Self-Correction. Alignment and
Health 
by way of Intracellular, Transitional, Extracellular Fluids
The last couple years I've been taking classes in
Foundations in Embodied Anatomy, Body-Mind Centering &
Yoga Weekend Immersions. Whenever I learn something
new, I'm eager to see how it can crossover into the
equestrian world.
The
Borrowed Concept
Bringing awareness to the Intracellular,
Transitional, Extracellular
fluids in the body of the rider and horse and witnessing the
changes allows for self-correction.
The Exercise
I have been doing this at a walk for about a month
now. The delight has been that within each ride I notice
positive changes and even from day to day I notice the
positive changes have held -- and even continued in between the
rides! Like, the horses are even better the next day
than when I got off the previous day. This is a simple
awareness exercise done in laps, separated by a diagonal.
- Lap 1 -- pick a limb -- in your corresponding limb
and in the horses limb, cycle continuously
through
- intracellular awareness
- transitional awareness
- extracellular awareness
- transitional awareness
- Lap 2 -- pick a different limb -- in your
corresponding limb and in the horses limb, repeat!
- Laps 3 and 4 -- same thing, different limbs!
Between laps, when I switch diagonals,
I enjoy the scenery -- ie. I'm not doing anything in
particular except being happy I'm on a horse.
As time goes by, I am adding this in to other
activities such as trotting, or lateral movements, or whatever.
The trick is to be able to ride well and be aware at the same
time.
The Fluids and Awareness
Wondering about where these fluids are and how to be
aware of them?!
Instead of the typical anatomy diagram, here's some
mango, taro and coconut drinks to illustrate. The beads within the drink represent
cells. The fluid inside the taro beads would be the
intracellular fluids. The coconut milk outside the taro
beads represents the extracellular
fluids. On the
membranes of the beads there is a permeable area where fluid
transitions into the inside of the taro beads. In the
human body, fluid also transitions outward, creating a two way
pulsation on the membrane of the cell. This gushy area
on the bead represents an area in the body where there is a
two way flow of fluids. While the fluids are
transitioning between intracellular and extracellular locations,
they are referred to as the transitional fluids in Body Mind
Centering.
Witnessing the changes
is the key to creating the change. Getting to a place of
witnessing the changes is perhaps a lifelong journey!
Since the start of Centered Riding, quieting the critic has
been part of the approach and the books by Tim Galwey have
been recommended. As time has gone on, I have come to
appreciate more and more how this is necessary, and perhaps
even sufficient, for creating positive change. As you
play with learning and doing, notice how witnessing affects
what is happening.
Your skill at witnessing and being aware is built up
through the doing of it. It takes a little bit of
sticking with it to get the hang of it.
All of this is done with 'agreement.' You're
basically agreeing with your body, "I have this
concept/picture in my head that we'll use to communicate
about this fluid. How the concept/picture/sensation
changes represents different aspects of the fluid."
When becoming aware of the fluids, it's ok to start
with a big picture. There are a g'zillion cells in
the body, but to begin with, maybe pretend you can tap into
seven or eight of them in your arm. Pick one of the
fluids and begin exploring it.
For instance, how light/dark is the
representation? Is it uniformly light/dark or are
there variations? If there are variations, where are
they?
What kind of texture is there? density?
sound? do these things change? are there
rhythms? If so, what are they?
After you've played with one of the fluids, play with
another one, asking similar questions, so that you
eventually have explored and gathered information about the
fluid inside the cells, the fluid transitioning in and out
of them, and the fluid around them.
I found there were also emotions associated with the
different fluids -- which may not be universal, so which
emotions aren't so important. The trick is to explore
the fluids by asking the gestalt brain to morph the concept
and then maintain an awareness of what the representation
is doing and what is happening in the bodies.
Things to Play With
Order of Awareness -
After getting the hang of the basic rotation, I found
it helpful to switch awareness from intracellular to
extracellular and then to be aware of them both at the same
time -- which then delineated the boundaries between
them. After doing this, I would sometimes become
aware of the 'breathing' of the cells caused by
simultaneous influx and egress of fluids. Other times
it would help to be aware only of the flow of fluids
leaving the cells or entering the cells.
Different Structures -
One way to play with this is to identify different
types of cells -- cells in muscles, cells in bones, cells
in blood. Each of these types of cells are different
and yet they all also have fluid inside, outside, and
transitioning.
If it's easier to be aware of your bones, maybe start
with those cells. Or if it's easier to be aware of
your muscles, start with those cells.
Globs -
As I did this, I noticed there were areas where the
extracellular fluid could not go -- sort of globs of
stuck together cells. By taking my awareness to the flow
of the transitional fluid and the movement of the cell
membranes as part of this movement, the squeezing and
squishing that occurs as some fluid is going in while other
fluid is going out, I was able to facilitate
spaces within the globs which then allowed for greater freedom
and self-correction.
Different images -
As you play with this, you will come up with more of
your own concepts.
I found that thinking of a hearty stew with potatoes
and carrots in it helpful. Especially as the broth
was thick and supportive.
Another image I had fun with was one of animated mice running
in and out of huts. It was easy to imagine mice in
huts, mice leaving and entering their huts, and mice
running around outside their huts to represent the
intracellular, transitional, and extracellular fluids.
Going Really Big - Sometimes I would imagine the
horse and myself to be the cell.
It is not the image that matters so much as the
ability to receive information through the concept.
Have Fun!
L
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