Becoming More Comfortable with your Discomforts

How do you like my new shirt?

I hope you like it better than I do, because, to be honest, wearing it makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.

But I’m going to be wearing this shirt at my “Connecting Insides and Outsides” workshop this Sunday.

Why?  I’ll tell you shortly, but first I want to clear up something that might have been confusing about this workshop.

You may have read previous descriptions of this event and my follow-up workshop on Saturday, April 29, “Experiments in the Laboratory of Your Imagination” and asked yourself, “why does he keep going on about creativity?!  Isn’t the Feldenkrais Method about relieving the pain in my lower back, neck, hips, feet . . . ?!”

And you would have a very good point!

Because there is nothing in the material I previously put out that would suggest that you will feel better movement in all of these places by attending my workshop.

So let me quickly address that:

You will feel better movement in all of these places by attending my workshop!!

So, what’s going on here?!

Actually, it’s not so different than what the workshop is all about.  I myself am trying to expand my creative reach and show more of my authentic insides to the outside world – to you – in a way where we can connect even better at the level of our true natures.

But doing this successfully, as we’ll discuss on Sunday, is a two-way listening process, where I need to listen both to myself and to you – I’m still learning how to do that.

For me, bringing creativity into the Feldenkrais discussion makes sense because the creative inspiration I got, particularly as a musician, when I began to practice this Method was one of the biggest reasons I continued with it.

But, even though I emphasize it less, this work has also vastly improved the movement of my right shoulder which often caused me pain.  In addition, it has taught me the most effective and reliable strategies I know for combatting stress and calming myself down when I am too revved up.

And maybe that part of my story feels more relevant to you?

In any case, there is a real connection between these two things.  Sometimes a client comes to me and tells me that their neck hurts.  We don’t talk about creativity at all, but when the client leaves without the pain or feels it is largely reduced, for me, this is a victory for creativity.

Why?  Because the change comes as a result of the interactions we have together that have to be made up on the spot.  On the days, I feel the most creative, I feel the best connections to the people I work with and I tend to give what feels to me like my best sessions and classes.

But getting into this place is never all about following rules and things we’ve previously been taught.  Often it involves trial and error and venturing a bit into the uncomfortable unknown.  So it’s worthwhile to develop a practice of getting more comfortable with a little bit of discomfort.

That’s why I’ll be wearing the bright green shirt this Sunday!

I was in a clothing store recently and noticed there was a sale on shirts.  I immediately gravitated to the grey and dark blue shades I always wear.  Then I saw the green shirt and thought, “Ew – not so sure that would look good on me…”

That’s when I decided to buy it.

A few days earlier I had been complimenting someone I know on her habit of mixing and matching bright colors in her clothing.  She does it effortlessly and it contributes to the effect she has when she enters a room, even before she speaks.  When I tried to protest that “I could never wear colors like that”, she gently suggested that this was just a silly idea of mine.

So, buying the shirt was kind of a personal test.  Not a very difficult one – after all the shirt was on sale . . . but then I had to put it on!

The first time I wore it, several people noticed the change and told me they liked it.  But for me, despite the positive feedback, I was still not very sure I liked the shirt.  It still didn’t look right in the mirror.

However, I couldn’t help but notice the sensations that came from people around me telling me that they liked me as a “colorful guy.”  It was not unlike the feeling of discovering how to use a new spice in the kitchen.  My recipe-making options when I get dressed in the morning now feel just a little more expansive!

Of course, putting on a new shirt isn’t such a big deal.  But in my case it actually meant confronting something very deeply ingrained.  It must be something like 10 years since I deliberately wore a color that bright (and actually this shirt isn’t that bright, but to me it feels like I’m the GO on a traffic light when I wear it!)

That’s the secret to transformation – don’t try to do it all at once.  Just take small steps that are only slightly uncomfortable.

(Who knows, maybe next year I’ll wear a red shirt! 😉 )

But it’s striking when you make a small change and everyone around you notices.  It might just generate a new creative opening in your life.

This Sunday, I’m inviting you to gently play with the boundaries of your comfort.  Our tool for doing this will be Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons.  You might just find that, by challenging some of the patterns you have become so used to, new freedom of movement becomes possible.

Then, what will change in your relations with your friends, spouse, children, co-workers, etc. if your neck no longer hurts?  If you can breathe easily in any situation?  If you aren’t afraid to dance?

And I promise that we will conduct these investigations together in a warm and supportive atmosphere.

I’m gonna need your support too – because I’m still not entirely sure I’m going to feel comfortable wearing that green shirt!!

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For all the information about my workshops exploring creativity – and BETTER MOVEMENT! – on April 23 and 29, please click here.

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