THE CHINESE DRAGON
A self-care game
Background:
Chinese dragons love to parade and participate in festivals. They enjoy celebrating.
Chinese dragons are symbols of rebirth. They do not pick on fair maidens or fight with heroic knights, as has been reported for some European dragons.
Mind:
Assume that you were once a child and have practiced pretending and using body feelings to explore inside and outside. If this doesn't feel easy, just play-like you can make believe you can imagine you were once a child.
Body:
Be comfortable. You may like four legged, or may want to lean on a sofa or table with elbows out. Sometimes you may be more comfortable seated or lying down. Ask your body. Listen for its response.
GAME:
What does it feel like to be a Chinese dragon? Following are possible open questions.
How does it feel to have strong, flexible legs, wonderfully adapted to dancing in festivals and leaping into the air?
As you move and recall dancing and weaving in parades, how do your legs feel?
How do your legs connect up to your powerful hips and sturdy shoulders as you move?
Can you feel or imagine you can feel a long, flexible spine and trunk between your shoulders and your hips?
As you move your head, how does your long, flexible neck connect to your spine?
As you recall flying, do you notice how your wing beds (shoulder blades) rest on, connect to, and move around on your rib cage and connect to your shoulders?
How does it feel when all these dragon parts connect and find pleasurable ways to move?
Advanced Dragon Game:
A favorite pastime of Chinese Dragons is ramping. Ramping is moving sinuously in the sunlight, so you and others can see how beautifully your scales glisten and change as you move.
Second stage:
After dragoning, curl up or stretch out and percolate your connections, resting up and getting ready for your next rebirth.
Joe Lee Griffin, Ph.D., The Trager® Approach,
912 Goebel Avenue, Savannah, GA 31404.
phone: 912-231-8280 email: swimwell@joeleegriffin.com
Web page: http://www.joeleegriffin.com.