Noticing | 6
Everything is Shibari
The following are senses that I call up when explaining somatics to folks, the “other senses”, as opposed to sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. This recurring series will include moments from my week that I noticed particular sensations, big or small, as a way to share with you about my week, and also to provide an example of what somatics even is. Enjoy!
This week I began my preparation for KinkFest in earnest. I have an at-home suspension rig again, so I am getting my performance dialed in. The theme of this week is Shibari practice, because my body is so absolutely full of it.
Temperature
I don’t realize how hard I have been working on a suspension until I begin to notice the heat in my body. I started off one of my practices this week cold, so I put an extra layer on, and tied the harness over that layer, and by the end of the practice I regretted this choice haha.
Weight
I hold weight in different parts of my hips or my thighs depending on if I am upside-down or right-side up. I also hold weight in my ribcage when I lean back into a chest harness. Feeling my weight sink into the ropes harnessed around these parts of my body makes me feel really strong, even through the first painful initial pangs of settling into the shape.
Movement
My dance practice has increased the confidence and sureness I feel in the movements of my body. I feel a spreading of energy that begins in my heart space, and radiates out through each of my limbs fill in to the edge and past the edge of my skin. I’ve noticed this sensation makes for more visually beautiful movement, in addition to feeling very full.
Interoception
I notice my nerves are more sensitive than I remember them being when I was performing every month. There are spots on my body that feel hot when a slight amount of pressure from rope is applied. I am wondering if it is that I was ignoring the signals of my body or was performing so frequently that my nerves were properly conditioned, or maybe some combination of the two. The adrenaline hit that comes from being on stage completely changes my perception of my bodily sensations.
On the theme of gentleness though, and because I am so familiar with the tingling, burning, hot sensation of nerve compression, I am not pushing through any painful sensations, and am immediately coming out of them (which is always recommended! To be gentle!). This growth feels like a necessary step to continue this practice for a long time, instead of frying my nerves and burning myself out.
I am a being in the realm of somatic sex education, ancestral healing, erotic healing, kink, relationship anarchy, polyamory, geomancy, and a constellation of anything else you’ve seen written here. If you would like to work with me one-on-one in any of these realms, keep an eye on this space for an announcement when my books re-open.