SPIRIT IN PRACTICE
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults
WORKSHOP 6: BODY PRACTICES
BY ERIK WALKER WIKSTROM
© Copyright 2008 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 8:51:57 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Embodied spirituality views all human dimensions—body, vital, heart, mind, and consciousness—as equal partners in bringing self, community, and world into a fuller alignment with the Mystery out of which everything arises. Far from being an obstacle, this approach sees the engagement of the body and its vital/primary energies as crucial for not only a thorough spiritual transformation, but also the creative exploration of expanded forms of spiritual freedom.
—Jorge N. Ferrer
However, the style of worship bequeathed to us from our Unitarian and Universalist forebears is generally sedentary: at our Sunday services we tend to sit in one place listening to readings and sermons, moving only when we stand to sing. In most of our congregations, we don't wave our arms, stomp our feet, kneel, or even clap; we certainly don't dance in the aisles. On the other hand, some Unitarian Universalist groups, such as the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and Young Religious Unitarian Universalists, have more movement-oriented worship. We can appreciate movement during worship as a way to put our whole bodies into the service. And beyond worship, we can explore ways to engage our bodies in spiritual practice.
This workshop is focused on having participants come to understand their spiritual journey to be not separate from their own physical experiences, but deeply rooted in them. An obvious choice would be to introduce one of the more well-known physical practices such as yoga or tai chi. Instead, in this workshop participants will be invited to have an experience of pure movement: what does it feel like to move your body freely, without purpose or intent, to move for movement's own sake? This will probably generate discussion, and perhaps even some discomfort!
Then a common, everyday physical experience—eating—will be engaged in with a meditative, reflective attitude it is rarely given. Such an attitude could be applied to any of the physical tasks we do. In his book Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living, the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh offers meditative verses from the Vietnamese Buddhist tradition for such things as brushing one's teeth and washing one's hands.
If a group has access to someone who can demonstrate one of the physical spiritual practices, that could be done in this workshop too (or instead). But the goal of this workshop is to help participants discover that something as normal as tying one's shoes or walking to get the morning paper can be used as a tool for spiritual experience and growth.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Sharing Names | 5 |
Activity 2: The Story of Mind Meets Body | 10 |
Activity 3: Body Practices Brainstorm | 10 |
Activity 4: Moving Meditation | 10 |
Activity 5: Mindful Eating | 15 |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Body Practice Demonstration | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Leaders are encouraged to prepare for the workshop not only by gathering supplies and reviewing the workshop's activities, but also by engaging in a body practice. Such practices include body awareness, dance, yoga, tai chi, breath-centered meditation, or whatever your spirit and physical abilities allow. You may wish to journal about the experience afterwards.
Take some time to consider the spirit with which you will approach the workshop's body movement and mindful eating activities. Focus on bringing an attitude of open generosity that gives participants permission to be less inhibited as they move and eat.
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As participants enter, invite them to sign in, create name tags, and pick up a schedule for the workshop series if they have not already done so. Direct their attention to the agenda for this workshop.
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Welcome participants to Spirit in Practice.
Ask the group to turn to "Let Us Worship" by Kenneth L. Patton, 437 in Singing the Living Tradition. Invite a participant to light the chalice as the group reads responsively.
After the reading, ask the group to turn to "Let It Be a Dance," 311 in Singing the Living Tradition. Invite the group to join in singing. If the group is largely unfamiliar with the song, you may need to teach them the tune.
Including All Participants
If your congregation has large-print and/or Braille versions of Singing the Living Tradition, make those copies available for participants who might need them. Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear you.
ACTIVITY 1: SHARING NAMES (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce yourself and your co-leader(s), and invite participants to take turns sharing their names. As participants introduce themselves, invite them to stand (if they are willing and able) and to speak loudly or use the microphone so they can be better seen and heard.
Including All Participants
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear one another.
