Roots & Wings: the dynamic balance of stability and mobility.

DanielleEastman
Jan 25
3 min read

Beautiful photo thanks to Cat McCombs.

Welcome to Part 3 of our Cultivating Organic Fitness series!

Hello beautiful soul!

Ahhhhh, last week’s focus on stability felt sooooooo…….. well….. stabilizing. Thank you for joining me.

After diving deeply into stability & mobility individually these past two weeks, this week we’ll focus on noticing how they work together as a dynamic team.

We’ll root deeply with that grounded, steady inner anchor of stability. We’ll pause. We’ll slow down. We’ll gently control. We’ll stop. We’ll stay. No freezing or excessive tensing needed... We’ll simply be grounded, steady, and… stable.

At the same time, we’ll also sense our delicious mobility flowing through. We’ll enjoy that beautiful expressive freedom of our body to circle, reach, twist, explore, go, and just flowwwwwww….

As we integrate both, we’ll sense the harmony that comes with the balance. We can be both strong and soft, grounded and soaring, held and unleashed, centered and free—all at once.

And in that on-going, synergistic balance of the two? Wholeness. Ease.

We can even sense it right now: For example, settle into a comfortable stance. Imagine roots sinking deep into the earth from your feet and pelvis, anchoring you. Then like a gentle willow tree, let your soft, flowing branches—your arms, your spine, your heart—reach, circle, twist, or sway in the breeze. Rooted, but also fluid. Grounded, but also expressive & free. We can even try it on just one leg. Again, let that grounded leg support and steady you… and then celebrate the freedom that’s available throughout the rest of your body! Ahhhhh… it feels so good!

As we dance in class (or on our own, or with a video), we can also explore things like:

As we repeat any repetitive movement (i.e., front kick or jazz square), we can ask: what (within me) is supporting me at this time? Where am I stable? Where do I feel a hug? A stillness? A pause? An inner support?

And then, alternatively, what within me is able to flow with mobility and expression right now? Where do I feel liquid? Fluid? Watery? Supple? Free? No need to fix or force or change anything (unless desired)…. We can just tune in and be fascinated.

We can be curious and tune in. Is there any area of my body that would really love more mobility? Do I feel stuck anywhere?

Or is there any area of my body that would love more stability? Do I feel too loosy-goosey? Unstable? Wobbly?

Exploring our unique personal balance of stability & mobility can be especially helpful if any area of our body is whispering discomfort or pain. We can dive in with gentle curiosity: How’s the mobility here? The stability? What about the joints above or below this area? Sometimes a tiny little shift in the kinetic chain can bring surprising relief!

Next, we can experiment with things like: What helps me find more stability when I crave it? How do I root, ground, and center (or re-center)? Does sensing and relaxing my feet help, for example? Does sensing my lower abdomen (hara) help? Upper abdomen (solar plexus)? Does focusing my eyes on a set point help? Does tensing or relaxing more help? Does slowing down help? How about giving myself permission to just stay and be for a while? How about stacking my bones more vertically? Does that help?

Or… What helps me feel more mobile and free? Does it help for me to visualize myself as water, for example? Or to soften my shoulders? Or back off, effort-wise, in order to invite more ease? Or perhaps simply giving myself permission to move in new-to-me ways can help? To give myself permission to look ‘weird,’ sexy, or awkward, for example? To wave through my spine, let go of my head, undulate my abdomen, or circle my hips? To give myself permission to let go of controlling and inhibiting my body and movement?

Thoughts, friend? How’s it feeling to you today? Or any new aha’s already? You know me, I always love to hear.

So… stable roots & expressive wings, baby. That’s what we’re playing with this week, and (as always) I can’t wait to see what we discover. See you soon!

Much love,

💛 Dani