A Wonderful Alliance
/When it comes to the subject of Experiential Anatomy and Physiology, Daoism and Modernity fit quite beautifully together. Here are some questions and observations common to both traditions.
Does a baby experience pleasure before it learns to smile?
Do we experience time in the womb? Do we feel it, or is it experienced as some other kind of change?
Do we experience space or balance while we are in utero?
When and how do we begin to recognize distance, or inside vs. outside, expanding vs. contracting, wrapping inward vs. wrapping outward? When do we gain the ability to spiral one way and then the other? Is it simply an unconscious part of growing or do we have some volition?
Stages of development are quite well known, but like taijiquan training methods, a child can develop out of order, skip a stage, or even create a unique transition.
I once knew a great dancer who had skipped the crawling stage of development, he went straight from scooting to walking. He was naturally flexible, rarely wore shoes, and never needed to stretch before a workout.
Do we start from a feeling of having a body, or do we start with a feeling of having no boundaries?
After birth, one of the first things we do is turn our head to find our mother's breast. Is this part of your internal martial arts practice? Does a baby feel its bones, or its muscles? Does it feel hungry? Does it feel the turning? Where does the movement come from?
Eventually a baby will find its hand with its mouth. It will start to see, and track. Eventually it will point and grab, and push and pull. How does a baby initiate this movement. Do children feel outside of their bodies?
How does a baby get control over its arms? Is this a question you ask yourself when you practice internal martial arts?
Does a baby experience pleasure before it learns to smile?
Do we experience time in the womb? Do we feel it, or is it experienced as some other kind of change?
Do we experience space or balance while we are in utero?
When and how do we begin to recognize distance, or inside vs. outside, expanding vs. contracting, wrapping inward vs. wrapping outward? When do we gain the ability to spiral one way and then the other? Is it simply an unconscious part of growing or do we have some volition?
Stages of development are quite well known, but like taijiquan training methods, a child can develop out of order, skip a stage, or even create a unique transition.
I once knew a great dancer who had skipped the crawling stage of development, he went straight from scooting to walking. He was naturally flexible, rarely wore shoes, and never needed to stretch before a workout.
Do we start from a feeling of having a body, or do we start with a feeling of having no boundaries?
After birth, one of the first things we do is turn our head to find our mother's breast. Is this part of your internal martial arts practice? Does a baby feel its bones, or its muscles? Does it feel hungry? Does it feel the turning? Where does the movement come from?
Eventually a baby will find its hand with its mouth. It will start to see, and track. Eventually it will point and grab, and push and pull. How does a baby initiate this movement. Do children feel outside of their bodies?
How does a baby get control over its arms? Is this a question you ask yourself when you practice internal martial arts?
