Back to the studio, back to my moving body

After almost 7 months of online yoga classes, yesterday I went back to a real dance studio. I was as joyful as a springing child who is going to an entertainment park or eating candies for the first time.

The smell of the wooden walls, complete quietness, the stairs leading to the roof floor, that special light I had never forget, my past feelings of hours spent there during my workshops, performances, classes, the touch of that floor which I have always loved.. everything made me feel back home.

Getting used to 3D movement and freedom of exploring multiple space levels, which I had to restrict for all this time, was a strange sensation but pleasant and caring towards my inner dancer.

I made sure not to push myself too much, but still enjoy the process of re-discovery.

We were all using our confined box, transitioning to others’ boxes, although we kept distance between each other’s bodies. It was strange, yet it felt so needed to be there.

We played with the idea of shifting our attention to body parts leading our movements, starting from grounding our feet. I acknowledged how my ankles were stiff and the plant of my right foot felt almost sleepy or not used to grip on the floor to propel my weight as I shifted to any direction.

During all these months spent studying Anatomy, Physiology, Pathologies and all scientific studies supporting Sports Massage Therapy, I have realized how easy it is to learn about ideas, but underestimate the value of practice knowledge. How many times, as physical therapists we recommend life adjustments, undervaluing the importance of being us the role models?

The eyes can offer us a cinematic interpretation of what we see and how we perceives things. Eyes can be the driving force of our attention, but may not involve the body to support a whole integrated body movement. I reflected on my eyes watching the computer screen. Zoom meetings and webinars have been a good training for my eye muscles, however my body did not always engage into an active participation to those events.

Switching the attention on the skull, letting it drive your movement, I could feel an immediate connection throughout my body to the tip toes. Closing my eyes and letting my skull drive me through space, I released my neck, my shoulders and regain the freedom of abandonment in falling and being able to manage the fall to the ground. Incredible!

The last part of the class was around Authentic Movement, involving the doer who performed a short movement improvisation and the witness who just observed the dancer.

On the second round, the witness could speak out a story or something that was making her/him feeling concerned about something. I observed the dancer felt more at ease when improvising for the second time. She said she could feel through the content of my story she felt more connected to me. When dancing I was concerned about keeping an adequate distance from the witness, so I tended to use my arms to shield my face and my nose. She interpreted my gestures as if I did not want to listen to her. How interesting is the interpretation we give to what we see and what the other intends to do.

After my recent studies and new insights I have been acknowledging, I felt much more connected to my dance session within the context of my current research, finally giving more sense to my experience as a mover.