1/20/07- Center of Gravity- Kinesiology

Michelle Black

1/20/07

Journal #1

Kinesiology

COG- Center of Gravity

            The image I worked with is found on page 86 of the Franklin text. It is number three under “working with your center of gravity” called Concentric growth rings around COG. The image was as follows; “Image the feeling of centering by visualizing yourself as the core of a tree, surrounded by concentric growth rings. Note how the rings become smaller and smaller as they approach your center. Feel the power concentrated around your center.” Knowing that I have struggles with keeping my balance with my center of gravity, I thought it best to experiment with this image. I was surprised to find out some of the things that I did.

I also felt that I at times lost the connection to the earth. I guess a tree can’t grow unless it has roots. So, I expanded this image to not be just a slice of the tree around my COG (which is what I was initially picturing), I pictured the trunk of the tree growing from my center to the earth outside my body. I felt that it gave me a greater connection to stay grounded. With this deeper understanding of this image, I felt I was more able to release my head in head-tail connections. This is another motion that I have struggled with in the past. This time, with the image, I felt I was more willing to take risks.

As it was the first time I have ever worked with images, I found that a few of my observations were not specific to this particular image, just in images in general. For example, there was a day when I was constantly thinking about the image, but it wasn’t having any affect in my body until I recognized that I was merely picturing it in my head and not in my body. There is a difference in being in your head and being in your body. Many teachers have given me feedback to get out of my head and into my body, but I never realized what they meant until this recognition.

Overall, I think this image was effective for me. I believe I was not as consistent with it as possibly I could have been to give it a greater chance to affect more of my technique. Perhaps with practice, imaging can help me understand my own thoughts and reactions as well as my inner body as previously mentioned.