ACTIVITY 2: THE STORY OF MIND MEETS BODY (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Read the story "Mind Meets Body" aloud. Provide copies of the story to people who prefer to read along.
After sharing the story, invite participants to take a moment to quietly center themselves, to let go of any tension or emotions that are not needed for the next hour, and to breathe deeply. You may ring a bell at the beginning and end of this silent time, or simply invite people into the silence and then gently bring them out.
After the silence, invite participants to discuss their responses to the story. Keep the discussion brief and focused, allowing time for your own concluding remarks. Ask:
Conclude by emphasizing that our bodies as well as our minds can be spiritual teachers. We can learn from physical ability and disability, from wellness and disease. Physical experiences like dancing, mountain climbing, lovemaking, and giving birth can offer spiritual revelation.
Including All Participants
Be sure that all participants can hear the story, or have the story interpreted for them. Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear the story. You may wish to print out a copy of the story in advance for participants who are hard of hearing or who prefer to read along.
ACTIVITY 3: BODY PRACTICES BRAINSTORM (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite the group to brainstorm ways in which the body can be an integral part of spiritual practice. Some possibilities include a martial art such as tai chi; fasting once a week or once a month; running, cycling, or swimming; sex; a tea ceremony; an evening bath; eating a meal with family or friends; cuddling with children. Write the group's ideas on newsprint.
If you fill more than one sheet of newsprint, post the sheets on the wall where everyone can see them. Discuss with participants:
Keep the sheet(s) posted to refer to in Activity 5.
Including All Participants
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear one another.
ACTIVITY 4: MOVING MEDITATION (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Ask participants to find a space in the room where they can move without bumping into anyone else. Explain that in a moment you're going to put on some music. Ask participants to listen to the music, with eyes closed, and allow their bodies to respond. Eyes are closed so that all participants can express themselves in a less inhibited way—this isn't dance class, and no one will be judged or even seen! This is a time for participants to simply let their bodies move in response to the music they're hearing.
Start the music. Invite participants to close their eyes and begin moving. When the piece has concluded, or after five minutes, turn down the music and sound the bell.
Ask participants to reflect on their experiences. Ask:
Including All Participants
The "Moving Meditation" exercise can be adapted for people with limited mobility. Encourage participants to put their whole bodies and souls into the movement even if they cannot move with their whole bodies.
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear your instructions. Check to make sure the music is amplified adequately so that all hearing participants can hear it. Deaf participants may enjoy moving to the rhythm of the music's vibration or simply moving.
ACTIVITY 5: MINDFUL EATING (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite everyone to move silently into a circle and sit down. Bring out the trays or plates of carrots and strawberries.
Pass the strawberries around. Invite each person to take one and to slowly and silently chew it. Encourage participants to take their time, to chew thoroughly and deliberately, to try to fully and deeply experience all the flavor and texture of the strawberry. Encourage participants to think of the earth, the sun, the water, the air that nurtured this strawberry. Encourage them to taste the sunlight in their strawberry.
When everyone is done, pass the plate of carrots with the same instructions. When everyone is finished, sound the bell.
Engage the group in discussion:
Including All Participants
This exercise can be adapted to accommodate food allergies or issues. Participants with braces, dentures, or missing teeth might have trouble eating carrots, apples, or other crunchy fruits and vegetables. Others might have trouble with berry seeds. Use your creativity to come up with substitutions for the suggestions here.
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear your instructions.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants around the altar or centering table. Affirm the good work that participants have done in this workshop.
Offer an opportunity for the group to reflect back over the workshop, seeking what are sometimes called "like and wishes." Ask participants, if they wish, to briefly share something they particularly liked about their experience and one thing they wish for in the future. If the group is small or there is extra time, allow participants to speak freely. If the group is large or time is tight, limit people's sharing so that all who wish to share will have the opportunity.
Distribute and explain your customized Taking It Home handout. Review the ideas for how to continue exploring the workshop's subject with friends and family.
