Today I’d like to invite you to do this SOMATIC MOVEMENT EXERCISE with me

First of all, think of the word ‘Swinging’. What memories it recalls, what scenario you might be thinking of, what place you are at, what people, sounds surround you.

Then, with feet well-grounded and legs apart above your hips, start swinging on the spot. Notice where the swinging comes from, where it travels to, where it stops, if does, what sensations it brings up. What is your preferred direction: side to side, back and forth, multi-directional?

Is your head accommodating this gentle waving, does it try to avoid? What about your hands; are they getting stiff, soften? Are your shoulders relaxing, contracting?

After a few repetitions, how are you feeling? Do you feel you are still present, got lost, sick, awaken?

Now, close your eyes and try to observe what rests within your body. Just acknowledge all thoughts, sensations, feelings. No need to come to any sort of sense. Just be there for now.

Stay there until when you feel this sense of swinging hasn’t abandoned you.

When you are ready, change spot.

Pick two points in your room, A from where you are going to start and B where you are going to finish at. You should choose a simple pathway, possibly without obstacles.

Use you voice first to go from A to B. You set limits to define space-voice, just make sure to walk through A to B.

Play with your voice, vowels, consonants, sounds. Keep them consistent, alter them, go up and down.

Visualize you are starting from A with a soft, light sound and increasingly make it deeper and stronger. Now reverse it; start from a loud voice and finish soft and shaded.

Try to sustain the letter F from A to B.

Move to your body now; do the same thing from A to B.

Start slow and progress with faster or stronger stamping.

Start running and finish with tip-toeing, or something that contrasts the beginning and the end.

Establish what character your movement is going to be throughout this pathway now and keep it from A to B.

Now, add a SWING to the phrase. Select the same beginning and end, for example walking with all your body stiff, making your limbs hard to soften. Try it a few times to embody it. Now change the game: pick something completely different and try it, for example shaking and releasing your un-coordinated movement body, or something you simply want to play with.

Set the score for yourself: start A and finish at B with 1 specific movement character, change it in the middle. How does the change happen, suddenly, gradually? How does it make it feel? Repeat this score a few times. You can change directions if you want.

Put everything together:

A TO B – intensifying pattern

A to B – decreasing pattern

A to B – swinging pattern

Have you noticed any similarities throughout the 3 attempts? Which one you feel more comfortable with? Which one makes you feel sick?

Now think of your life contexts, and try to understand how many times you went from A to B in these ways. Which one was more functional, served your purpose? Which one could have been avoided?

What is your pattern when achieving your own goals? Which modality would you adopt? Do you have a preference in establishing and keeping relationships with people, objects, animals, nature?

Comment below.