Yoga and Dreams: Combining Dream Work and Body Work
By Dr. David Jenkins
 

Here are two simple techniques from Dr. Jenkins’ Yoga and Dreams course that you can use on your own to begin to combine dream work and body work.

Upon Awakening:
As you wake up, your body is, in effect, telling you what it was like for you to have been asleep that past night. By paying attention to its needs you begin the process of making waking up a joyful one.

Pay attention to your body as you wake up.  Start to keep track of what is happening in your ''on-awakening'' body.  For instance, is there excitement and joy anywhere, do you wake up with a stiff neck, tense fingers or some other response that could be worked with?

Whether or not you had a dream, write down a description of your on-awakening body.  If you have had a dream that night, consider whether your on-awakening body reflects that dream experience.  If you have some kind of body disciple e.g. Yoga, Tai Chi or suchlike, consider what kind of exercise would be a response to this on-awakening body.

The Dream Body:
When you examine your dreams, ask yourself, ''What kind of body do I now have in my dreams?''  For example, is it powerful, damaged or magical?  Do you approve of it or would you like to change it?

Here are two dreams with immediate body references:  "I have an abrasion on my knee, it's perfectly round and I know it will heal" or "My body has changed and it can flow and stretch into different positions."  The following dream is more subtle: "Some teenagers are playing ball, the ball goes wildly out of play, I reach out and make the catch with my left hand." These messages tell you something important that may or may not be about your physical body.

In the Yoga and Dreams class, we examine these kinds of messages and begin to make sense of them by considering them from both a dream and a yoga perspective. When you spend a month working on these issues, your appreciation of them changes dramatically.

Contact Dr. David Jenkins for more information on his dream work, classes and recent book.

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