Vision Impacts Movement
Optimizing Awareness
What do you see? One thing? Many things?
What is in focus? What do you see out of focus? In other words, what shapes, colors, textures, and movements do you see in your space?
If you are near a window like I am, what do you see out of your space?
Play around with what you see. Shift your visual focus from close up to a distance as noticing the shapes, colors, textures, and motions all around your visual field.
Shift your focus to something more close up, like these words, and notice the shapes, colors, textures, and motions further from you.
Better yet, turn on the video camera in your phone and switch between a concentrated look at just your eyes, to seeing your image and the camera in the context of the room you are in.
Go back and forth.
Another way to explore your visual field is to notice the layers of vision. Perhaps my computer or a piece of music is closest. Then add to that things 1 foot beyond, 2 feet, and so on. What you see is similar to the layers in the diorama you made in elementary school.
Consciously switch the way you are aware of your visual fields. Go back and forth. Become familiar and flexible in seeing. Be sure to take this exploration into your music.
So often we step in front of a music stand and our vision solely includes the page in front of us with the high peaks of the musical line and the valleys at the bottom. Getting stuck in the challenges rather than seeing these challenges in the context of the musical phrase.
Approaching playing or a task with a narrow vision shuts down movement to some degree. We might
begin to breathe more shallowly
lose optimal contact with the floor
our shoulders might become pulled into the ribs.
What is it like to play with narrow visions versus a wider vision that includes your space? Sound, technical facility, comfort, and playing gestures will be different.
Add the narrow focus to your shifts in the visual field. Join me for 2 minutes as I guide you through some vision shifting…
Be curious…