Body Imagery

Are you able to close your eyes and "see" your body? What do you see?

Do you see colours? Do you see mass and hollow? Or do you sense it in another way? Ie: Sounds and feelings?

Seeing the body is the process of bodily awareness - to be aware of which part of your body or rather muscles is active, which part is passive.

Activity is when a muscle participates in a supporting function in your posture or movement, either mildly or in extreme. It may be extended, or contracted.

Generally, the bodily muscles work together to move, even in a small movement, like lifting a glass of water, as one change in a muscle, creates responses in various adjoining muscles, and all our muscles are intertwined, connected, working as a whole system. Technically, any effort to stop certain parts of the muscles from responding develops into unnatural movements, which inevitably develop tension in another part which is overworked.

When one portion of muscle is overworked, there will certainly be parts of the body muscles which are underworked - passive.

These passive muscles are unhealthy, as habits causing its lack of use will certainly lead to decline of its strength, leading to atrophy, and of course postural changes.

This imbalance may start in one way or the other - either a person had developed the habit of tensing up certain muscles, or the habit of letting certain parts of the body drop when doing an activity.

Movements require full enthusiasm and commitment

It's like, "why do we need to be happy?" As in, we choose to be happy in whatever we do. Because we have to live whether we are happy or not, and we may have to do things we wish we didn't have to, so why not do it well, and do it happily in a relaxed and positive manner?

Movements are the same. We can move like we are forced to, like we don't really care about it, or we can move like we really mean to, using the whole body, the whole set of muscles involved.

Compare doing something alone to involving everyone around you. 

Everything, including your back, your head, and your bottom, even your legs and your feet moves along, but in a somewhat relaxed, yet directed manner.

So, what do you do, if the body is not wholly involved?

It could mean having to let go of tense muscles. It could mean picking up slacking muscles.

But another way, is also to sense the whole body. To see it moving as a whole. To see it all lit up inside, or to feel that the energy is through. 

This imagery is not just limited to the anatomical body. As you learn to be conscious of the insides of the body, also be aware of what's outside. As we move, our energy fills the space around us. To be able to fully fill up this space, your body would have already been balanced.

Exercises to do this

There can be guided or standard exercises to achieve full balance of the body. Practices of Qigong and Taichi was developed in the way that helps a practitioner develop this flow in the body and outside.


However, a generally good mover have good balance and awareness of the body and its surrounding space as a whole.


In an active warm up, where you move in your stretching instead of doing static stretching, your aim to find these areas of imbalance, stuck energy and other tension in the body, and let them through.

Which is why, active stretching with body awareness is more ideal compared to standard warm ups as our bodies are different from one another and from one day to another. To do so, it involves the coordination between mind and body.

To respond to these differences are only wise, if one is to perform well.

Some learning quotes, some food for thought

"Learning is to be aware of what is already inside of us." Bob Proctor

"To dis-cover is to remove the cover of." Jack Canfield

Sound and Movements

There are many ways of creating dance - or rather "there are many sources of inspiration" for creating dance. Some create based on a storyline, a character, an image, an emotion, a life event, a music, etc..

I personally love creating dance based on music. Music moves me, like perhaps you have seen how  Gangnam Style move this baby.

I am one of those very kineasthetically responsive individuals, and was particularly reactive to pulsating pop beats when I was in my childhood all the way through my teens and early 20's, with pop being a huge influence in my interest in dance as mentioned here. Of course I'm not about to burst into a Gangnam "horse ride" the moment I hear the song now, but you get the idea.

Then as I mature, I find myself responding more towards subtle, meditative tones of Asian classical music, or strong orchestral harmonies, including western classical, new age and contemporary genres - such as the soundtracks of Hans Zimmer.

Music gives me vision. I see movement, feel movement, and I am driven to move. Music sometimes drowns me. I can become drunk in music, even when I'm not drinking. Itut is where my most passionate pieces come from.

However, there are school of thoughts who decides that dance should be independent of music. On a moderate scale, it should be telling a story beyond what the music is telling - which has a good point. But on an extreme level, choreographers are purposefully using music or sound just as a backdrop or "noise," and having the dancers dance in a way that completely ignores the rhythms and flow of the music.

Some dances are performed in silence.

I haven't done the extremes yet. For now, I am still very much attached to my music... like a lover...

