What can we expect to feel from the inside at each of the different stages in the FIT cycle?

Let's see. There is Grounding, Charging, Focus, Rest.

So I was on the bench today and I thought: What does each stage look like at its peak? I notice that sometimes I don't have what I know would be “at my peak”

Grounding: I'm in my body. Often my belly is the most difficult area to fall into. I have noticed that I often try to “force” myself into my belly, which is like forcing a layer upon it in other to “fill” it. There have been times (infrequent, but occurring in succession when it arises) when I have felt grounding really strongly and my whole practice is served by it. I feel an energy rising up my belly. Before I even charge, I notice that if my belly is not full, and I am not grounded THROUGH it, then my charging will be like blowing air into a balloon with holes in it. It'll fill up but I won't be able to hold it to its most full contraction when it comes to Focus.

Charging: Quick successions of exhaling to bring the fight-flight response into the body. When I charge, sometimes I can allow it to happen in its own way. I don't necessarily do THREE charging breaths, but becoming more aware of my breath beforehand allows me to really come down into my body and notice the POWER of my breath, rather than just becoming a mechanical exhalation machine. When I become more aware of my breath beforehand, my charges are CHARGED. That seems like the key to me. I'm charging through being intentionality into the breath (interesting insight I just had). I feel an overlap between Grounding and Charging, but there is an melding between these two - rather than two disparate parts. When charging has been fully and successfully completed to its peak, my final breath feels like I've just breathed fire. I notice a contraction in whatever muscle group I've been working. Bringing the contraction WITH the charge, and elevating my focus at this point allows me to really explode into my set.

Focus: Everything that has come beforehand allows this stage to be successful. Like Shawn says in S4L, without the space between the music, the music would just be an unmelodic mess. When I achieve maximum focus, I feel that my Presence has been supported through the awareness of all my energies on each of the different levels. From my causal body, all the way up to my gross body, if everything is in alignment, then I can BE Present to all sensations in my activated muscles - beginning with form. My Presence to the set is NOT just to do with “I can feel my muscles”. It goes WAY beyond that. My Presence extends from bottom to top of my Being.

Rest: When I rest, this is different to lying down for a nap. For the gadget lovers amongst us, have you ever played with one of those gyroscope hand trainers? You have to move it in a certain way to keep it going, and in turn it strengthens your wrists and forearm. You have to keep it going in a particular motion for it not to jolt around. When I rest, I feel the same motion in my relaxation. I'm not completely surrendering. It's like I still allow the motion to continue within me. The energy is still circulating, but I'm just letting it continue on its own for a little while. If I let rest go on for too long then I lose the momentum and my circulation of energy stops. But it doesn't feel like surrender as in “let go of everything, including your build up of energy” (at least this is how I understand it). I'm surrendering to the momentum of the energy, without guiding it. It goes where it wishes.

At the end of the Focus stage, I sometimes have made a sound. A really gutterall sound from my belly. It's as though I'm releasing some energy from my belly. It continues on its own and yet it it allows me to more fully engage in Resting. I love what you've said about moving to the BodyMind at this stage, Rob. In following that, I've noticed myself sometimes falling entirely into it and really allowing myself to be expansive, and moving in a certain way that my BodyMind commands. And sometimes I've noticed my head doing a lot of the guiding. It has sometimes expected me to manage the process of rest. This causes problems of its own as sometimes no intentional rest has been achieved. I notice sometimes that I want to fill the gaps. It's like when you talk to someone and you say “Yeah, yeah, sure, totally” just to fill the space, rather than listening to the moment and being One with It.

It's been great to share this. I've had a lot of insights from working on the bench over the last 9 weeks, and I'm just gonna keep bringing them on here as they come.

Thanks!

Marc