Stillness and movement

I like to think about the relationship between movement and stillness.

    Sometimes, when I am in Tuscany and when I sit still, I notice how much life there is around me.  The lizards, for example, love the hot stones and move incredibly quickly.  Their torso and delicate long tail move in an S shaped manner, like snakes, rarely moving their legs separately.  They are very shy and to have them come closer I remain completely still.  They advance with a few very quick moves and then they stop as if frozen;  all that still moves is their beating heart.  Their coloring matches the grey walls, so when they stop they blend into the wall unnoticed.  And the pretty green ones can hide in the grass or the laurel bush and pretend to be a leaf.
The birds and butterflies as well move their wings to accelerate; then they stop fluttering and let themselves be carried by the air until again they use their wings.  A continuous rhythm exists between moving the wings and then swooping in stillness.

Some time ago I listened to a talk on sacred geometry by Drunvalo Melchizedek.  He said that when spirit comes into matter it comes through a vortex.  Before anything materializes and becomes “the thing”, whatever it is, there is movement.  In embryology, for example, one can observe movements in the embryonic fluid forming the organs.  Once the organ is formed (stillness), it develops it’s functions, which is again movement.

Looking at any formation in nature - stones, trees, horns of animals or flowers, one can see the movements of growth.  For example, how long a tree has lived is visible in the rings of wood in the tree trunk.  Once one begins to observe and reflect on such processes one can see similar ones everywhere.  

Practicing taichi we strengthen the awareness of what is moving and what is still in the body; what is relaxed and what is energized works side by side, creating calm and internal energy.

Between the in- breath and the out- breath there is a little pause, a moment of perception, stillness.

In the human body constructive and breaking down processes work constantly and simultaneously.  The former ones restore and replenish when we rest or sleep;  the latter ones accelerate when we are active and moving, and are necessary for the transformation of food.  Keeping them in balance maintains our health.

“Find stillness in movement and movement in stillness”, is a fascinating window into the mysteries of life, balance, harmony and health!

 ~Claudia