Beauty Moves

My earliest notion of Beauty was influenced by my mother.  Betty looked like a movie star—Marilyn Monroe with dark hair.  She shared Monroe’s body type—full breasts and hips, tiny waist, an hour glass figure. Betty shared Monroe’s special sort of vulnerability too. She suffered from mental maladies, some real, some imagined, but one thing notable about Betty, she was truly confident in how well she moved.  When she went shopping in Yonkers*, even on the lazy days of August, she put on a girdle under a light linen summer dress, a spritz of Chanel No.5 and a dollop of Elizabeth Arden lipstick in Stop Red.  When she climbed onto the bus, she stood in front of the driver long enough for him to give her a slow smile. Then she walked on without paying.  The bus driver never stopped her. She was moving forward too beautifully for him to care about collecting twenty-five cents.**

We all aspire to achieve Beauty.  We care about how we look, how we dress, what we say, what we do, and who we connect with—the totality of how we present ourselves to the world. But how often do we consider how well we move? When we walk into a room, where are our arms, hands, heads, neck, shoulders, feet and legs?  Where is our back? Where are our eyes and what are we looking at? Every way in which we move is a form of communication.

What we do physically for exercise—as a habit—has a direct bearing on how well we move. If we spend our time doing little or nothing physically, we awkwardly lumber through doors and into desks, furniture, walls and other people. Not all of us are movers, but even the posturing of choosing not to be a mover is a subtle form of communication. By moving intentionally and habitually, we feel the heaviness in ourselves, so we are then free to unleash the Beauty in being human.

Beauty at practice might strike a Warrior I pose in Yoga, pull into a passé in preparation for a pirouette, or make bold movement in an accentuated catwalk strut. Beauty can also simply walk forward purposefully and look someone in the eye. Beauty is more than a look.  It’s using our entire body to create a ligne of expression. No matter what our physical limitations are, true Beauty is how well we can reach to extend beyond ourselves.  It’s saying to the world that we are here—open to communication and ready to connect.  When Beauty moves, she boards the bus and rides for free.