When you start practicing Do-In, you will soon hear about the hara. But moving from the hara is not always easy.
In the West, we are often used to force ourselves a little bit in everything we do. This means that we are quite high in our energy. The Eastern arts of movement however, invite you to move from the hara. This provides a basis of peace, costs less life energy and creates a connection between our head - the rational center - our heart - the emotional center - and the hara - the center of intuitive wisdom and the place where the life force is stored.
What if, for example, you feel tension in your shoulders during Do-In? in this case, you are probably not moving from your hara and your energy is a bit too high. It often takes a while to get used to working from your hara.
If you need to, perform the exercises a bit shorter to prevent tension in your shoulders. In Dutch we have a saying: "to put your shoulders under something"which means that you just keep going even when you are tired or tensed to make something happen. In these exercises I'd like to invite you to do exactly the opposite: listen to your body. You could also do a shaking exercise in between the other movements: shake all the tension from your arms and hands. Each time bring your attention back to your hara and imagine that you initiate all movements from this area. Also slow down your breathing and allow the breathing movement in your lower abdomen.