Appearance vs Energy: ENS, Emotion, Energy

Judith Lasater Explains Hardening Control vs. Fiery Power

We [in Western culture] are bombarded with messages about steel-like abs. We put on tight jeans, cinch belts over the belly, and try to keep the belly flat. We are told to “suck it in,” and generally exhorted to control the abdomen as a sign of firmness of character… Health and exercise programs focus on movements such as sit-ups to tighten or harden the belly with little awareness directed to what feeling is alive there. We see the belly as a part of ourselves that needs to be strictly controlled… In traditional Eastern spiritual teachings, the belly is considered a place of power…  It is believed to be a fiery site and the center of power. This is where the agni (fire of digestion) resides… In non-Western cultures, a person’s abdomen is often soft and slightly rounded, not flat, even in those with slim arms and legs. There is no attempt to hold the belly in… Their bellies are freer, which may contribute to the better functioning of the eliminative and reproductive organs. – Judith Lasater