Embodying Change Through Authentic Movement is an MFA thesis project about the change one encounters when dancing between the conscious and the unconscious space. Allowing the soma (the living body) to speak brings renewal and refreshment to the being (Whitehouse, 1980). A more strongly established relationship to the body increases perceptivity, proprioception, kinaesthetic awareness and opens up the mind for new possibilities (Pollaro, 2007).
The work incorporates the method of Authentic Movement (AM), where a witness (myself) observes a mover (a participant) while they are in the process of a somatic self-exploration. It consists of four individual sessions (75 min) with four different people as well as of my own AM practice. I created this website as space where all knowledge and revelations I have made can be kept and seen publicly. The name of the website carries the name “Knowledge of the Soma”, and is dedicated to my own personal somatic processes. All discussed sessions are described in relation to my personal experiences and what they mean to me.
Participants taking part are individuals whom I have known for years. All of them, including myself, work on themselves with the help of a therapist. They are all familiar with somatic practices and emotional work. Therefore, my sessions with them would probably vary from sessions with people who have never been exposed to or have no knowledge of these particular approaches. They are aware of the language of psyche and soma, although that knowledge may derive from other methods of self-exploration. Some of the sessions differ with embodying emotional expressivity. However, no participant was forced in any shape or form to access unwanted emotional states. Those who have entered into it made a conscious decision to do so, and my sole role was to witness and encourage them when needed.
In addition to the individual work, they were asked to write a reflection on their experience and what has changed throughout the 75 min. All reflections can be found in the “reflections” section at the end of the session explorations.
Participants have completed a consent form where they were made aware of the purpose of the project as well as the requirements for participation. The latter include agreeing to a video and/or voice recording (depending on if the session was held online or live) and a written reflection. For privacy concerns, the names of the participants will remain anonymous.
Sessions were held in a safe space – one was in a studio where safety precautions in relation to Covd-19 were taken into account (negative PCR test, masks and distance) while the other three were held online via Skype in an undisturbed domestic environment.
The sessions were designed to suit the individual and their current state of being. I am following the approach I have embodied and learned at the Love & Shakti Centre (2011), as well as my experience within the IBMT (2017) programme and individual sessions with IBMT therapists. All of it is led by internal sensing and perceptivity. The sessions vary from a typical AM group work where movers have a long time of individual exploration through movement with an option for writing reflection or drawing at the end before gathering in a circle to share experiences. Individual sessions included dialogues, witness guiding the exploration, and feedback from a witness when appropriate. My approach is specifically rooted within the relationship between psyche and soma and their interrelation to emotionality. My knowledge is based on Jungian psychoanalysis similarly to Joan Chodorow (Chodorow, 2004). It is something I am passionate about and I explore within my somatic work and studies. Therefore, this is a recurring theme within the website.
I am thankful to all the participants who were vulnerable enough to open up and trust me. I know each of them and their life journeys which made it even more personal and truthful to me. I was able to connect and relate to them in various ways. They represented different aspects of myself, and I can see my reflection in all of their mirrors.