Continuing our discussion of adaptability, resilience, and movement, we have a beautiful excerpt from a fellow movement practitioner from Seattle, WA. I believe, this piece really illustrates the lived experience of fascia through time.
Photo Credit: Christian Jones
Trigger Warning
Some of these pieces of art and writing share memories, moments and descriptions of explicit content such as human anatomy, adult relations, child labor, emotional or psychological distress, and physical pain. The following content is not intended as erotica, or to promote sexual arousal, nor to activate any psychological harm to others. If any of the above content feels unsafe or you feel sensitive to any of the above topics, I truly hope you will take care of yourself and not take on unnecessary pressure to read on. We are all processing a lot, and it’s ok to not have the energy or bandwidth to deal with how you currently feel.
Lets learn more about our bodies and healing through art and language!
Sugar
IG: @sugar.boom.dance
Sugar, is a life long dancer, mover and aerial artist. They teach and perform in Seattle, WA, and collaborate with other artists world wide. Be sure to check out the corresponding video clip at the end of this post, from a recent art exhibit, "Emotional Exhibitionism", which Sugar co-curated. The project encourages folks to explore emotionality and healing through one's own unique movements.
This Body
By Sugar
Some days
I feel sticky and twisted;
crunching hips
and frozen chicken shoulders.
Stiff and swollen
fiber and tissue
is all I can feel some days.
Those are the times when
I stand
in front of the mirror
bare
trying to look at what
I do not feel;
the silent strength of
a thousand shoulder rolls,
and ten thousand stilettos footsteps.
Looking at the muscles-
torn, stretched, healed, grown,
kept below forgiving flesh.
stretch marks and scars-
reminders of the years I spent
consuming my pain;
too disconnected to feel it,
to confront it.
The feelings
and consumed pain
frozen in the body,
like scattered ice cubes.
I kept moving.
I learned to thaw
the emotional ice,
to examine
and pass through
the cubes of pain,
the feelings.
I permitted them to pour
through me,
like cascading brooks
over rocky cliffs,
crashing to pools below
where after time
they become quiet
currents passing
through nature’s scenes.
Faded
Dance Artist: Sugar
Song: "Faded" by ZHU (Odessa Remix)
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What does it feel like in my body right now?
The Body Mapping Project is a blog series curating art, poems, songs, and writings from individuals in our community who lovingly, and vulnerably bring you accounts of their bodies. Each person has responded in their own way, to the question: "What does it feel like in my body right now?" I hope you will find inspiration, self acceptance, and hope through these individuals’ incredible works. Enjoy!
**If you would like to contribute your own piece, you can submit your art or writing to Meredith at recentermassage@gmail.com.
*Please respect the creators! Keep all responses/comments to the works respectful in language and intent. It is an act of vulnerability and courage to share such personal experiences with others, and this space is meant to cultivate healing, love, and acceptance of ourselves and others. Some individuals have requested to remain anonymous, and others, share their identities openly.