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Contract and Expand
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“Contract and Expand” – This concept came to me several years ago when I was recruited to teach Pilates at a studio inside of a high profile housing development here in Las Vegas. I had been accustomed to instructing private sessions in the comfort of my own private studio when I was asked to teach Pilates to a few residents at the property.
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The studio was beautifully designed with huge glass windows overlooking parts of Red Rock Canyon and a golf course. It was well equipped with several reformers to accommodate group sessions and had a fully equipped gym on the other side of its glass walls.
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Aesthetically, the studio was gorgeous. Instructing in it from an energetically perspective was quite interesting. The sessions I taught in my studio were never interrupted and included just the client and myself the entire hour. However, at this development the residents were free to come in and out of the Pilates studio at will to utilize the apparatus. The residents could also each bring in their own instructors, which could mean several instructors in the studio all at the same time; each working independently with a different style of teaching. This dynamic created quite an influx of energy within the studio.
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On one particular day, I had the privilege of being the only instructor in the studio with my client. We were approaching the end of our session when other residents entered to gather equipment. As the residents entered and exited the studio, I felt a tremendous shift in the vibration of the room. I realized the energy prior to residents entering, upon residents entering, and upon residents exiting was all quite different. Prior to the residents entering, my energy had practically filled up the room. Upon the residents entering, my energy contracted. Upon the residents exiting, my energy once again filled up the room. My client and I both felt the impactful shifts of the atmosphere in the room when the interruptions occurred.
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That’s when it dawned on me that I could learn the art of expanding and contracting my energy or essence on demand as deemed appropriate. I realized that predominantly every resident living in the development was a very influential member of the community, doing big business in the business market place, welding much political clout, and of great financial wealth; that each person while at his or her own company could expand as large as possible and even strut like a peacock if desired. However, in a setting where everyone is welding power, if the prominence of others is not respected, very easily conflict and power struggles could emerge.
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These people seemed to be getting along rather well. There was a vast amount of influence and wealth in the room, and yet there was such a harmonious flow of energy. Perhaps because it was such an exclusive group of people, there was an unspoken recognition that those in the room had earned the right to be there, and this acknowledgement alone brought with it a certain degree of honor and respect. My guess is the experience would be very similar to an award ceremony in Hollywood in which those who attend have, through their art and craft, earned the right to be there bringing about honor and respect in a room filled with a vast amount of star power.
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This influx of energy by means of contracting and expanding was a huge revelation for me.
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We as human beings all have what is known as an electromagnetic energy field that surrounds our bodies and resonates several feet out away from our bodies. This electromagnetic energy field gives off electrical impulses from both our brains and hearts. Ever notice if a person’s heart stops beating how a defibrillator is used to restart the electrical currents of the heart? The more conscious we become, the more aware we are of this electrical energy that surrounds our bodies. Another name for this energy would be spirit.
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Our increased consciousness of and sensitivity to this electromagnetic field allows us to sense not only our own spirit, but also the spirit of others. With greater discernment we can began to honor and respect our own spiritual boundaries as well as the spiritual boundaries of others. Sensing where we end and others begin gives us the ability to know when to contract and when to expand. It is a spiritual principle that you cannot receive from that which you do not respect. Without respect you will repel. Learning to respect the power within others, will enhance our ability to have better connections and more meaningful relationships.
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The truth of the matter is every human being, regardless of their status in life, has the right to be honored and respected not just because of what they do, who they know, what they own, or what they look like, but just because they were born into the human race; because of their mere existence on the planet. Unfortunately, this fundamental concept of being deemed worthy because of being born, which is at the core of healthy self-esteem and healthy self-worth, is missing in today’s culture and has caused much distress in the lives of many.
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The over compensation for low self-esteem and low self-worth has created an over aggression of power seeking through external validation and adulation by means of prestige, positions, labels, and titles. Just think of how much better a place the world would be if we all learned to harness our power and know whether to contract or expand when in the presence of others as well as not try to wield our power over others, but rather honor and respect energetic spiritual boundaries. There would be very few power struggles.
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Consider fire: Used properly it can warm you. Used incorrectly, it can burn you; and so it is with power. Abuse, which is the misusing of something other than for its intended purpose, is inevitable when the purpose of something is not known.
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Contract when necessary to humble. Expand when appropriate to utilize. As Kenny Rogers said, “You got to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them.” I hope you will begin to exercise with good intentions and explore this concept of contract and expand by consciously focusing on your spirit as well as the impact that it has on the world and those around you.
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May God richly bless you as you explore your gifts, skills, and talents, and develop them to be of service in helping the world become a better place.
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Blessings,
La-Sharon Isbell
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Owner of Gospel of Fitness
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