Movement and transformation

Yesterday I got a new insight. Or maybe it’s not new. I guess I have known this for some time. But it sunk in for real. I experienced it. Embodied it. And now I am writing about it. Closing the loop. Integrating.

The insight was that movement can be a catalyst for changing perspectives. Movement opens a space for processing what needs to be processed. Movement transforms us. Afterward, you are not the same person as before you started.

What gave rise to these reflections on movement and transformation was another insight I got earlier the same day. I have been struggling with revising the third paper of my PhD and have seen this as a tremendous task. However, I suddenly got a change of perspective. This is not hard. I’m just gonna do it. And I’m gonna do it my way. I didn’t quite believe it and felt an urge to get outside and move.

I walked/ran to Setra where I live in Olden. It’s a beautiful hike. Photo below. Anyway, I was confused and a bit angry when I started. My thoughts were spinning everywhere. Then, at some point, they stilled. And boom: The insight came again. This is not hard. You are meant to do this. Now it felt completely true. My reality changed. I changed.

What happened? I’m not sure. What I know is that I moved with a firm lightness. I was outside. I felt my feelings. I felt my body. My breath. My heart pumping. Sweat dripping. I let my thoughts wander till they stilled. I observed them as clouds passing by in the sky.

Now, as I’m reflecting on this, I’m thinking about how movement practices can be integrated into deliberate sustainability transformations. I think it might turn out to be an essential component of change-making practices. How about starting your next workshop with some dancing? Or ending with a quiet walk in nature? How about initiating a yoga session with your team at the beginning or end of the workday? I believe that many of the problems we are pondering are not really problems. We are asking the wrong questions and because of that our solutions don’t work. We are living in a time where we are dependent on tapping into our inner wisdom. Movement might be an entry point to this. Try it. You might feel better. You might get transformed.

Hugs Rita