Somatic movement practices
During our module „Connecting with our Bodies”, we have went through different aspects of bodywork and movement. Finally, in case you would like to experience more, dive more deeply into somatic practices, here is a list of different types of somatic movement practices.
Somatic movement practices are methods offered by somatic practitioners, where you can experience with professional support the positive effects of somatic movement. However it’s important to distinguish between methods used in therapy, and methods for everyday practice. In this article we present some of both, as a food for mind. Happy movement, happy dancing!
- Non-therapeutic Somatic Methods
Contact Improvisation is a partner dance form based on the physical principles of touch, momentum, shared weight, and most quintessentially – following a shared point of contact. The form was founded in 1972 by Steve Paxton. Integrating his background as a modern dancer and his studies in the martial art form Aikido, Steve developed Contact Improv through explorations with his students and colleagues at the time. This dance practice explores the skills of falling, rolling, counterbalance, lifting using minimal effort, how to make ourselves light when being lifted, centering and breathing techniques, and responsiveness to our partners and surroundings.
Contact Improvisation is an honoring of every moment. There is a sweet surrendering that happens when our bodies stay faithful to what is happening now, and now… and NOW! One learns to recognize and differentiate subtle impulses in our movement choices and our partner’s choices. We begin to decipher the cues that we give and receive which tell us when to lead or follow, when to go up, when to go down, where to touch, how to lift, when to slow down, and when to be still. In this form one learns to stay in integrity with each choice, never forcing, never rushing. When Body, Mind, and Spirit are united in their instinctive wisdom one finds ones-self at home in every moment expressing ones true nature. – Moti Zemelman
More in English: www.contactimprov.com
Body-Mind Centering:
Body-Mind Centering® (BMCTM) is an integrated and embodied approach to movement, the body and consciousness. Developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. Its uniqueness lies in the specificity with which each of the body systems can be personally embodied and integrated, the fundamental groundwork of developmental re-patterning, and the utilization of a body-based language to describe movement and body-mind relationships.
The study of BMCTM is a creative process in which embodiment of the material is explored in the context of self-discovery and openness. Each person is both the student and the subject matter and the underlying goal is to discover the ease that underlies transformation.
The Body-Mind Centering® approach has an almost unlimited number of areas of application. It is currently being used by people in movement, dance, yoga, bodywork, somatic studies, physical and occupational therapy, psychotherapy, child development, education, voice, music, art, meditation, athletics and other body-mind disciplines.
More: https://www.bodymindcentering.com/
5 Rythms
5Rhythms is a dynamic movement practice—a practice of being in your body—that ignites creativity, connection, and community. While a seemingly simple process, the 5Rhythms practice facilitates deep and unending explorations, moving the dancer beyond self-imposed limitations and isolation into new depths of creativity and connection.
During a 5rythm class, participants dance with their own emotions and improvisations supported by different “rythms”, types of music. The 5Rhythms – Flowing Staccato Chaos Lyrical Stillness® – are states of Being. They are a map to everywhere we want to go, on all planes of consciousness – inner and outer, forward and back, physical, emotional and intellectual. They are markers on the way back to a real self, a vulnerable, wild passionate, instinctive self.
More: https://www.5rhythms.com/
- Dance and Movement Therapy Methods
There are different dance and movement therapy types. All of them built on developing our awareness of the body, dance and movement improvisation and their connection to self-reflection, re-writing of behavioural patterns and self-healing. They can be used in clinical therapy as well.
Among others the following dance and movement therapies are available in Europe:
Psychodynamic dance and movement therapy: it is mainly based on body-awareness and finding and analysing connections between our experiences of moving together and our relational patterns. The method was developed in Hungary, and it is among the rare group-based clinical dance therapies used. During a therapeutic session, participants share their emotions and what they come with, then after a longer (2-3 hours) of non-verbal structured movement process they also process all their emotions as well as interpretation. More about it in Hungarian: www.mozgasterapia.net
Integrated Expression- and Dance Therapy: The key feature of this complex, interdisciplinary approach is that it uses multimodal expressive arts processes for self-knowledge, inner growth, personal development, trauma work and other therapeutic goals. This feature derives from the idea that expression has a healing power and we all have access to different ways, modalities of expressions. The core of our work is movement and dance, but IED uses the integrating effect of other ways of expression, such as music making, visual expression and drama, ‘authentic movement’, imagination, poetry, personal symbols and rituals and so on. The method is process oriented and helps one to find their self-healing potentials, hidden resources, and thus to improve the quality of their life. The process of creation and its meaning for its creator is more important than the aesthetic value of the end-product. IED works in groups – while immersed in artistic activities, the participants encounter each other in a deep way. Working together, creating together, being together, feeling accepted and acknowledged. All this happens in a playful, joyful manner. More about the method in English/Hungarian: IKT Association – IKT Egyesület
Authentic movement: Authentic Movement (AM) is a method originated from dance therapy used in holistic dance pedagogy and psychotherapy as well as in artistic processes. It offers insights and experiences into deep layers of the inner body (Soma) and psyche, new expressions and abilities for the physical body (Physis) and the explorations and integration of its interconnections. More about it in English/Deutsch: METHODEN | Holistic Dance (holistic-dance.at)
This module has been about our bodies, our soma – the felt body, which is ourselves. We hope you enjoyed learning more about how to connect with it, and why it is so important.
Now, in the next module, we turn towards other issues related to stress and our bodies – self-care, in a broader sense.