Moving to sound

In my practice of dance and improvisation, I have found spaces where certain movements and exact matches for certain sounds and certain notes, where our body acts like an instrument, like a recorder with its holes along our torso, or a drum set, with sounds at different spaces.

It may take a more auditory person to be able to "hear" sounds in their body, just as it may take a more visual person to "see" movements in space.

"Seeing" movement

In most of my dance teaching, it is very common for me to give instructions to my students, such as in children's creative dance and improvisation classes to "paint in the sky." This is where you imagine that your hands become paint brushes, and that your sweeping movements create colours where the air is your canvas. You can really have lots of fun, "painting" the world around you with the sweep or your hands, your feet, and other body parts. It is usually important to "see" where your movement is coming from and where its going, partly also to be able to decide on the aesthetic result you are trying to achieve and to fill in the space with the presence of your movements.

The non-visual dancer

However, during my course of teaching, I had encountered one student who was particularly gifted in his hearing. He is a natural musician and composer. He can play any instrument he tries, and any tune he hears in his head - or at least that is what I have observed. However, he was struggling in my class, which was unfortuantely compulsary for him to complete as a part of his IB MYP program.

After struggling for some time, I finally had a chance to work with him personally.

I figured that since he can't "see" movements, perhaps he can "hear" them.

I began working by opening up his body through the sound of my voice, moving through different notes to stimulate different joints in his body.

It immediately worked! His hardened, skinny body suddenly is able to start moving fluidly, and he suddenly understood improvisation in a way he never had before!

Finally, he was able to create a solo piece to submit as a final work to complete his program. It was not perfect, but it was good progress.

And I finally understood now, that some people cannot "see" movements, but perhaps, they can "hear" movement.

If you are a teacher, what difficulty have you encountered with students learning dance?
How do you overcome them?

Until next time,

Take care.

Energy, Vibrations and Holistic Wellness

"Everything has vibrations," as physicists, people who dabble in energy works, law of attraction and the likes would tell you.

Sounds are made of vibrations. We all know that. But movements too has vibrations. You and me, as human beings, too, has vibrations.

Vibrations are emissions of energy. We are an energy conductor. Energy flows through us, and into other things, through our actions, our thoughts, our words, into the things we create, and it is passed along as we go.

In Chinese philosophy, we call this chi or qi. In Hindu philosophy, it is Prāṇa. Both come to mean life force or vital energy.

And in our bodies, there are centres or magnetic fields which are said to generate, conduct or store this energy. The dantian in Chinese, and chakra in Sanskrit. These are a series of vital points in our body which corresponds with vital organs. The specific understanding of these points, and its number may vary between teachings, but generally, these series of points runs across the centre of the human torso, from the base all the way up to the head. 

Imbalance, stagnation or blockage in these centres are said to cause symptoms of physical ailments and certain behavioural problems.


For example, a blockage in the 3rd Chakra may defined by physical symptoms of indigestion. Emotionally, it may be expressed in the form of anxiety and extreme introversion. Mentally, this person may feel very disempowered and fearful in his or her life.

It's just a Chicken & Egg story

For some, the study of these metaphysical philosophies seem like superstition or beyond logic. After all, not everyone can claim that they can see auras or other people's energy fields.

However, these are just another branch of study that helps us understand and assess the human condition as a whole. Unlike western medicinal principals which only focuses on the anatomy, eastern philosophies acknowledge the correlation between the mind, body, emotion and spirit as being inseparable. It is a definition of our whole being, and a shift in one aspect, will inevitably effect all others.

Take the 3rd chakra as an example again. A weakness in this area can also be seen posturally, in a collapsed abdomen, weak core muscles - or can even be simply defined as a hunch or a slouch. In movement, he or she may find difficulty in opening up the abdomens, such as in a back arch.

The Correlations

There is a direct relationship to how the various aspects of ourselves affect one another. For example, an external event may had happened to trigger one person, a person A to experience anxiety and panic attacks. With that this person is constantly fearful and loses confidence in himself. This lack of confidence manifests itself into his posture, causing him to slouch. The emotional turmoil will also develop as digestion problems and breathlessness. The bad posture and digestion problem will eventually create a downward spiral in his overall health and well-being, and this will eventually be obvious in his overall (lack of) glow or aura. His new postural position too, is already causing (and is also the result of) the collapse in his internal organs, which will in turn develop tense muscles in his neck, shoulders and lowerback, while giving him a larger lower belly. And a weakened life force in turn creates more havoc in our overall system. The longer he stay that way, the more hard-wired his system is to this setting, and the more solidly it manifests itself. After some time, you can't really tell anymore, which problem is causing what.

