Being Held

This painting was painted when I wanted to explore the meaning of “Restraint”. I wanted to express the feeling of resting and surrendering, giving weight to the body, yielding and relaxing to the earth and trusting in gravity. As I continued on the painting, something prompted me to look deeper into the meaning of yielding. 

I came across yoga therapist Charlotte Douglas’ writing on the subject, found an interesting take on what YIELD means in the somatic field.

YIELD (somatic yoga - the satisfaction cycle)

To consciously give weight in order to receive support. Yielding is an act of relaxation and trust and allowing oneself to be supported by gravity and the earth. The action of yielding facilitates breathing and creates a buoyant rebound through the body that is experienced as lightness and poise. When you yield, the bones of the body become a natural trellis of support. All graceful, seamless, integrated movement demonstrates the ability of the practitioner to yield. Yielding sets the baseline for all changes of tone in the body.

More about what she wrote here.

I felt a visceral recognition surge through me as I understood the movement. I had a realisation that I did not have to hold everything up. That support exists, and may even come to me the moment I allow myself to rest into it.