I just returned from NYC, studying with some of my colleagues and as I walked around the city I noticed the diversity in bodies and movement. There is this beautiful commingling of emotions, postures, clothing and identification of persona. I have to wonder what the stories are for all these lovely folks who all seem to be going somewhere, most with a sense of urgency in their body to “get there”.

The posture and tensing that I see is so evident because of wanting to “get there”, I feel myself emerging into the same energy, and I have to remind myself to soften, calm, to bring my awareness to my body, my feet on the ground, the space above my head. Something changes in my sensual awareness; I start to see, hear, and smell with a different more enhanced experience. Before I started to notice myself in the space I was in and the space around me; I felt pulled or separate from my sensations, all because I was wanted to get ahead of myself to “get there”. I am only driven by the self-induced “urgency” to be somewhere other than where I am; and, I am not in the process of enjoying this incredible city and the people who are here in the space with me. Does the awareness of my body expand my attention to really see and be a part of this fabulous city? Do I have more ease in my head, neck and shoulders, less tightening in my back and knees and more oxygen is coming in because I am breathing!

Try it yourself, next time you are in the grocery store, instead of being pulled by the “urgency” to get to the butter, cheese, lettuce. Be with yourself in the present of just walking, taking in the smells, the sights and the sounds that surround you, your feet on the floor, the space above your head. Does something change, do your muscles ease and calm along with your thoughts? How long can you be “present”…before the “urgency” creeps back in and your shoulders ride up to your ears…it is challenging! Have fun!