One of my favorite InterPlay forms is called Shapes and Stillness. You can do it with one hand or your whole body. Make a shape, then move to another shape and another. Don’t think about it, just let your body lead you. Find places among the shapes to rest in stillness. It’s a form of moving meditation. Most folks who play with shapes and stillness don’t spend much time being still, which reflects our on-the-go culture. Try doing shapes and stillness and spend 80% in stillness and 20% moving from shape to shape. Your awareness will change, your breathing deepen and your sensation of being a whole body will become more apparent. Heck, try 90% stillness and see what happens!
Last spring, after being in constant motion for seven weeks of frenetic pandemic, I signed up for Morgan Engels’ Yin Yoga. During the first session, stillness was introduced in a way I’d never experienced during yoga. It was almost 99% stillness and 1% positioning into shapes. It was the first time that I set everything down since the pandemic began. A profound wholeness and contentment came over me during that stillness. It was OK, I was OK, we were going to be OK.
Stillness is a beautiful thing to witness within a dance. Constant movement doesn’t let the eye rest. You can see more when a dance contains stillness amongst the movement. Winter in the north country encourages us to behold and be held in stillness. We’re beautiful and we’re going to be OK.
— Rev. Dena McPhetres, Associate Minister