FIGURE SKATING 101

Balance ~ Patience ~ Acceptance

What initially seemed like a blade needing adjusting due to a resistance on the right skate and the blade's tip scraping on the ice, not gliding with the ease as the left skate did, I have learned is a subtle tilt in the way I hold my body when I simply stand and walk.  Without figure skating, I would never have learned this about my structural alignment or the way "I hold myself".

The adjustment to the blade indeed lessened this 'resistance' - but my skating lesson yesterday uncovered this nuance in my structural stance.  Talk about fine tuning!! And the interesting observation I made from my emotional indicator, was that in the uncovering of this, I felt my very first pangs of an assortment of emotions that included sadness, despair and hopelessness.  The usual joy I feel the moment I get on that ice was absent for the first time since taking this dream on into reality.  These emotions indicated I was indeed "on to something deep."

I am of course not only open, but willing and happy to learn whatever my most trusted instructor/coach depicts as necessary, and she was really into getting 'to the bottom' of what this right skate was telling us about an almost undetectable nuance of my structural balance.

Sparing the details, the point of this story I am sharing is about fine tuning one's connection with every aspect of themselves, physically, mentally, emotionally AND structurally!  Structural falls into the physical category, but my sense is that the structural alignment or misalignment could be a result of some long held emotion or belief that manifested in the way one holds oneself and moves through the world.  BALANCE is a very precise measurement of aspects of ourselves, that unless we focus our INTENT to fine tune our inner-most aspects, may never be perfected.

Like playing the violin - there are so many details of posturing and the interconnectedness of our right and left hands and other muscle groups resulting in a perfected sound and intonation, figure skating has the same elements starting with the feet and up to encompass our entire structure- the most undetectable nuances of our being and balance are beneath the beacon of observation and introspection to be fine tuned if we are to have EASE with our movement, culminating in a beautiful, artistic result.  Both endeavors require the awareness of the full body, from toes to crown, and its alignment and interconnectedness.

PRACTICE of what we learn each lesson is essential.  Patience with and acceptance of the level I am at currently, coupled with the passion I hold for both figure skating and playing the violin will see me through the moments of despair that "I'll never get it!!!"  But this also comes with holding onto my dreams, working them, and not comparing myself to those in these two fields that are accomplished at the art of these two very technical endeavors by the time they are 10!!!!

The emotional fall-out from uncovering this structural imbalance was intense, lasted two days and was quite unexpected. I am just now coming out of it.  It IS my emotional indicator system working perfectly, for in uncovering this structural nuance in my right foot, something very deep within my psyche that has brought on this imbalance issue that I was unaware of is uncovered. It's not that I now have to go diving into some unknown childhood issue, as it is about holding the stance to create the balance I am lacking on the ice right here at home in my room.

It's all about CONNECTING all the dots, being willing to see what those connections bring about, and fine tuning the very fibers of my being to bring about ease and balance on the ice and velvety smooth tones as I draw the bow down the strings creating a beautiful tone on my violin.   

At the end of the day, I am in deep appreciation that I have an exquisite violin that was my father's -  a very high quality Stradivarius copy from the 1800's which longs for me to utilize it's buttery sound capability, or my elegant black Harlick Ice Skates, that are the choice of the Olympians.  Appreciation is a welcome partner to the patience and acceptance I am expanding to embrace when it comes to how I feel about my beingness.

Continue on YOUR dreams, my friends, and don't let any limitations keep you from being happy.  Limitations, like all challenges, are tools for our personal expansion and contribution to humanity and the universal source.  We are not alone!