On Action – Checking in with your body and letting go

Check in with your body.

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We live too much up in our heads. So check in with your body every once in a while. Here’s (one way) how:

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When it comes to breathing exercises, every acting studio ever will (supposedly) start you out on the floor. Why? Because you don’t have to do shit when you’re on the floor, except be there. And stay awake, of course.

I recommend a beautiful hardwood floor, and white walls and ceiling to help w/the imaginative process, but it’s not really that important. Any floor will do.

Now, normally when we breathe, we breathe w/our chests, simply because it’s immediately available. Chest breath is easy to draw. But it’s shallow. That’s why you always hear that spiel (from choir directors, band teachers, etc) about breathing from the diaphragm, from the belly. You should really be able to feel your belly expand when you breathe in.

And it’s true – breathing from the diaphragm is immensely more powerful, and just plain better for you. And guess what? Babies do it naturally. (And a lot of the time they’re a lot wiser than us older people)

But to get back on track: You’re on the floor, supine (that’s back to the floor, facing upwards towards the ceiling). Now, what you’re trying to do is,

Surrender to the floor.



That’s right, surrender. Give up on trying to control everything, on trying to control your body. Release your tension. Let go.

And first, just pay attention. Try to locate spots of tension, where you feel tight and tense and anally controlling. Feel your breath moving in and through and out of your body.

Each breath that you draw from the room – that breath is yours. You own it.

Think about that.

Each breath really belongs to you. So give it a personality, in your mind. Imagine your breath as having character to it. Give it a color if you want. Do whatever you need to do accomplish this.

As you feel each breath traveling through your body, imagine it cleansing you of tension. Imagine this very specifically. Breathing from your diaphragm, feel and imagine it rising up to fill your chest cavity, all the way up to your shoulders and beyond.

As you slowly exhale, feel your breath course through each part of you body. Feel it run through individual muscles. Feel it run through your right bicep, down your right forearm, all the way to your fingertips in your right hand, and beyond. Feel it do the same for the left side of your body.

Feel it flow through your lower body. If you truly breathe from your diaphragm, you should be able to feel it in your pelvic floor. You can actually feel it in your crotch. Feel it caress your hip sockets as it passes through, softening the very bones it touches. Feel it run through your quads, your calves, your ankles, all the way to your feet. And beyond.

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Do you see what I’m getting at? There are so many directions you can go with this, but the important thing is to find what works for you.

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Imagine it freely. Experience it exquisitely.



Check in with your body.

Let go.



-David

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