Plasticity is the quality of being easily shaped or moulded, and the adaptability of an organism to changes in response to the environment. Plasticity can limit, and free us, depending on our choices!
India is a constant reminder that you are not in control of circumstances. The plans you had, the way you thought things would be, or should be, or could be, quite possibly won’t happen. A bus could break down on a hairpin bend and block traffic, every money machine might run out of cash when you need it, the directions you get from a local might take you further from your destination, rather than closer to it. India’s reminder that you are not in control was an invitation to remember that we are not in control on a day to day basis. Plans are shattered, relationships dissolve, accidents happen, we age. Fortunately (and unfortunately) we are innately ‘plastic’.
Our connective tissue is ‘plastic’, our nervous system is ‘plastic’ and adaptable.We can protect places of injury through bracing, we can protect vulnerabilities and hurt emotionally by hiding it away as tension and trying to avoid, we can lock in patterns of shape and movement that are repeated. Efficient, free movement can be impeded. We become limited. Tom Hargrove says that “learning better movement is more like sculpture than painting. You improve your art by taking things way, not adding them.” We can utilise plasticity to keep open and adaptable moment to moment, through our days, and over our lifespan. I see our awareness, our yoga as a way to utilise ‘plasticity’ to enhance our adaptability and vitality. We can’t control circumstances, but we can control how we respond.
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