DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

My first workshop exploring Somatic integration into aerial arts was in general a success. The workshop focused on the introduction of basic somatic principles to the aerialists who were not versed in the language of Body Mind Centering. The three main principles taught were; yielding into push, reach, and pull, distal and proximal body, and flexion and extension leading into compression and suspension.

 

The workshop began with a seated meditation to bring the focus to the room and move into the slower movement of the day. I then introduced the concept of yielding and my vision of the workshop as an exploratory lab, rather than a teaching aspect. I then asked the group to move through a short period of aimless wandering, or kinesthetic delight. Allowing for stretching and settling into the space to occur.

 

I then drew the group together on their backs and asked them to yield into the floor. Phrases such as melting into the earth, making contact with the ground amongst others were used to bring about this essential concept of somatic movement to the fore thought of the group.

 

The group was then asked to move to waking up the container through the distal ends of the body, through rubbing and massaging of the hands and then feet. This was to wake up not only the skin, our largest organ and container, but to bring focus to where they were touching and sensing the ability of the skin to senses its surroundings and to feel what is around us. Waking up the sense of touch allows us move quicker into deep sensing.

 

We then moved to the equality of all six limbs, this establishment of an equal nature allows for a greater ranger of movement and an integrated nature of the movement with each limb operating to full capacity with the choice to begin initiation with any of the limbs. Through this we moved into navel radiation or starfish position, allow for the limbs and distal ends to begin any movement. The establishment of the distal and proximal body, just as the equality of limbs allows for a variety of movement while supporting the whole body the distal and proximal body allow for the same. This progressed into ankle and wrist rotations which sequenced into the other joints closer to the proximal body.

 

This was followed by what I called an "x-roll"  but is more properly a distal initiated movement of the hand leading to a sequencing of the center down to the toes.

 

Yielding into push, reach, and pull were my main goals to establish during the first part of my work shop. Yield and a variety of derivatives of it were repeated by me to try and allow the body to relax into what it was doing. I then moved into basic flexion and extension, moving from navel radiation to the fetal position by changing initiation from proximal to distal and from back to front.

 

As we progressed through the developmental patterns we moved out of basic flexion and extension into compression and suspension. First on our back then from side to side. This moved to what I called a homo-lateral roll, but was actually more of a side open side compression and suspension roll. This is the point you really begin to notice the nature of suspension is rooted in a compression of the underlying surface  through the yielding and moving into push and reach with pull.

 

This is also a point of exhaustion for me, it is the first time we are making larger movements with the body and can be draining fast. I allowed for a small break by asking the participants to roll to their front and push into childs pose. This was too quick, and most of the group lifted through the back instead of push with the hands into reaching with the tail to achieve the position. I must remember that holding is a habit and habits take a long time to notice, let alone break, so just providing the tools for one to notice will help them to move through and past the habit.

 

We moved from childs pose to all fours and allowed for the sensing of the ground under us and the organs within us.  This moved to a homologus rock with intention set on yielding and push. One of my faults was ending with push and not continuing through reach and pull, both of which of prominent in Aerial, but had I continued this would have established the connection between yielding on the ground and movement in the air.

 

We quickly, too quickly, moved from this into a quick crawl and then into walking. I focus on walking as falling, because aerial is not flying, but graceful controlled falling. Allowing the body to fall and recover allows for it to react with its normal grace instead of a forced holding.

 

We took a break, and then moved into a lab of the RRR, right reactions and reflexes. This was an exploration of the LANDAU and head righting reaction and the RRR's as integrated movement tools.

 

This exploration is to be continued on 3/7 and will hopefully be of use!

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.