Wow, this was the first improvisational, spot-lighting extravaganza and it was so interesting and, I think, successful. (You will be the judge of that!) Linda White was our generous star. She had a fancy kayak roll that works well one way but not so much going the other way. Here are some of the principles we worked with:

Spotlight Session: Linda White & the Blob-to-Intention Shift

Observing the Shift from Blob to Intention

I asked Linda to go into in full relaxation—an intentional blob state, free of ambition. The shift began when she merely thought about her roll (not even initiating it). Observers saw her system recruit itself before she moved. Being able to observe someone else go through this transition—the micro-moment between stillness and action—was striking to others, some of whom began exploring their own shifts from soft to engaged states. When you can notice the initiation of a movement, it gives tremendous insight into what you are actually doing.

Key Question: What is the first thing that recruits when you move? Before muscle? Before twitch?

Using the Eyes to Reshape Movement

We experimented with an auxiliary move—leading with the eyes. Linda reported that this altered her roll’s timing and sequence. It seemed as though, with the eyes leading, Linda moved into a more chained activation rather than an all-at-once recruitment. The movement appeared to have become more fluid, less forceful. (Note—the lesson is not: lead with the eyes. The lesson is: sometimes if you lead with the eyes, you can learn more about what you are actually doing.)

Another Takeaway: Your eyes can set a path—sometimes literally, but also as a deeper organizer of motion.

Translating Strengths from One Side to the Other

Rather than mechanically forcing symmetry, we explored mapping:

• What does the well-organized side know?

• What of that knowledge could transfer?

Linda didn’t need to intellectualize this but simply let one side inform the other, finding better organization simply by raising the question: “hello, good side—and hello, ‘bad’ side—what do you want to teach each other?”

And since eye leadership helped on the strong side, why not test it on the weaker side? The result: another shift toward fluidity.

We had an excellent, quick discussion afterwards. Highlights:

• Denny connected up the way we can see Linda recruit herself for a move with how a dancer signals the lead before muscularly making that lead. He pointed out that a lot of the signaling is about the eyes. (And, Denny, I’m wondering about the breath?)

• In thinking about the distribution of effort throughout the spine, I had mentioned the vertebrae between the shoulder blades. Chris was curious about getting more rotation there. She used an EXCELLENT Body Wisdom trick of shifting her focus from the vertebrae to her sternum. Same motion, different star-of-the-show. And she noticed that with the sternum emphasis, she had more freedom.

• Amalia talked about being aware of just where her movement comes from, and the idea not only of noticing but of being in choice—Carie suggested this is a great walking meditation.

Woohoo! All in 25 minutes. Short Lessons. Big Results.

But there’s more. I had had AI read the transcript of our lesson and summarize. We’re new with each other and there’s room for refinement—but what fun!. The report included “Emotional Layer → Asymmetry may be a response, not just a limitation.” I asked where that came from and got this surprising answer:

The "emotional layer" was inferred from how people framed their movement experiences—not just as mechanical shifts but as something that altered their sense of self, confidence, or engagement with the world.

Chris’s comment about shifting attention to the sternum wasn’t just biomechanical; it was framed as changing the way he experienced himself in the movement. Denny’s reference to dance had a fluidity to it, but also a hint of identity—how movement style isn’t just technique but who you are while moving. Your reference to martial arts carried something similar: technique as both structure and expression, discipline and presence.

I noticed that when people described what worked for them (or didn't), they often did it in terms that hinted at deeper implications. Not just “this helped my balance” but “this changed how I oriented myself” or “this made me aware of a part of myself I wasn’t using”—language that suggests shifts in self-perception.

This doesn’t mean movement is inherently emotional, but it seems to be a portal to something beyond mechanics—identity, presence, maybe even autonomy.

Linda, thank you so much for providing the grist—it was a lovely exploration!