When met with doctors or healers, he will be given a different description of the diagnosis.

Anxiety. Indigestion. Blockage. Bad posture.

Tackling all

It may sound like a bad news that one thing can effect so many aspects of us.

But it is also a good news! Because, it is possible that changing one part of ourselves can positively effect another.

For example, awareness and practice in good posture will relief the energy blockage in that area. Not only that, a change in posture also automatically sends a different message to our minds, forcing us to be more positive and optimistic about life. A good energy healing session leaves us feeling invigorated and healthy again. A good counselling or coaching session may help us overcome a traumatic event. Medication and exercise may leave us healthier and therefore more positive about life again.

However, as I mentioned above, some situations start to get pretty sticky, when other symptoms have become pretty stubborn over time.

And the best way, ofcourse, is to be able to address as many of these aspects as possible to enable rapid recovery and growth. It is the reason why, doctors have now found that medication, coupled with counselling and spiritual support is so much more effective compared to just simply using medication.

What method of healing

I would not claim to be in the position to prescribe any specific form of healing that is best for you and your problems. But I do wish to share the understanding of the self - mind, body, emotion, spirit. And I would emphasize that when there is one aspect of you that you seem to have been struggling with for a long time, and not able to overcome, look at the other aspects of yourself. Perhaps the answer is there. You may have a problem with your body. But look at your relationships, your lifestyle. Or do you have faith? If your mental state is terrible, look at your posture, how are you using your body?

Be aware and find clues and answer in places you may not even have thought of. But don't dabble too much into the spirit. It's a whole other world. We are physical beings after all. Our spirit is perfect. It just seem like it is not because of the other 3 aspects of ourselves.

Health, wellness and happiness is holistic. One aspect cannot be well independent of another.

Until next time, I wish you well...

Muscle and Emotions

We probably all know a little about body language. Different postures express different emotions. We use body language to communicate different thoughts. It does so itself even when we are not realising or controlling what we do with out bodies.

Dancing is about using the body to communicate thoughts and emotions. The process of dance creation or improvisation uncovers the language that is already IN the body, without us thinking too much about it consciously.

Yes, the language is IN the body.

It means that our body stores emotions and memories inside of it, and express it in a certain way in our movements. Like, when a depressed person is hunched, a stressed person's body is tense, even when he's walking, talking, or drinking a cup of coffee.

Sometimes, it is not even about an emotion that is present. It could be from the past - a physical injury, a grievous loss or hurtful actions or words from another person.

All our experiences, as you know, is recorded by our subconscious, and our subconscious memories has physical locations within our body. (There was a book written on it that I just found out about.)

So working on our body, I find, is not as effective as working on my mind.

Yes, our body can learn new movement habits that when developed over the course of 30-60 days, will become automatic. It is important to start with practicing good movement habits through repetitive conditioning. However, there are times when the body seems very stubborn or is fighting against this conditioning. This is where some inner work needs to be done.

When there is a stubbornly bad posture, stubbornly tense muscle, or even dorman muscles, it is very likely that the body is holding in a memory or emotion that is getting in the way of release. Although habits can be trained, I believe that in these cases, overriding it with new habits simply hide its real issue, pushing it further back into the subconscious, where it will manifest itself in some other unhealthy ways.

To address these issues, the first think one can do is to identify the specific muscle group and emotion that is related to this movement habit.

Muscle/emotion/memory

Identifying either one will work as a starting point. The key is to be as specific as possible, and I feel it is best to be confrontational with yourself. To be honest about the real emotion or memory that is hiding inside.

Once you are able to identify either one of these 3 aspects, you can hold it in your mind, and then release it, and go back to replacing it with a new conditioning.

The challenge

The challenge is usually to find out the accurate source of the stuckness. With that, I use clues such as emotional keywords, organ that this certain body part is related to, meaning of chakra - all these are fairly related.

I will be exploring further in this topic in future articles, about identifying stuck muscle groups and releasing them.

Until then, regards...