No momentum. Just intention.
6 am barre taught me
We were on the bar this morning at 615am - left foot planted, right heel lifted, both knees bent, hips towards the back of the room, chest leaning towards the bar, karate chopped hands on the bar (no grip) and I heard the teacher say no momentum, just intention as she asked us to isolate one muscle and pulse a right leg lift.
The beautiful thing about barre is that the practice is so intentional. The first time that I attended the class, the teacher described this as a mind/body workout. A great majority of the movement is fine and all within one inch. There will be moments that we “flush it out”. And then we are back to isolating deep muscles that are often not attended to as intentionally in most other classes.
Back to the class.
When she offered that layer, it resonated so deeply with where I am practicing in life right now. I’d say a great majority of my life has been heavily momentum and will. Anyone who knows me would likely tell you that there isn’t a goal that I haven’t met in life.
Momentum and will have served, and will continue to serve, their rightful places in my life. I am well practiced at using those techniques. This past year has invited a deeper knowing of what intention is like in practice. What I have observed is that it requires fine movement and uses muscles that I didn’t know were there - the ones that are a bit softer. Leading with intention has expanded my practice of trust. As I expand my practice of trust, I loosen the grip on time and settle into the present moment. When I settle in the moment, I can breathe with much more ease. When I breathe with much more ease, momentum is no longer heavy lifting - momentum gets to serve its supplemental role. The entire body is at ease as I arrive. And arrive again. And again.
This reminds me of cross country running and hurdling. I’d say my success came from rhythm and repetition of knowing what to use and when to use it. Many cross country runners would sprint their way into the lead, yet burnout at the end. I learned early on to use momentum at the end to strategically shorten my time. Hurdling was all about knowing steps and positioning so that the “sprint” was actually a dance - this is the difference between someone jumping hurdles, and a hurdler. A jumper sees the hurdles as things to overcome. A hurdler sees the hurdles as part of the track. So I guess, this practice of leading with intention isn’t new after all. I will say, though, that it typically has not been my go to outside of physicality. Leading with will and force to dominate something is innate to not understanding the game.
It’s interesting to sit back and witness life in this moment of leading with intention. My experience is that I am allowing momentum to serve where it needs to and I am not overworked. This life is not a fight to win or dominate. It is a practice to keep coming back to. The question continues to be, how do I want to arrive at this moment. That’s intention.
If I already know that as I speak it, it is so, my assignment is to see it.
“Seeing it” takes the work of many fine motor muscles. These muscles must know what to do - and this comes with practice (rhythm and repetition). Looking for it uses the larger muscles and often creates fatigue from overcompensation.
What would it be like to look at what I see and allow those larger muscles support the fine ones as I see it into expansion?
What I can tell you is that it feels like compassion and grace to the body and the mind.
One movement at a time. One breath at a time. Practicing within 1 inch of our edge. Well, that’s barre.
And, might I say, that’s life.
So true. Also think of it like this ....... Life is a series of events that when assembled together makes an impact in your life to be either positive, negative or even neutral. New ideas, challenges and goals are before us daily. We can choose which idea, goal or challenge we will attempt. There are muscles that we slightly use and others are overworked. If I challenge myself, I will use new or slightly used muscles, whether spiritually, mentally or physically and grow. Our intentions and momentum are like faith....(the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen). Intentions comes before momentum. Leading with intention will expand your practice of trust. We may have the greatest of intention, but it is when we move forward with our momentum, we find that the challenges of life can be assembled and accomplished like the sound of a symphony orchestra.