Altering your Subconscious Self-Image
In EMM Movement Classes, slow designated movements are used as a means by which to enhance you awareness of your body in general. Becoming aware of feelings and sensations in our bodies is a critical component of EMM. But anyone interested in developing the capacity for bringing mindfulness into their daily lives will benefit from these classes. The reason is quite simple: in these movement classes, you will begin to develop some of the basic skills of mindfulness.
The basic mindfulness skills you will begin to develop include:
You will being to develop your ability to aim your attention, and sustain your attention, on something in particular.
Most people find that using movements as a means to focus one’s attention is much easier than learning to focus one’s attention via a formal sitting meditation practice.
You will begin to develop your capacity for observing yourself in a non-judgmental way.
Observing yourself in a non-judgmental way is continually reinforced in these classes, and it is also a critical component of mindfulness.
You will begin to develop the capacity to observe yourself with a sense of curiosity (even in those instances where you discover something in your present-moment experience that you find less than pleasurable).
Observing yourself with a curious mind-set is continually reinforced in these classes, and it is also a critical component of mindfulness.
You will begin to alter your internal (subconscious) self-image.
We all have a restricted and distorted internal self-image; it is only a matter of degree. This image is a map, you might say. This “map” dictates to us what we are able and not able to do. This “map” restricts our behavior because it reinforces habitual behavior and thus reduces the possibility of spontaneous behavior. So, as we dismantle this “map” and create a new, more expanded “map,” we begin to behave more spontaneously and with greater flexibility. In other words, we become less rigid in our responses to life in general.
Imagine that you had traveled to a beautiful 100-acre wildlife preserve, but the map you were given only showed a two-acre portion of that reserve. Imagine all of the beauty that you would miss, if you believed that the map was accurate and that the two acres was all there was to explore.
Or imagine that you owned a large home with 10 bedrooms and several other rooms, but the doors were locked to all but two of those rooms. You would be very limited in terms of what you could do with that house – compared to its full potential.
Our internal self-image is like that. These movement classes serve to fill in the missing pieces of the map. Or, to use the second analogy, these movement classes gradually unlock the other doors in the house so that we have a greater and greater sense of the potential that lies behind those doors.
Imagine that the photo below represented your true, complete, integrated self:
And now imagine that your internal (distorted) self-image looked more like this:
What the EMM Movement Classes do is gradually move you in the direction of the first self-image (the expanded and more complete self-image). As your internal self-image is expanded and completed, your sense of freedom and choice increases, the spontaneity of your behavior increases, and your ability to connect with your whole self increases.
Additional benefits include:
Increasing One’s Ability to Move with Ease, Grace, Precision and Power
In these movement sequences, the whole organism – the nervous system, the musculature, and the skeleton – is engaged in harmonious and focused movement. This can have a profound effect on our ability to move with ease, grace, precision, and power.
Reduction of Muscular Tension Pain
Muscular tension develops when you form an unconscious habit of using more muscular effort than you need to, or when your muscles remain contracted even when not in use. Tension habits frequently become chronic, and cause muscular pain, restricted movement, fatigue, and depression. These movement sequences give you the means by which to relieve muscular tension and to help you relax your muscles whenever you want.
Reduction of the Effects of Aging
It is often assumed that poor posture, stiffness, and pain are unavoidable aspects of getting older. But this is not so! Many of the physical discomforts we accept as time goes by can be easily avoided. These movement sequences improve your flexibility, posture, and freedom of movement, at any age.
The movement sequences incorporate recent discoveries in neurophysiology and biomechanics which serves to improve your neuromuscular organization. You will experience greater efficiency of movement, more power and speed, improved accuracy and coordination in all your physical activities.
Speed Up Recovery Time After Injury
After an injury or strain, the lessons can speed the healing process by relaxing your muscles, reducing inflammation, and stimulating your circulation. Sometimes an injury causes discomfort that lingers for months or even years. Often this is because we unconsciously develop compensatory posture and movement habits in order to avoid irritation of the injured area. These self-protective habits can persist long after the pain has gone and many cause chronic misalignment and muscular discomfort. By increasing your awareness, you can recover fully. You will learn to dissolve old postural and movement habits that are no longer necessary, thereby reconditioning your body with healthier neuromuscular patterns.
Increase Your Flexibility
Your body needs to be flexible in order to maintain the health of your joints and muscles, and move with comfort and ease. As your self-awareness increases, unhealthy neuromuscular habits of stiffness and tension dissolve and your flexibility increase dramatically. When your body is more flexible, you will feel freer and healthier in ways you may not have felt in many years.
EMM Movement Class Schedule
Tuesdays
6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
on Zoom
Saturdays
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
on Zoom
These classes are approximately 50 minutes long. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing.
If you have not previously attended an EMM group lesson, please e-mail us at [email protected] at least three days before the lesson, to let us know that you will be coming. This allows the instructor to plan a lesson that is suitable for a beginner. If you have any physical limitations (e.g., “I cannot lie on my right side.”) or if you have chronic areas of pain or tension, please let us know that as well, when you email us.
Class Fees: Two Ways to Pay
Option 1: Drop In
The drop-in fee is $18.00 per class. You simply pay online via PayPal using the following email address: [email protected].
NOTE: Payments must be received at least 24 hours prior to class start time.
Option 2: Pay by Month
DISCOUNTED FEE: For those paying on a monthly basis (at the beginning of each month, for the entire month), the fee is discounted to $15.00 PER CLASS. No refunds. But, if you are planning to attend regularly, THIS IS THE WAY TO GO! Again, you simply pay online via PayPal using the following email address: [email protected].
NOTE: Payments must be received at least 24 hours prior to the first class of the month.
Important Information for Zoom
If the name displayed on your Zoom account it different from the name that you have used to make your PayPal payment or to correspond with us, please let us know in advance. Otherwise, you will not be admitted as we do not allow unknown persons to join the class. Our Zoom classes have never been “crashed” and the best way to avoid this in the future is to ensure that everyone attending has a recognizable name on their Zoom account.