With deep sadness, we share the news of our colleague Laura Cox’s death (Feb 4, 2025).
Laura was one of the original founders of WholeMovement. A complex, multifaceted person interacting in the world in many capacities, Laura was a dancer, a movement educator, LBMS practitioner, Registered Somatic Movement Educator/Therapist (ISMETA), animal lover and an avid Renaissance Festival fan. Her favorite holiday was Halloween.
Students and colleagues will remember Laura for the joy and energy of her teaching and for her fierce devotion to the power of LBMS to transform people and the world we interact in.
Laura’s international presence in the LBMS community included serving as a core faculty member in two Scotland training programs as well as helping to establish the first WholeMovement training program in Rome. She co-authored (with Karen Studd) EveryBody is a Body, a guide to human movement from an LBMS perspective, which is used in training programs worldwide.
Laura was a bright and inspiring presence who has affected so many people in the movement community.
It was one of Laura’s final wishes that those who might want to honor her memory could make a donation to WholeMovement. Such donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Dance Box Theatre.
Mourning this sad loss to our teaching coterie and to the larger community,
Ali, Cat, Esther and Karen
For All donors:
Dance Box Theater is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as the fiscal sponsor for WholeMovement. Your contribution to Dance Box Theater is earmarked and dedicated to WholeMovement, and is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
For donors by check:
To make a contribution to WholeMovement by check, please make your donation payable to “Dance Box Theater,” with “WholeMovement” clearly noted in the memo line. Send your check to: Whole Movement, 6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912.
For online donors:
To make an online contribution to WholeMovement, please visit https://danceboxtheater.org/wholemovement.html and click on the link to be directed to Dance Box Theater’s Network For Good donation page. Please enter your donation amount and enter the words “WholeMovement” in the Designation line.
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In WM we have been exploring the development, shaping and sharing of the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS) Motif. We see Motif is a tool, a practice and a creative process as a part of LBMS. Engaging in it stimulates creative approaches to learning, and opens the door to further choice-making, new experiences and refined perception. The development of Motif has been occurring through faculty discussion and in the context of the classroom.
The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (which is what we mean when we say LBMS – a whole, so not BF and LMA) is a comprehensive system used in understanding multiple aspects of human movement patterns. Its methodology incorporates a theoretical framework and language for movement including LBMS Motif, the symbolic representation of parts and patterns of movement. The system is used to identify, record and interpret both macro and micro aspects of human movement. As a system of movement analysis, LBMS is unique as it identifies and codifies both the qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of movement. To use the words of one of the Themes of LBMS, the system takes into account both Functional as well as Expressive content of actions.
WholeMovement faculty are connected to one another through a learning community model approach to teaching. We are generally present in all classes not just the ones we are teaching. We reference and build on what has occurred in other’s classes and in addition often co-teach. We engage in collective reflection on ourselves and our work, with a shared philosophical and pedagogical approach.
We use LBMS Motif in ways that have emerged from conversations around the dissatisfaction with fragmentation of educational praxis in which different parts of movement are differentiated but often not sufficiently synthesised – connected to the context of the whole. In teaching, we teach by foregrounding different parts at different times – this is of course curricular content , but always with the whole as the container in mind. In LBMS as Motif reflects the whole system, we interweave the practice of Motif throughout essentially all classes, and not a separate idea.
The incorporation of Motif addresses crucial aspects of Movement Analysis training, including choice and consensus in capturing and interpreting movement. And the Pattern of Developmental Progression of the system is built in through how we use Motif as a reflection of this pattern. Through the processes of analysis and synthesis, we acknowledge the complex nature of movement and that there is a multiplicity of meanings, unfolding in ongoing complex ways.
Motif is an idea or a way of rendering the significant essence of a concrete experience or the abstraction of an idea through image or sound or structure. Motifs are generally brief or succinct elements that represent a perceivable pattern. This is a common part of many forms of expression – notably in the visual arts as well as in literature, music etc. In other words, Motif is not an idea limited to the body of knowledge/inquiry that is movement analysis but is seen across disciplines as an expression of what is essential. Metaphor is often linked to Motif as it paradoxically links the simple to the complex through associations of concrete/literal to the abstract and the possibility of multiple and multi layered interpretations.
As many of you are probably aware, the roots of Motif go back to Kinetography Laban and has its origins in the 1930s from Laban’s work and the work of his collaborators/associates Kurt Jooss and Sigurd Leeder, developing into Labanotation, developed further by Ann Hutchinson Guest. Thus, contemporary LBMS Motif is an example of the pattern and usual progression in which an initial idea or inspiration is taken up by and added to by others in the progression of the development of all bodies of knowledge.
In contrast to Labanotation, LBMS Motif is not in any way linked to the art of recording dance for archiving and recreating, but rather deals with movement as a much broader phenomenon and applicable in all movement contexts. Recording the specificity of movement is not the primary intent of Motif in LBMS. The entanglement of Labanotation and Motif (a derivation coming from Labanotation) with dance however has been reiterated continually. The truncated version of Labanotation that has come to be identified as Motif. This idea and this version of Motif was to a large extent closely aligned with the concept of a ‘shorthand’ for capturing the dominant characteristics of movement, rather than the more micro perspective of recording all aspects of the body moving in space that Labanotation required. While Labanotation and LBMS Motif come from a similar origin, they differ in their intent and use.
