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Therapeutic and Spiritual Practice There is clearly a potential for therapeutic work in this practice; material from the unconscious arises and is embodied in movement, where it can be seen, felt, recognised, understood, and integrated into consciousness. Many therapists are using this simple but profound practice as a resource for their work. In particular, the dyadic form of one mover and one witness reflects and evokes the relationship of therapist and client. For many people, bodily movement offers a direct and powerful way to access unconscious material, though it must be understood that this is not work for the borderline or psychotic person, or a vulnerable client who needs to strengthen ego boundaries, not loosen them. Especially in long-term work, transference and countertransference issues may arise. Through constant witnessing of her own psychological and somatic responses, the witness-therapist monitors this; and through the owning of her experience, her mover-client is enabled to more fully acknowledge his own unique experience and to recognise both his individuality and his relationship to another. Authentic Movement is also a discipline of mindfulness training. I liken it to a meditation practice done in the presence of, and in relation to another. It has been called a ‘feminine form of Zen’. As mover, through the experience of being witnessed by another, with acceptance and compassion, my own internal witness can develop. As witness, I train myself to become aware of my direct experience, in the presence of the mover, and come to recognise the mover within myself. In moments of clear seeing, we are distinct but not separate - we are two and one. When practised in a group, Authentic Movement facilitates a deepening sense of community, as conscious awareness within the collective body evolves. Training in direct embodied experience gives a secure grounding for these moments of intuitive knowing where duality, for a moment, falls away, and we dance together in a shared truth. The miracle of the bodymind and its senses serve as an open doorway into mystical experience, which is always direct experience. References Joan Chodorow, Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology: The Moving Imagination. Routledge, 1991 Linda Hartley, Wisdom of the Body Moving: An Introduction to Body-Mind Centering. North Atlantic Books, 1995 Deane Juhan, Job’s Body: A Handbook for Bodywork. Station Hill Press, 1987 Lama Norlha, The Five Skandhas, in The Dharma by Kalu Rinpoche. SUNY Press, 1986 Patrizia Pallaro, editor, Authentic Movement: Essays by Mary Starks Whitehouse, Janet Adler and Joan Chodorow. Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd, 1999 Daniel N. Stern, The Interpersonal World of the Infant. Basic Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 1985 Chogyam Trungpa, Glimpses of Abhidharma. Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1975 © Linda Hartley. 2002 Click here to return to previous page |
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continued … An Enquiry into Direct Experience |
