Mapping a Practice

We will often map out our practice, diagraming where we’re at, what we’re focusing on, our objectives, etc.

A map might lend the illusion that the practice is neatly categorized into cute little boxes. But the intention behind such a map is not to promulgate the illusion of hierarchical order. It’s to provide a pragmatic starting point for a more dynamically alive conceptualization based on engagement.

The map will have to be redrawn anew, over and again, forevermore, because the territory will change as a reflection of our own evolution. That’s inherent to *practice*, where WE are part of the territory.

Complete systems are already impossible in purely objective systems - this is nothing compared to practice in which subject and object are both interwoven!

Ido Portal Berlin Intensive 2023

Dear diary, I’m back from my trip to Berlin to visit my teacher Ido Portal. Here is how it went

Schedule

Every day started at 7:30AM with a one hour meditation. One day, he took it into almost two hours. This is a deep practice, and the offering was made - sustain it for one year, every day.

Then a quick breakfast, and the first session began.

Structure and Organization of the Body

The morning sessions were led by Ido, and touched on a few subjects. Usually we would start with a focus on structure and organization of the body. After doing this kind of work, your body transform in profound ways. This is unlike the sense of acquiring a skill, or improving an attribute. Instead, a more general capacity improves -  the way the body organizes itself in relation to all tasks.

It’s a massive development for the field of movement, and I’m eager to see the downstream effects on the movement culture, as has happened with so many of Ido’s other insights. As he has done countless times before, Ido has breathed fresh thought into something we take for granted - in this case, the way we see something as broad and encompassing as structure and organization of the body.

Boxing as Movement Practice

Most days we worked also with boxing. This process was presented, not to become fighters, but to use fighting to get what it is uniquely suited for - for example,  to work on emotional modulation and to cultivate presence and adaptability inside a chaotic scenario. (It has been my experience with this work that it’s some of the most important for me personally - for what it offers to awareness of emotions and working with distracting thoughts.)

This was a very LIVE practice, built from Ido’s own research and development in this field. It is telling how Ido can take a mixed group, including many who never put on gloves before, and take them through two weeks with nary an injury.

Learning to learn

We worked also on tasks for improving how a person learns, for example developing the ability to “chew” on complex patterns. Not in a cerebral analytic way, but solving the puzzle WHILE the puzzle is changing. Only one solution exists - to bring presence. You don’t get to take such riddles home to solve them; the riddle gets solved, here and now, or not at all.

Many other things were tackled, addressing strength, focus, touching the floor, etc…

We would take lunch for a short break, then back for the PM session.

A different route towards improvisation

Odelia would lead the second session. This session built up over 2 weeks in the direction of a very open and free improvisation, but it got there by way of a gradual process.

It began with creating a sense of differentiation in very simple movement patterns. This was reminiscent of Ido’s “transcription” model of learning skills  - whereby we do not learn things from scratch, but always use prior learnings to form them. If our prior learnings are unrefined, so too will be the outcome of learning the new skill.

So Odelia gave us very simple patterns to start, but the next step was the critical piece - she added elements to ensure  we not just perform reps of a warm up exercise, but that we invested ourselves into examining relationships in the body in the context of these patterns, sensing them, and through this BECOMING them.

With these basic pieces of genetic materials built up, we were able to create or revisit a vocabulary of groundwork in a completely different way. The approach is antithetical to the common approach to teaching skills, the “monkey see monkey say monkey do” approach.

The subtext: the concepts we worked with

Every day finished with a lecture from Ido, usually spanning about 2-3 hours. These touched on topics ranging from the origins of movement development and motor control systems, to working with negative emotions and distracting thoughts, to the power of parables and secrets for transmitting truths, and wrestling with models of the nature of reality to cultivate better work.

Throughout these 2 weeks, there was a major emphasis on observation of emotions, as well as noticing thoughts. Not in a wishy washy way, but in a direct concrete way. And this is something Ido brings to the space of inner work, that is often missing - application platforms, wet-tests, an actual DOING.

It makes me think of how a spiritual teacher from the past had his students perform hard manual labor as practice. If you look nowadays, you don’t see the current mantle-bearers of this teacher’s work doing the same. The work has become all talk, theory, esoteric knowledge. Ido is making sure that the DOING remains in place.

Concluding thoughts

As usual, Ido’s process is very innovative; not creativity for creativity’s sake, but engaging in honest problem-solving to solve the issues and limitations that come up in learning, or posture, or focus, or boxing, or dance, or acrobatics. It is, as in usual form, completely non-dogmatic, practical, and yet contained within a greater perspective. Hence, this is a process for those who truly wish to grow.

And in the end, though all this priceless knowledge was presented, nothing was “given”. Because nothing worth having can be given. They need to be taken, manufactured for yourself. Ido’s gift was his presence, his embodiment being capable of “taking” and presence.

You are a locomotive pendulum

What’s unique about these patterns - they have a cyclical nature. And a pattern that is cyclical allows for a recycling of energy in the body.

This is such an intrinsic part of mammalian physiology that the nervous system has dedicated networks BELOW the spinal cord for locomotive patterns. These central pattern generators don’t involve the primary motor cortex. They are reflex arcs; they bypass the brain entirely.

This means… you don’t walk the way you learn to write. It can be seen on infants - you don’t need to push their legs forward; put the weight on one leg, and the opposite leg immediately swings forward in the natural gait mechanic.

Interestingly, CPGs are clearly evident in animals, less so in humans. The fact that CPGs are a bit harder to detect in humans hints that our modern choices deprive us of this basic capacity, that we are losing an innate efficiency in how our bodies operate.

Ido Portal introduced a while ago the idea of locomotive patterns as a practice. They are still potent over a decade later.

May 7th workshop: “What Is A Movement Practice” - A workshop for the curious

For those in our local Miami community who want to learn more about movement as a practice, we will use this session to share our perspective and our approach. Whether you haven’t practiced with us, have, or currently are a student, we would be happy to have you join this.

“A movement practice will transform your body - developing strength and mobility, groundwork and improvisation, and addressing untapped aspects such as coordination and organization of the body.”

Details

Miami-locals only

Time: 10am-12pm

Fee: $20

Contact us to register: sean.nicolle@republicofmovement.com

The ancient practice of dryland swimming (April Fools ;)

Dryland Swimming workshop available today! Description in audio, or read below:

Dryland swimming is the ancient practice of mastering the essence of swimming.

Through rigorous training of mind, body, and soul, you will become an expert in swimming techniques and forms.

Some might ask why you don’t see us swimming in the water - the truth is our technique is so evolved, water evaporates the moment we touch it. Dryland Swimming Experts are actually legally banned from swimming pools.

Today, we are opening up our e-course / weekend seminar / mastermind series , to share with you, the secrets of dryland swimming.

In stage one, you will learn
-Esoteric swimming forms,
- Complex swimming techniques based on untranslated biomechanical research,
- And progressions based on the stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Become an expert in swimming, achieve all the benefits of swimming, all from the comfort of your own living room.