Authentic Movement

 

"...the body-felt connectedness among people [is] profoundly related to the source of our humanity."

Janet Adler

Authentic Movement  is a discipline that is simple in form, complex and richly textured in the many folds of relationship we experience with ourselves and with others. The intention is to stay present with ourselves, moment by moment, through deep awareness of physical being — of our bodies.

In private work the client is always the mover. In group work we practise both as movers and as witnesses and also give attention to the language skills that enable exact expression of what is happening in each moment, uncluttered by projections and by the old stories we tell ourselves. 

The mover invites all of herself or himself, conscious or unconscious, to emerge through movement and stillness, by attending, with eyes closed, to the inner world of sensations, feelings, images and impulses.  As we stay close to ourselves in this way, the stories in our bodies are allowed to unfold.  The witness, with attentive and compassionate presence - not interpreting but tracking her own inner response - creates a safe space for the mover and enables the mover to feel deeply seen and acknowledged,  a first step towards feeling more acceptance and compassion towards oneself. 

In addition to supporting personal development, by giving form to less conscious aspects of our beings, this practice provides a valuable training for therapists and others in relationship-based work.  The mover/witness relationship mirrors that of the client/therapist.  When mover and witness speak together, the witness has the opportunity to recognise projections and judgments, coming to understand how they obscure clear seeing of another. An attitude of deep respect for, and empathy with, the experience of the other is cultivated. I offer training to therapists in the context of small study groups. A more intensive ongoing training programme is being developed.

Authentic Movement is also a meditative practice in presence, opening to the possibility of simply experiencing each moment directly, with a clear and spacious quality of awareness and without the habitual beliefs that restrict us to a limited view of ourselves.  Mysteriously, this direct physical knowing of ourselves can widen to an experience that is larger than the personal, that partakes of collective or universal experience.  In the very moment of fully being present with ourselves we may profoundly know our connection with all of existence.

The embodiment of collective consciousness has been a particular focus of Janet Adler’s development of this discipline. Adler speaks of “the body-felt connectedness among people, [that is] profoundly related to the source of our humanity. Becoming conscious of our part in the whole through direct experience of membership allows exploration of the relationship between the personal body and the collective body”.

For anyone wishing to study this practice there is the opportunity to do so individually or in regular group meetings.

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