Before starting the practice, please read the text below. This practice was first shared on LinkedIn, where you can find more of my work and guided practices.
The Body Is the Gateway. This Is Where I Start
I was a passionate hobby DJ for some years. Playing out, reading the room, figuring out who was there and who I could move with music.
One night, I noticed there were South Africans in the crowd, and I knew they loved dancing, so I put some South African music on. And voila, the room was in fire.
Not because I told them to, but because something in the music spoke directly to their bodies, something inside them.
Later, I got tired of playing for drunk people and saw the opportunity to DJ at a care centre. Before each play night, I would ask the person hiring me to find out from the people living there what they wanted to hear. She would collect their wishes and send it to me by email. Then I would mix my own playlist with what they actually knew, what they actually wanted to hear, and could identify with.
I have had that same feeling in social work rooms, in coaching sessions, in classes, in quiet one-to-one conversations. The moment you actually meet someone where they are, something in them comes alive. Not because you pushed it. Because you made space for it. And that space looks different every time. But what they have in common is being seen. Whether it is through music or by being an active listener, literally giving space to what is present.
Our Gateway: The Body
Most of my life I work with people through change, crises, at crossroads. Social work. Coaching. Teaching. Creative and change processes. And as mentioned, for some years as a passionate hobby DJ, playing a couple of times a month. Different rooms. Different people. Different challenges. But looking back, one thing showed up again and again across all of it. Awareness was always the gateway to what actually was happening. Not willpower, not strategy, not thinking hard, just noticing what was actually there.
We usually try to understand what is happening by thinking more. But the truth does not live in our thoughts. A feeling can become so intense that it blinds everything else. We drown in it. We blame the world around us. But none of that helps. We cannot think our way through a mental or emotional storm. We have to land in the only place capable of holding it. Our body.
Because that is where awareness lives. That is where real processes begin.
But to get there, we have to look past the thoughts about what we are experiencing. We have to tune into the body’s actual language. The physical felt sense of it.
- The tightness in the chest that makes breathing difficult.
- The weight on the shoulders that makes the body hunch forward.
- The knot in the stomach that tightens the moment something feels hard.
These are not problems to solve. They are signals. The body saying: I am here. Listen to me. I am communicating with you.
This Is Where We Start: The Spine
That is why I have gone all in to build something I strongly believe in. That movement and health on all layers of the body is a powerful tool for inviting in awareness in a more gentle way. Allowing us to move with it and through it.
This is how I moved through my own personal history. And it is exactly what I have seen work through all my training and certifications. It works because it is experiential living. Not because someone tells you what to do. You do the practice, and you feel the results for yourself. Experiential living is how we take our power back from everything happening in the external world.
So I have started sharing small practices that can be used in everyday life. Simple tools. A way of coming back into the body so we can actually hear what is there. A good place to start is the very centre of our structure.
Our spine holds more than our posture. It holds our stress. Our exhaustion. The weight of everything we carry. There is something almost mysterious about that. How much we store there without knowing. How much begins to release when we finally move it with intention.
That is why I am sharing a short practice today with a focus on the spine. Specifically a version of Spinal Flex. This one works on the upper body: the chest, the heart centre, the shoulders, the upper back. These are the places where so many of us quietly store everything we are holding.
I hope you enjoy this short practice.
What is Spinal Flex?
Spinal Flex is a rhythmic, breath-driven movement done sitting down.
You inhale as the spine flexes forward, chest open, upper back arching. You exhale as it rounds back. Continuous. Wave-like. Driven entirely by breath.
It comes from the Kundalini yoga tradition and is one of the most foundational practices for spinal health and nervous system support. Simple to learn. Surprisingly deep.
What This Version Works On
The upper body: the thoracic vertebrae, the chest and sternum, the shoulders, the upper back between and around the shoulder blades, and the lungs.
The rhythmic movement acts as a natural pump. It deepens the breath and oxygenates the blood. Like all rhythmic breathwork, it gradually soothes the nervous system. The part of you that might permanently stay on high alert.
A Note on Pace
Keep the breath slow and steady. Slow and rhythmic is where the real benefit lives. If you have a sensitive nervous system, anxiety, or any cardiovascular condition, a fast and forceful pace is not for you.
A Note Before You Begin
Spinal Flex is gentle and safe for most people. Your body knows. Trust it. Please check with your healthcare provider before practicing if you have:
- herniated discs or recent back surgery
- uncontrolled blood pressure
- vertigo or severe glaucoma
- pregnancy
- significant trauma or psychiatric instability
Where to Sit
The position must be comfortable and stable. If your body braces, the practice stops working.
Sit in whatever way lets you arrive. A folded blanket under the hips in Easy Pose helps restore the natural lumbar curve. A chair with feet flat on the floor works just as well. Rock Pose, sitting back on the heels with hands flat on the thighs, is a traditional variation taught alongside Easy Pose.
There is no lesser option here. Comfort is the practice.
I Want to Hear From You
I am evolving my work and I want to hear from the women I am building it for. Men, if this speaks to you, you are welcome too.
If you are in your mid-30s or beyond, exhausted from carrying everything, and ready to find joy without having to fix everything first, this is for you.
The survey takes just a few minutes. As a thank you for your time, you can win one free session with me.
By filling it in, you will also be added to my mailing list to receive a couple of monthly newsletters with updates on my services and offerings. You can unsubscribe any time.
👉 Survey
If you feel called to explore this more personally, my 1:1 guided process is a 6-session journey that works with exactly this. Moving through what you carry. Through the body. With full support. You can find out more at Dhyana Donya Movement & Health.
I am Parisa Radpey, the writer of these pages and founder of Dhyana Donya Movement & Health. I am currently building something that scares me a little and excites me a lot. A space and community for people who want to create real change. Not only by thinking differently, but by moving through what they carry. Through holistic movement.
If this makes you curious, I have put together a short guide on what holistic movement actually means and how it works. Get the free guide here.
You can find me on Instagram most days, sharing small reflections and real moments. And when words are not enough, music moves what nothing else can. Find my playlist on Spotify under Movement Coach Parisa. Let it inspire you to move wildly and freely.
I am also part of the Wise and Shine blogger community, where honest voices gather to reflect on life as it really is.
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