Experiential Anatomy

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This is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. This study leads to an understanding of how the mind is expressed through the body and the body through the mind.

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Experiential Anatomy invites us to experience our own tissues and cells and to find the support for our everyday movements through embodying the different body systems – for example, our bones, muscles, nervous systems, ligaments, fluids, and endocrine and organ systems. This practice invites us to experience our bodies from within. In order to assist our learning and experience of this, work is often done in partners with the appropriate use of touch.

 

Embryology and Developmental Movement Patterns

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Embryology is the experiential study of the journey we all make from conception to being born and the process we undergo in between those two significant events.

 

Developmental Movement Patterns are the patterns which teach us about the origins of our movement and our ways of being in the world. We study the energy fields that have formed our bodies and the type of movements that we would have made whilst in the womb.  We revisit actions such as rolling, creeping, crawling and walking and explore locomotive forces such as yielding, pushing, reaching, holding and pulling.

 

We learn how our patterned movements inform us about our ways of relating and how to nurture new patterns that better serve us. Basic Reflexes, Righting Reactions and Equilibrium Responses underlie the Developmental Movement Patterns which when combined can reinforce a strong and stable sense of our bodies and invite support for our everyday actions, perceptions, and ways of relating in the world. They offer basic movement awareness skills that are not technique oriented. The reflexes are like the letters that make up the building blocks for the phrases and sentences of our activities. As a whole, the reflexes and developmental movement patterns establish a base for our perceptual relationships (including body image and spatial orientation), learning and communication.

 

Attunement, Resonance, and Mindfulness

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Attunement and resonance enable us to understand and empathize with others. Mindfulness practices enable us to become aware of our sensations, feelings, thoughts and images, and help us to maintain some distance from our inner experiences by cultivating the Art of Witnessing.

 

Object Relations

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In addition to our loves, friendships, and rivalries, we have intricate relationships within us.  These are powerful influences on how we feel about ourselves and relate to others.  The people around us also affect us within ourselves. The exploration of these internal and external relationships has led to a body of knowledge called Object Relations. Attachment research studies have shown that how we have experienced our earliest connections to our primary caretakers influences us in all our relationships throughout our lives.

 

Integration and Group Process

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In these sessions, we primarily take the time to explore our relationship with ourselves and others in the here and now and in reference to the ongoing group work in other sessions during the training.

A group like this can create a place of deepening enquiry into the way we relate to others and have been ‘positioned’ unconsciously and then position ourselves in our family and then in other groups and of course particularly this group. These group process sessions will allow for integration of different aspects of ourselves and the training as a whole.

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ORIGINS material is currently available via Retreats with Joan.

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