3. FILLING UP THE BATTERY    After getting the blood circulating with the rotation about the joints, and tossing our gunk into the ground, students were guided through a sequence of movements aimed at refilling our battery with fresh energy, first from the ground below, then from the sky above, inspired by a qigong exercise.  Students were asked to lift their arms from their sides while imagining that they were drawing fresh energy from the ground, like a water pump.  As they lifted their arms above their head, students were asked to imagine fresh energy pouring into the tops of their heads, filling them up, like filling a battery.  Then as they brought their arms back to their sides they were asked to imagine that this fresh energy moved through thee center of their body, as if through the center of a tree, back into the ground again, through their roots.  These images were inspired by a qigong exercise, liberally admixed with my own images, intended to engage, drawing upon the students’ natural affinity for clear images.

The movement (arms lifted over head, and down again) was repeated six times.  The first rotation was referred to as filling our own battery; the second was completed on behalf of our parents; the third was all of our friends and family; the four was completed for someone in the world who was in trouble, for whatever reason; the fifth was completed for someone causing trouble; and the final rotation was for all the amphibians, or marsupials, or giraffes, or the like, which brought smiles/giggles.

Commentary:  In this exercise, students imagine themselves a battery, able to fill themselves up with fresh energy, and even give some of it away.  It is inspired by a qigong exercise, an, for me, continues the overarching aim of quiet reflection, reference to ones own body, investment in the teacher and in the group, and the acknowledgement of a larger world.


Another exercise is described here:

1. JOINT ROTATION    Following my lead, students began by rotating their hands in a wide arc about the wrist joint, three times in one direction, then three times in the opposite direction.  We similarly proceeded from the wrists, to the elbows, shoulders, neck, hips, knees and ankles.  Visualization was used to help engage/sustain/deepen students’ attention to their own bodies, as: Imagine there are laser lights shooting out of your fingertips.  When you rotate your wrists, you can see the lasers move across the room in a wide circle.

After completing rotation of the ankles students were asked to imagine they could scrape out, remove, and dispose of  (toss into the ground) any negative gunk brought into class that morning.  This was accomplished in several quick gestures, which must be demonstrated/seen.

Commentary: While the form of this exercise was initially inspired by qigong exercise, similar simple stretching exercises are common in physical education classes and sports’ teams everywhere.  It made sense to me to begin with a sequence of systematic stretches.  The close of the exercise—the image of scooping out our own negative gunk and tossing it into the ground—was inspired by qigong, though, for me, the procedure offers an opportunity for reflection (e.g. noticing/assessing my mood...