Basics: doodling with the body (1)
Is it possible to research bodily questions only by letting the body speak?
So, excluding the dominancy of the cognitive brain?
Likewise putting a pen on a paper and doodling-drawing, starting at some point without knowing beforehand or while doing what will come out. Or in reference to automatic writing (2) where one puts a pen on a paper and writes whatever words come out, without stopping or judging. The ‘without stopping’ is important here. The ‘not-judging’ also.
Funnily, I learned to write better in my early dancing days. In a time being convinced that there were already too much words floating around on this planet. Some very good dancers-teachers taught me to write without too much thinking in the automatic way: Chrysa Parkinson, Vera Mantero… I welcome you at my table.
Back to the body: How to train the body to also let it speak without being interfered or interrupted by the mental brain or the eyes? Together, brain and eyes are often overruling the whole game (3). They don’t allow us to lose control, to go to the most unknown places when moving (4).
So, an exercise could be to start moving in space just with the body. Thoughts can pass by, though most of the time they will have to sit on the bench and watch. Without actively participating.
Only moving, that’s all,
from slow to quick,
from big to small.
And is it possible by repeatedly doing so, to NOT let the brain interfere or raise it’s voice too loud? Until now, when doing, I prefer to have a guarding angel by my side. A real person whom I can trust and who will at any cost protect me physically from putting myself in danger: from bumping the head to worse…
A guarding angel puts his or her body in between the mover and the danger. They are dealing with questions such as: How to give as much freedom possible? At the same time, how to protect a 100% from danger? And how to disappear and to give the full space to the mover?
For the mover it is like swimming in a lap alone in stead of having to take into account the other swimmers nearby. For at least 10 minutes.
‘So, what’s the benefit?’ I hear you asking. ‘Why would we do it?’
The purpose is in the essence. The essence of getting over the fear of doing something wrong or unexpected and of being able to trust the body and the kinesthetic memory. And to enlarge possibilities of course!
_________________________________________
(1) This page focusses on a ‘technique’ which is called: ‘Authentic movement’. It is the name of an improvisational movement practice which is focussing on the use of the body in a similar non-rational way to allow a type of free association of the body. I know the existence, though never had an ‘official’ training based upon it.
(2) After being introduced to ‘automatic writing’ while taking dance classes, I discovered that someone wrote a book about the same principle calling it the ‘morning pages’ (source: ‘The artists way’, Julia Cameron).
(3) Enrique Vargas calls it ‘the imperialism of the eye’.
(4) To research is to dive into the unknown. To get to what you don’t know that you know. The part which is invisible. The part which is hidden under the iceberg.
