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September 21, 2004
Better than yesterday!
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday... I was sitting and talking with Liza, really talking to this particular person for the first time, and she basically reframed my entire existence... over lunch. What a Heartwood thing to do.
I mentioned that "messy. beautiful. blessed." has continued to bounce around in my head, and she began talking about how chaos is the state of nature so to speak, and I start relating that to the way in which our brains impose structure onto, and build patterns out of, the jumbly mess around and inside us... didn't take long to come up with seeing the process here as not one of making a mess or cleaning up old messes, but one of getting closer to the way things behave on a deeper level, of seeing things more honestly or congruently.
A "messy" mind, one that can effectively deal with mess, may provide better maps of our world and experiences than a more structured one.
Grr. As someone so interested in general semantics and chaos magick, I kicked myself and said, "I shoulda known..." ;-)
In Shiatsu talked about the Metal Element today, which corresponds with the Lungs and Large Intestine. Interesting acupoint: LI 20 is good for sinus headaches... it's just inferior and lateral to your nostrils. Basically if you "hold your nose" lightly (don't actually close your nostrils), then move down... right in that indent. Actually, stimulating all the way up the sides of the nose is good. And peppermint oil. Mmmmm. Uhh, don't rub it straight on your skin. Just smell it. :-)
The Emotion associated with Metal is Grief, and the Flavor associated with Metal is Pungent... so we talked about making foods with that are spicy and dispersing during times of grief... using things like cayenne, rosemary, thyme, ginger, chili, strong cheese, garlic.
From my notes: "Having the Metal element in balance doesn't prevent us from experiencing grief, but keeps us from getting stuck in it."
Steve, Janna, and I have also come up with a fun mnemonic to remember the meridians of the leg: Black Kats Like Slinky Sex Going Longer! Bladder, Kidney, Liver, Spleen, Stomach, Gallbladder, Large Intestine.
Those are the Zen Shiatsu meridians of course. I think it's LI that doesn't go down the leg in TCM.
The Musculoskeletal Anatomy test went fine. Covered the pectoral girdle and the limbs... bones, bony landmarks, joints, some notable attachment sites.
I still resent having to take the tests and wonder intensely what Soyka would do if she had complete freedom to teach and we had complete freedom to learn.
Today we learned another awful word: OBTURATOR... and it gets worse, it's paired with FORAMEN. So the "obturator foramen" is this disgusting hole in the os coxa, or in english: the hip bone.
BODIES!
In Tai Chi we talked about Pericardium 6. It's 3 units up the arm from the wrist (palmar side), in between the tendons. If you lay the four fingers (without the thumb) of one hand starting at your wrist, it's right about there.
So you can hold that point for a lot of things, including calming the mind, protecting your heart, etc. Use it next time you're stressed or upset.
I didn't want to go to Tai Chi at the beginning. My energy was all above my shoulders, and out three feet. I was singing Pink lyrics and hugging people. I joked about leading the class. "I know what we're gonna do. I could tell you bitches how to do it." And then I gave an example: "Ok, let's get started. Put you're damned hands on your sides." And I held my sides and kidney region, one hip jutting out, cynical look on my face. "Ok, now we're gonna rotate our waists... " (me performing the action all full of attitude) "nice, you like that don't ya? ...uh huh... and not just small or wherever you're comfortable, big circles... bigger... yeah I know you want it bigger, big circles, bigger, faster, unhh, unhh, come on that's it do it for Daddy."
My small audience was amused, and I still didn't want to go into the Temple.
I managed to get grounded once we started, had a great class, and then... immediately upon stepping out of the Temple, Pink was back in my head. I didn't really get anything accomplished with my hour, so I probably "should" have stayed for meditation, and then dinner was a mess. I couldn't even concentrate on my food.
Yes, I tried holding P6 :-P
My saving grace: Janna gave me an hour long session at 7:00. Full sitting, prone, and supine forms. It was sooo nice. At the end it was like all my energy had been brought back inside me, and I was tingly. I also felt very relaxed and back in myself. The evening has proceeded well since.
Posted by Josh A. at September 21, 2004 11:43 PM