is our July Word of the Month. In celebration of this word (and the Fourth of July holiday) see if you can tap your inner “free spirit.” Because freedom is about not needing to be in the place you envisioned, it’s about remembering that space is YOU!
Here are some ways to use your Dailey Method class time this month to practice being FREE:
1) FEEL GOOD. And HAVE FUN. Your body is supposed to feel good! If you’re not feeling good and having fun, return to that as your first priority. When you make choices in class, choose what feels good for you and makes you smile. Choose what makes you feel a little more free in your body in that moment.
2) Follow cues from nature. In nature, there is never an over-use of energy. It’s all about flow, harmony, patience and balance.
3) Find freedom through stability, space and strength. Think about a tree being grounded through roots, taking up its own space, and then swaying/flowing/dancing with the breezes, winds and storms. The tree has to be strong in one place to be free in another. So do we.
4) Be brave and let go. We practiced “Brave” as our June Word of the Month. Seneca said “He who is brave is free.” Keep working on being brave enough to become who you really are.
5) FEEL and APPRECIATE all the sensations that come with letting go. ENJOY THE RELEASE. Honor and celebrate that free spirit that always lives inside you.
6) Remember: Freedom is about getting out of our heads and into our hearts. Release the negative reel playing in your head, the lists of what you “should be” doing or who you “should be trying to be.” When we release expectations and tune-inward (what feels good in our body/heart right now) we are free.
Freedom is inside us all the time.
Here’s to a Dailey Method practice that helps you feel more FREE in your body and in your life. Remember your happy place is always within. So be there as often as you can!
“You belong somewhere you feel free.” – Tom Petty
Love,
— Jill and Lorna