If you have chosen to encourage journaling throughout the Spirit in Practice workshop series, remind participants to write in their journals. (See Workshop 1, Alternate Activity 2: Introduction to Journaling.)
Make any announcements concerning the next meeting, especially any changes to routine (such as a change in meeting time or place, a guest presenter, etc.).
Close the workshop with this ritual: The leader takes the hand of the person on his/her right while saying, "I put my hand in yours so that we might do together what we cannot do alone." That person, still holding the leader's hand, then takes the hand of the person on his/her right, saying the same thing. When this saying has gone completely around the circle and everyone is holding hands, the workshop has ended. Extinguish the chalice.
Including All Participants
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear you.
Be sure to be inclusive of people with a variety of living situations—living alone, with a significant other, in a family, with housemates, etc.—in the way you explain the Taking It Home activities.
You may wish to adapt the closing ritual to make it more comfortable for people who are averse to holding hands. You can change the words to "I reach out to you so that we might do together what we cannot do alone" and change the accompanying gesture to reaching rather than holding hands.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
After the workshop, co-leaders should make a time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning:
TAKING IT HOME
Follow these tips for using your body as part of your spiritual regimen:
Move. This means more than just exercise. Look for every opportunity to put your body into motion—to walk, dance, run, jump, stretch, reach. Move as much as your spirit and physical abilities allow.
Use your senses. Commit to making better use of all your senses in your quest to engage more deeply with life. Walk barefoot in the grass or the sand; take the time to smell an orange before you eat it; luxuriate in the warm water and soap while you wash the dishes; feel the warmth of the cup while you drink your morning coffee or tea; light a scented candle. You can practice mindfulness by stopping at different points in the day and getting in touch with each of your five senses: what am I seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling with my skin?
Develop a healthful and balanced way of eating. An entire industry is dedicated to helping people find the right diet, and an even larger industry is dedicated to making sure that we don't. Try mindful eating—taking care to notice and savor every bite during a snack or a meal each day.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: BODY PRACTICE DEMONSTRATION (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In some groups there may be someone who knows a practice such as tai chi, karate, or yoga and would be willing to give a demonstration. Perhaps there is someone in the congregation or the wider community who could be called on to visit. Ask the person to give a brief (20-minute) introduction to the basics of the practice. If time allows, invite participants to ask questions at the conclusion of the presentation.
Including All Participants
Using a microphone for this activity helps more people hear the presenter.
SPIRIT IN PRACTICE: WORKSHOP 6:
STORY: MIND MEETS BODY
Once upon a time there was a head. Just a head. By sheer force of will—or maybe it was some kind of psychokinetic energy—the head was able to move itself around, open doors, pick things up. In fact, the head could do just about anything you or I can do.
And to hear the head tell of it, life is pretty good when you’re a head. No stubbed toes. You never hit your funny bone. No love handles. No stomachaches. No tense shoulders.
Of course, there are also no dips in a hot tub. No lazy days in freshly washed sheets. And while the head could eat food, and taste it just as well as you or I, it could never feel satisfied and full. After a while, the head came to realize that it was incomplete.
So when one day the head saw a body that had no head of its own, the head got really excited. It floated over and suggested that the two might get together. Of course, the body had no ears, and could use only body language to communicate, but eventually the two of them made a connection. And when the head felt what it was like to have a body, and the body felt what it was like to have a head, what else could they do? And the two have been dancing through life ever since.
FIND OUT MORE
Practicing Our Faith (at www.practicingourfaith.org/), the website connected to Dorothy Bass's book, Practicing Our Faith. Includes sections on honoring the body, healing, and dying well.
Alexander, Scott, ed. Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life . (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=597) Skinner House Books, 1999. Includes body practices for UUs.
Beyer-Nelson, Kimberly. The Little Book of Wholeness and Prayer: An Eight-Week Meditation Guide. (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=3) Includes body practices for UUs.