Finding Agency

Finding Agency

Here’s the audio to listen to the newsletter:  http://tiny.cc/yjl3101

Think about what agency means with regard to your independent capacity to act, making free choices to shape your life and your environment.  It’s in the decisions and choices you make.  It’s a psychological and practical ability to take initiative and advocate for yourself for the good of others.  The sense of agency gives you the feeling of control over the actions you take and also their consequences.  It’s all about learning and creating more improved ways to sense, move, feel, and think.

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed, in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” – Bertrand Russell (English philosopher, logician, and mathematician)

This makes me think of many of our vast and diverse cultures. One in particular that dictated to bind women’s feet, which, in fact, deformed them and made them crippled.  There are so many long-held beliefs like corseting women for a cultural preference, and from this dictate, women were called hysterical, simply because they couldn’t breathe!  We all come from different cultures, and there is much to learn and take away from our differences and similarities, but I suggest we pause to consider the consequences of some actions that are enforced and imposed.  We are now living in times when focusing only on one aspect is flawed; see it all, “the good, the bad, and the ugly” and decide for yourself.  You have a voice and hopefully the freedom to speak up.  It is better to have a voice and speak rather than become a slave to another’s thinking, which makes one a traitor to oneself.

Movement is life.  When you improve the quality of your movement, no matter where your starting point is, you begin to improve everything exponentially.  You move better, you feel better, you think more clearly, and hopefully, maybe even get more restorative sleep. What better way to explore Awareness Through Movement (ATM)® lessons daily than to improve your agency.  These lessons are a wonderful way to create more agency if you’re interested in honing your skills for more efficient, resilient ways of sensing, feeling, moving, and thinking.

 “In the course of the lessons the reader will find that the exercises suggested are in themselves simple, involving only easy movements. But they are intended to be carried out in such a way that those who do them will discover changes in themselves even after the first lesson.”-Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais

I welcome anyone who would enjoy hearing another voice, another perspective of these skillfully crafted ATM that were created from developmental movement processes. Just reach out for my weekly links; it’s always a pleasure to come together to awaken more possibilities to learn and improve.

I hope I’ve earned the privilege of your time and attention this week.

Warmest,

Peggi