3. Unity and Freedom

The question we began with: If Shema stands for oneness/unity and Geulah stands for freedom, what does it mean to say that oneness frees me?

Boundaries
To answer our initial question we began by searching for what we could take from previous classes to build on for this session? Last time we used the diea of boundaries and structure, starting with formal boundaries that progressively got looser and looser. We asked ourselves what question we wanted to put out at end of next session? Ebn reminded us of the power of doing something more than once ie) doing last week's class again and adding 1 element to it. Using relationship structure we could ask new question or same question in a different setting.

Three Poses
We decided to use three set yoga poses as our boundary or limiting factor. We would choose three
postures and have three different ways of getting into the three postures. The first would be the most structured sequence where we would direct people move by move. In the second we would call out the three poses but give no direction on how to move in and out of the poses. In the third we would ask people to include the three poses somehow in their movements but give no order and no direction on how to do so. Speaking from his experience in the movement world, Ebn told us that in this kind of exercise most people will pick the most physically comfortable and the shortest distance to move. He therefore advised that we give another kind of limitation. For example we could say "it has to take you three minutes to move from posture to posture and you always have to be moving," or "one limb at a time," or "away from one to another that is natural."

Keeping Tradition Alive
In thinking about what we were doing with movement and liturgy, Ebn gave us some context. He said that everything the Jews did with words in terms of our wealth of texts, all somehow variations on the theme of Torah, the Catholic Church did with music. Harmony was the Church's way of innovating canonized words. At some point you dont need the harmonies because you are able to incorporate them into the fullness of the words themselves.

Outline

I. Structure

Prayer structure: The movement from Shema to geulah

Last time: A new approach to embodying unity as it begins to relate to freedom, starting to make a bridge between shema and geulah

This time: Using same thematic structure (exploring moving between structure to improv)

II. Opening Question

Carry with you through this exercise sensing where you feel most free

III. Movement (10 min)

3 yoga poses

IV. Closing Question (10 min)

- As you have sensed/embodied it (and particularly over the last hour, in the context of movement), what is "freedom?"

- When did you feel most free? Most constrained?

- Any relationship between structure/limits and freedom? Can one lead to the other?

- How can embodied experience inform prayer practice (and maybe Shema and Geulah in particular)?

V. Closing the space (hand lift) (2 min)