What is Karma?
For the purposes of this discussion, I am going to offer a different view of Karma. This is not based on any traditional definition, but hopefully a practical one. You might not agree with my use of the word in this way, but my goal is to make you think, and perhaps reconsider how you approach this concept, especially as it relates to movement.
So, going back to the question: What IS karma? Traditionally, Buddhists and other religious groups tend to think of karma as the result of past action that brings circumstances and people into your life. It can carry over from past lives, and is sort of your laundry list of learning objectives to be completed before true enlightenment. Sometimes you need to go through things over and over again until you learn your lesson, more or less, and then that karma is "cleared". This is necessarily a simplified view, because even though my description might not be EXACTLY correct, it's close enough for my purposes.
I am going to pose a different concept of karma, one that I find more functional in dealing with my daily life and movement practices. Let's look at that now.
My definition of "karma"
I specifically use quotations there to differentiate the traditional definition of karma with my personal one. Looking physiologically, there are certain patterns that we habitually (and unconsciously) follow. Your musculature and connective tissue is an aggregate of the stresses and patterns that you put your body through. From the time you start walking, through all your accidents, falls, activities, sports, music lessons, voice lessons, emotional trauma, to even things like wearing glasses or flip-flops, all of these things have indelibly changed YOU. They change how you sit and stand and which leg you prefer to stand on, and they bring issues to you again and again and again until you learn to notice them and resolve them.
So my definition of "karma" is a combination of the physical habits and their impact on your neuromyofasical system. Maybe you sit with your legs and arms crossed as an emotional defense, with the shoulders up and your jaw clenched. It's an emotional stimuli, but a physical reaction. This posture might cause a restricted breathing pattern, tension in the upper cervical spine, and an imbalance in the pelvis. Or it might not, it's so DANG individual.
How using this definition of "karma" can work for you
So if I can convince you to look at "karma" as your personal set of habits and patterns that is emotionally-physically linked, what can this DO for you? Well, the answer is it doesn't DO anything but it can change EVERYTHING. The idea isn't to "resolve" this karma necessarily, but to work with it, to see how it effects how you live and feel and move.
Maybe you have lower back pain (a very common complaint). Look at your habits and patterns first. How do you sit and stand and walk? Are there patterns there that are setting you up to develop that problem? How do you react when you feel stressed? Do you tend to become more sedentary and sit more? Remember that even sitting is a stimulus: gravity is ALWAYS pushing down on you so if your head is slightly forward of your center of mass, the weight of gravity and your head is putting stress on the upper trapezius and other muscles! Everything is a form of "training" whether you think of it that way or not.
Mindful Movement as a way to explore
The bad news is there's no series of exercises or practices that I can give you to work with your Body Karma. The good news is that you can make your own! Or just incorporate mindful movement into your daily life in little bits and snatches. So what is Mindful Movement? Well, Mindful Movement can be exercise, but it doesn't have to be. It's more a way of APPROACHING movement more than anything. When you sit, just be aware of where your weight is distributed. Think about HOW you're holding yourself, HOW you're sitting. Maybe ergonomics would work for you, but maybe it might be better to add microstretches or eye exercises. OBSERVE yourself where you are.
This Mindful Movement can be applied to exercise, not just sitting at a desk. Observe the quality of your movement, the posture of the movement that you're doing, the breath during the movement, and whether or not you're really being mentally engaged with what you're doing. Turn your music off and really LISTEN to your body sing. These are all ways of dealing with your "karma".
Wrap up
Whether or not we deal with actions from past lives or are looking for Enlightenment, or just to deal with a stiff neck, dealing with your "body karma" can be a deeply healing and deeply impactful personal practice. There's no necessary "end goal" other than to get more in tune with yourself. There's really no practice or method other than being deeply, fully present in your body. We have to live with ourselves for as long as we're alive, might as well make it a functional or even passionate and loving relationship. The body is not JUST your body, it's how you express yourself, it IS in a sense what you feel (emotionally, spiritually, physically). I always think of that part in "I Sing the Body Electric" where Walt Whitman asks "if the soul is not the body, what is?"
So whether it's a little or a lot, try to work with yourself and your karma, beaten, battered, bruised, and beautiful.
