Embodiment & Personal Reflection
And exhaaaaaale! Yesterdays first Module One Discussion opened my eyes to so many reoccurring patterns and themes that could be seen and felt across all areas of each individuals story. I felt really honoured to be given the opportunity to listen to peoples personal experiences and journeys, all of which have led them/us to studying on this MAPP course.
Lots of things were brought to light for me, specifically that of Embodiment and this notion of embodied learning experience. It was not until yesterdays discussion that I had some kind of revelation. I realised that... I identify myself as a dancer! I'm not a dancer. I was. But I'm certainly not now. I haven't performed on a stage for almost 5 years however everything I do, everything I see is through the lens of a dancer. Dance involves sensory processes, social interactions and creative processes and just like many other embodied forms of creativity, supports our ability to access, perceive, understand and engage with the world in a unique way. This leads me on to the subject of Dance Phenomenology. In her book 'The Phenomenology of Dance' (1966) Maxine Sheets-Johnstone questions the nature of our experience of dance. Sheets-Johnstone integrates theories of dance into philosophical discussions of the nature of movement and how we see the world as a result. She states 'the global dynamic world I am perceiving, including the ongoing kinesthetically felt world of my own movement, is inseparable from the kinetic world in which I am moving’.
This made me reflect on my current professional practice. It's made me consider how I treat my clients through this lens of 'a dancer' (dancers and non-dancers alike). How have I/do I manage and adapt my treatments for each individual client when I have a certain perception of what the body should be capable of? I've never really thought about it until now... I just do it, because it's my job and each person that walks through the door is singular and no two bodies are the same! But of course my communication changes, my language varies, the physical expectations of the individual and the modifications that are required I execute... For me I think my continuous process of exploration within the somatic field has led me to explore that of the Dualism of our body-mind connection... and just like that, I think I've discovered 2 areas of reflective study (which I guess is a good start)?! I want to dive deeper into reflecting on why I still identify myself as a dancer and how this has affected my practice both positively and negatively, as well as this concept of Dualism - why has my practice and focus shifted towards the body-mind connection and what lessons have I learnt as my interests continue to shift, how has this/is this influencing my work?
I have attached a link to Camille Litalien's TedTalks on Embodiment - she discusses how everything substantial she has ever learnt, she has done so through being in her own body. It's worth a watch... just 10mins. Enjoy!
Hi Natasha! wow! thank you for sharing such a beautiful video. I was listening carefully and I found so many similarities with my third AOL where I am actually talking about embodiment through dance and movement. As hers, yours, my life dance/movement/sport/yoga/healing story and everything I have learned started in my body. I went through a lot of physicality in my life and, sport, classical ballet training, various contemporary conditioning trainings who almost destroyed my body, even when I obtained ashtanga diploma i did not realized that i am just pumping my body and simultaneously demolishing my mind. After that impulse of awareness, i have started to turn new page. I have danced, continued with the hard training, doing yoga, teaching but from the different perspective, started first from the breath and the silence. I have learned in India that silence can be a good teacher, can bring you many opportunities how to create a class, how to go through the hard life process, how to maintain the relationship between body and mind, want and need. and i am really happy to hear that Camile also has such an experience and how she embraced new way of thinking about bodymind and how she was affected with the thought about embodiment not only in her space, life, volume, but also ih her mind, emotions. She started learning different modalities to approach body and that is the beauty of somatic work, to be connected with the inner self and the environment, to discover new body and mind through listening, observing, reflecting and then responding. "To live fully in the senses". This is also answer on my module 1 question WHY SOMATIC? One can really feel good with the Self when actually penetrate deeply in internal experience which is caused by external one, to discover wrong patterns and even be much brave to re-pattern it through senses, hearing, feeling and to release of that contracted restricted patterns and finally once awakened and rooted to have a chance to hear all living voices, starting from his own body, muscles, even pilés how is going through one's body juices and how can easily move him through the space with the easiness of the breath.
ReplyDeletethank you for the sharing:))
Hi Sandra! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. It sounds like we've been on a very similar journey in terms of our background and current interests!
DeleteThis idea of a having a Bodymind relationship I think is a continuous dialogue between awareness and action... becoming aware of the relationships that exist throughout our body/mind and how we act from that awareness. The qualities of any movement are a manifestation of how mind is expressing through the body at the moment (if that makes sense)! I guess I like to think of it as a state of awareness from the inside out!
I recently read a really interesting article by Betty Block (2015) called THE DANCE: ESSENCE OF EMBODIMENT, in it she describes embodiment as 'the ability to interact with a thought or experience holistically that involves the integrated power network of the total person... found integrated throughout the body, not just in the brain.' I sometimes worry and stress that my interest in the body mind connection as well as that of Embodiment cross over and almost merge into one subject! I think that I'm just at the start of this journey of articulating the complex relationship between body type, personality and experience in which my professional practice methods for obtaining this deeper self-knowledge of physical, emotional, sexual makeup has actually all been interrelated and I'm excited to reflect on my techniques and processes which have ultimately led me to how I perceive these 2 subjects at present and in turn how developed my form of working over recent years.
It is great to be on another journey, body/mind journey and to know the others in terms of understanding ourselves. It is great to be learner again and again...to explore possibilities...enjoy the ride:)
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