19 Sep 2020 "Open & Close" Contemplative Dance Retreat. I was very blessed to work with sensitive awakened women, even though one had never 'danced' before. Exploring bodily position and movement of this theme, its associated feelings and thoughts, we gained a sense of the fundamental dance movement therapy concept - using the soma (body) to shift the psyche. It led to the feeling of expansion and contraction, and naming the extremes of each quality. No 'good' or 'bad.' Just is.
In dancing to expand our presence in the space, resistance was encountered. My authentic movements informed me there was a 'shrinking violet' reaction to 'emotional papercuts' over time - a learned condition, something that the group agreed we all subscribed to. I noticed criticism showed up in the space and we repeated another round of deepening 3D exploration.
In the end, an interesting observation to me was noting a participant leaving the event somewhat upset, but then it turned out her tension came from having to return to work challenges. Following up was so rewarding. She texted, "Thank you for the very powerful dance movement therapy session." It helped her body and emotions, gave her a lot of energy and facilitated reflections on her "new beginnings," by going through the motions of what and how she wanted to create. She noted she actually enjoyed speaking up instead of shirking - now, how's that for open & close? "I think the movement anchors the experience," she added. How wise, textbook spot-on! Witnessing others' transformational experiences shifted me too. It dared me to expand, to show up and be seen, be counted.
Artwork: "New Beginnings" by G.
whose contribution and sharing is much appreciated.
I remember this movement theme of Open & Close came up in the Emergence Women's Retreat, outside of my prepared script. During group sharing, two ladies described how when they converged their expanded emergence, it became compressed into a spot which shone powerfully from their hearts. One of them added decidedly, "That's the way forward!" Days after this retreat, it occurred to me that the convergence pointed to the concept of the embodied Divine immanence within each one of us, seeking to evolve! I began to see themes threading through my series of dance movement & art programs and wondered where the journey would lead. For now, this Open & Close thread shall be termed 'contractions.'