Mind and body harmony plays an integral part to sustaining growth and understanding on spiritual and personal development paths. Too much growth too soon is perceived by the body as stress. If the body and mind is not able to adapt quickly enough to this stress then it reacts with dis-ease.

I’m often asked that if all it takes to be healed or be enlightened is to believe then why aren’t people there already. The answer to that is because even though people think they believe the belief is not even skin deep. Belief that exists only at the intellectual level has not been integrated at the subconscious or physical level. This is illustrated by the way we react to sensations of various emotions at the physical level. Our body releases a certain biochemical and we say we feel this way, another chemical and we react that way. Anyone who has ever done regular exercise can attest to the change in perception that arises after a certain period of time. It is possible to raise our level of lactic acid tolerance not only at the intellectual level but at the physical level. The same adapting occurs when we work in stressful environments. Given enough time we will survive and keep on moving.

Bringing in high levels of subtle energy can sometimes result in disease, rashes, headaches and so on. This is because the organic body has not yet adapted to the influx of energy. This is the reason why many esoteric schools from yoga and qigong develop the body in conjunction with the subtler energy flows. The thing is that even if we are not deliberately practicing any energy building meditation, we are still engaging in experiences that are eliciting growth, expansion and adaptation. It may be personal development of any kind, work, family, social or otherwise.

We’ve already discussed basic physical relaxation in the first part of this article. Another gentle yet highly effective method to release knots of tension, energy and blockages in the body is through a technique known as “bouncing.”

Begin by standing with feet and legs about shoulder width. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the entire exercises.

Allow your arms to hang by your sides.

Keep a balance of relaxation and tension while allowing your weight to just sink into the ground.

Keeping your feet flat on the ground and using only your knees begin to “bounce” the rest of your body gently.

Flow into a gentle rhythm of bouncing.

As you reach the bottom of the bounce allow the natural rhythm to bring you back up.

Observe your body. This exercise is designed to feel good. Allow your body to show you how it would like to bounce. Allow it to show you how fast and the rhythm.

Allow your consciousness to move with your body.

This exercise is able to gently “move out” and dissolve blocks and tension in muscles in a way that is nurturing and supportive of your body. By learning to observe how our body would like to “bounce” we open up a medium of communication. There is no “right” textbook way to perform this exercise. The right way is in fact the way that makes our body feel good. Often the exercise can shift from a vertical type of bouncing to a more horizontal plane kind of gentle shaking( still standing upright but shaking the shoulders/torso back and forth with the spine as the central column). The key here is that blockages are removed gently and within parameters that our body and mind perceive as positive and nurturing. As excess tension is released from areas our meridians and other energetic pathways are opened up. The result is a more effective communication throughout our body, an increased ability to adapt to growth, a heightened understanding of this growth and knowledge that is coming in and more energy in general.

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