The Grand Horizontals - 8 - Sound Bell From Heart
Plum Village monk sounds the gong - in stillness and grief - in memorial ceremony for Thich Nhat Hanh, January 2022. Source: plumvillage.org
Sound Bell From Heart - Soft Hands
A variation of the “Dominant Hand (AY 124)” lesson
Bring Your Singing Bowl, Chime, Gong or Fancy Wine Glass
Thich Nhat Hanh invites bowl to sing. source: plumvillage.com
My intention to conclude this “Grand Horizontals” cycle with a close look at the hand. Something we have not done in a while. And never before with any science nerd candy.
Then Zen teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh passed away at the age of 95 and the Plum Village Monastery, France, streamed a week of memorial ceremonies. Entranced by the monastics’ stillness within grief, and grief within stillness, I was repeatedly drawn to the meditation hall and the sonorous, giant singing bowl whose sound orchestrates the proceedings. That gong, and Moshe Feldenkrais’ own unusually poetic instructions have informed my understanding of this lesson.
The hand takes up disproportional real estate in both the sensory and motor cortex. A motor homunculus represents a map of brain areas dedicated to motor processing. A sensory homunculus represents a map of brain areas dedicated to sensory processing for different anatomical divisions of the body. In both of these representations, the lips, tongue and hands are gigantic.
The human hand represents a triumph of complex engineering, exquisitely evolved to perform a range of tasks. Dr George McGavin relates: “It gives us a powerful grip but also allows us to manipulate small objects with great precision. This versatility sets us apart from every other creature on the planet. The hand has one of the strangest arrangements of muscles in the body. Most of its movements are controlled by muscles that aren't located in the hand at all, but in the forearm. The muscles of the forearm connect to the finger bones via long tendons that pass through a flexible wrist. This remote musculature gives the fingers movement and strength that wouldn't be possible if all of the muscles had to be attached directly to them.” And. as we have learned, the hands’ connection to the skeleton is through the clavicles.
Throughout the memorial week for Thay, as his disciples called him, the precise, gentle gestures of ringing the Plum Village singing bowl and gongs captivated me, in real time and in slo-mo. Mindfulness in gesture. Wholeness in gesture.
Dr. Feldenkrais embraced the mindful qualities of balance and equanimity. His method gives students choices of how to react, with resilience to come from center to respond to any challenge with minimal effort. We use slow, tiny gestures to allow our consciousness to become aware of how we move, and give the nervous system time to relax into even easier movements.
Femunculus sculpted by Haven Wright. photo: Preston Foerder
With exquisite gentleness, a nun at Plum Village monastery rings a gong. From Plumvillage.org
Mindfully relaxing into grace is the theme of this lesson. The tiniest gesture of lifting and lowering the hand is an invitation to find deep, full body relaxation. The lesson progresses into turning the wrist and focusing on individual fingers, grouped fingers, and even a moment of the Buddhi mudra to enhance intuitive communication. To feel how the humerus (upper arm) bone seats in the shoulder socket, extend the arm outward and circle in the socket. Finally, a strange position of the hands on the chest bring awareness to the shoulder blades’ relationship to the wrists. All the while tuning into the clavicle, which links the arm to the skeletal whole.
Set Up: This is an extreme low-effort lesson that can be done lying on the floor or sitting in a chair with a way to support the forearm so that it is parallel to the floor. Have anything you might need to be comfortable lying or sitting for the entire session: blankets for warmth, padding for under knees, hips, wherever you know you need it.
If you have a gong, singing bowl, chime, or wine glass and knife, bring them.
Science Nerd Candy this week takes us deep into the anatomy of the hand, wrist and arm:
Hand Anatomy Tutorial – Randale Sechrest (11:02). Detailed anatomy of hands with bones, ligaments, muscles and nerves
The Hand, Thumb and Opposition – 3D Anatomy Lyon (5:09) - The detailed physics of the thumb and finger joints.
The Major Motor Muscles of the Wrist – 3D Anatomy Lyon (3:59) If only to appreciate the exquisite complexity of the movements of the wrist
Adduction of the Arm – 3D Anatomy Lyon (3:06) If only to appreciate the exquisite complexity of arm movements, and all the torso muscles available to relieve the arm muscles of the heavy work
The Voice-O-Meter sounds this week:
Liver Sound - SHHHHHH - releasing anger and making space for kindness
Plum Village monk makes the compassion mudra in preparation to ring the sonorous singing bowl. source": Plumvillage.org
How You Might Feel After This Lesson: Connected through the entire torso; Ribs open and flexible; Breath deep and wide; Arms resting easily in shoulder sockets; Shoulder blades resting easily on ribs; Hands soft and flexible; Hands connected to core; Wrists soft Regal posture with your beauty bones ready for viewing.
BY ZOOM New Students: Register here
Day 5 Memorial from Plum Village. This cut begins at 1:00, The beginning of the Namov Alokiteshvaraya, the chant of great compassion. The chant is accompanied by a quartet of guitar, violin, cello and drum. Bells and the singing bowl punctuate the offering. Exquisite expression of grief within stillness, stillness within grief. To experience the entire ceremony, with guided breathing meditation, rewind to the start.