spinning drum blog

Every morning after I wake up I play records. I prioritize it as the first things I do. I mean it sets the day right, rhythmates the chi energy and tightens the mental weave between left brain and right. The dexterous repetitions of the finger and fader movements across the 02 and 1200, apparently is good for the corpus callosum, solidifying the cerebral wire between logic and gestalt

I’ve decided to throw in a morning yoga session to limber up the muscles, awakening the nerves to a relaxed equilibrium, and settle my body into the confines of its daily dance. Last week I thought meditating for 10 minutes after waking-up was a good idea, but then realized for me that early in the morning stillness is too close to sleep. So I have returned to juggling after breakfast.

But this morning is different. This morning is a blaze with sun, and the clear sky beckons me out of the studio for a run. That’s something else I try to do with regularity, which means 3 or 4 times a week. But I have yet to sink into a proper routine with it. Sometimes I go in the morning, rarer these days since the cold of winter set it, and sometimes I go just before dark, when it’s literally a race before nightfall.

I run primarily because it makes me feel good, most of the time. My lifestyle requires a certain amount of base fitness, that I am keen to maintain, especially as I age. And as for my practice, there is definitely a relationship between my physical fitness and mental agility that carries over to my proficiency to play.

I remember in the beginning when to scratch along to a 6 minute song was tiring. The first two or three times, my forearms fatigued quickly, and my fingers edged on cramping. Sometimes after just a 40 minute session my wrists would feel sore, and my back even hurt. Since then I’ve paid a lot of attention to my body in both movement and stillness. I’ve paid attention to how I stand, how far my feet are apart, how tense my shoulders are, the angle of my wrist, the tilt of my head – every movement counts; I mean when you compose a melody from moving a record back and forth you know that more than anyone.

Added to the mix is my small fascination with kinesiology and my constant pursuit of optimum positioning that somehow really makes me appreciate the grace inherent to life. Anyway, I no longer get too many unwanted physical byproducts from practicing. I’m able to respond to my bodies early complaints with small adjustments, fortunate enough to know to the small bodily tweaks necessary. But movement can be as much for the mind as the body, and ultimately the fine tuning of them into harmony can nourish the soul

So this morning it’s yerba, porridge, a dash of cbc and a run.

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