grounding

I couldn’t help but think about grounding as I set out to run yesterday morning. The idea was on my mind and consequently in my feet, as they landed, hitting the earth with each stride. Walking and running are two activities that ground me on a regular basis.

Yoga takes it another step (no pun intended) and grounding becomes rooting. Standing in Tadasa, the whole body is taken into account. Tadasana, AKA Mountain pose, directs the feet to touch the earth, planting (rooting) evenly and firmly. The posture centers one into the body. Stabilized, physically and mentally, the body can now move into other postures with a particular focus and freedom. Other standing postures like Vrksasana (Tree Pose), which explores balance, and Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) which brings attention to feet, legs and hips, also support grounding.

This morning while completing my post, I realize more, especially as I consider degrees of health and wellness. Do I take touching the earth with my feet for granted?

I think about people who are bedridden. They don’t easily, if at all, touch ground. And what about people who can’t move much and are on the second floor of a building? They might not often even see ground. Do they remember?

What if the earth is a treatment surface spanning across the globe – helping with health and well-being? What if touching ground (or rooting into the earth) is as beneficial to you and me as clean air, nutritious food, sunshine, physical activity and water.

Human body touch ground. Human body touch earth. #IsMedicine
Stand on the earth today, take root and know you are present, here and now.

I’m almost complete with Portrait of Carolyn (Carolyn, the person, is doing great, btw.) I am still considering the title and want to add the word ecology to it. I read in my notes where I wrote about the body being a private, public, social and biological statement…I have a few more elements to set into the earth and sky.

On a separate note… I think about the people whose feet don’t touch the earth often and they may not remember. Today, I root into the ground and honor it for them.

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© All Rights Reserved by Monica Aissa Martinez

setting the foundation and opening to grace

For many years I studied a Yoga that began each practice with the words set the foundation and open to grace. In general, setting the foundation has to do with the body parts that touch the floor, while opening to grace becomes the mental underpinning for each posture. Think intention and receptivity – alignment between physical and mental
(the heart comes into it all but I won’t get into that now).

The last few weeks I’ve laid out the foundation for a new work on paper. It is a life-size study of my father. One could think with as many skeletal systems as I’ve drawn, this part would be easy. It’s not. It begins the commitment to carefully observe and render detail. This is the start of my 7th full-body portrait work.

Last week I outlined the form, set the clavicles, ribcage and some of the backbone. My dad has a broken clavicle and he has a large ribcage. Now I work on sacrum, pelvis, legs and feet. I spend most of the day working on the structure of the feet. I’m setting foundation. I don’t know how I’ll do this but I intend to keep the bones as the focal point of the composition.

The bones support and protect the organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals and enable mobility. At birth we have over 270 bones and as we enter adulthood we have 206.

Bones symbolize foundation and are associated with enduring truth.

feet (formation cont….)

Working title:  Formation

New work continues. I’ve worked the head and the upper extremities. This weekend’s focus, the lower extremities.

How will this fit together visually? Won’t really know until all the parts are sized and completed. Right now there are at least 5 (parts). I have a few more to paint, then I’ll start piecing it together.

The feet, all about being grounded. Foundation. Connection. Balance. Mobility. Direction.
26 bones. 33 muscles. 31 joints. Over 100 ligaments.
Rooting…into the earth. Feet are feeling strong, firm and planted these days.

Original sketch.

I do like this but I want a stronger design.

Processing feet.

Clear, white structure sits atop a black gessoed, solid background.

Some roots, some seeds…some play, some ground.

Satisfied.  A clear and stable design with some flow and play.
They’re my feet.
Onto the legs.
To be continued….