LBMS Motif is a visual pictorial representation of movement essence to facilitate pattern recognition and the process of understanding possible meanings of movement.
In LBMS Motif we recognise three distinct ways of writing symbolically, Vertical, Horizontal and in Constellation. The Vertical Motif, that came from Labanotation, reveals relative duration of actions and events. Horizontal Motif reveals the order in which actions unfold (beginning, middle, end) but does not specify duration. It emerged alongside the development of Effort and later Effort/Shape theory. The Constellation Motif reveals the parts that are foregrounded in a movement event, but does not specify order, duration or sequencing. Rather, the Constellation Motif captures the parts of events and actions that are most salient to understanding the essence of what is happening. Each form of Motif Writing can be used for different purposes to reveal meanings, intent and patterns, for example seeing what is present or absent, like if there are no Effort symbols in a Constellation Motif.
Generally, the process of Motif-ing is undertaken physically using a pen or pencil and paper, though sometimes a finger on a track-pad or touch-screen is used to make these marks. Choosing in the action of drawing, whatever the medium, is understood as a significant embodiment and learning process.
In LBMS Motif, we can create a Motif and then move it to learn or explore new patterns from it. The symbols can be used as a conduit for new movement experiences rather than replication. We can also observe movement and then Motif it, practicing observation skills of discerning, differentiating, and choosing. Understanding LBMS Motif as a technique is not to argue that it must be practiced in a specific way. Rather, the more facility you have with the symbols and how you explore meaning-making with them, the more possibilities are made available for movement experience, and observation or perception skills. LBMS involves processes of coming to consensus and the versatility of LBMS Motif communicates both outwards with others and inwards to your own understanding.
It is problematic that sometimes LBMS Motif is referred to as a ‘short-hand’ of Labanotation, or the ‘highlights’ of movement. ‘Highlight’ does not imply pattern or progression. Rather it isolates and edits, much like a still image of a photograph, which is not a helpful way of describing movement and change. Distillation of essence does not necessarily mean being as brief as possible. Becoming more specific does not necessarily mean becoming more micro (for example, the left little finger of the hand vs the larger macro idea of a distal body part). ‘Short-hand’ does hint at brevity and a process of contraction, but it is more appropriate to understand LBMS Motif as an expression of the whole system of LBMS itself. It is clear that LBMS Motif operates under different terms and procedures than Labannotation, as well as having different symbols. The different symbols, some of which we will share here, can refer to micro details whilst others designate broader concepts. The following list is the way in which we articulate LBMS Motif for students in our training programs.
LBMS Motif contributes to the process of the part/whole thematic duality of analysis and synthesis. Patterns are not individual parts but phrases of parts in relationship, understood as whole in themselves. Whilst Body, Space, Shape and Effort are used to subdivide or categorise movement phenomena, there are three other overarching, or macro patterns LBMS uses: 1. Developmental Progression, 2. Thematic Duality and 3. Phrasing.
These have specific, micro usages, as well as referring to larger macro patterns. In relation to today’s subject of Motif I want to start by addressing the Pattern of Thematic Duality
Symbols for the Thematic Dualities have emerged through a particular story. Starting quite a long time ago in a discussion led by Antja Kennedy symbols were proposed for the Themes.
However The Laban/Bartenieff community internationally had no formal process to come to consensus to use or not. But a PDF was shared amongst colleagues. Karen began sharing this particular PDF citing its source and saying that it was “unofficial”. It was met with great enthusiasm in part due to an emphasis on the large idea of Patterns that we were emphasising in support of synthesis. These particular symbols have repeatedly shown their usefulness and appropriateness and are part of the LBMS taxonomy that we use in all our trainings. And in this vein, we are constantly encouraging students to develop symbols that meet their own needs in their particular application as part of a creative practice and need. As co-founder of WholeMovement Laura Cox always liked to tell students, there are no Motif police.
The Forward and Backwards symbols in Labanotation have been used in Laban-based trainings as part of dance education at conservatoires, as well as in movement analysis programmes such as LBMS and Language Of Dance. For those students who had not encountered Labanotation, and even for those who had, the symbol provoked confusion because of the symbol having the ‘chimney’ on the right or left side. This is historically connected to the notation system for bipedal weight support and transfer activity. The ‘chimney’ implies and conflates Body and Space. But the spatial notion is Forwards, irrespective of right or left sidedness, and so a modification to the symbol was adopted to eliminate the detail of right or left Body basis built into the old symbol. Whilst also assuaging the confusion of right or left when it does not matter to the movement experience or phenomena, this new symbol attempts to illuminate a shared notion of forward or backward that includes more bases of support other than the bipedal assumption in the Labanotation symbol. Forward is forward in the Sagittal space whether you are on two legs, a leg and a crutch, a wheelchair, and so forth. The symbol alludes to a commonality of the shared spatial phenomenon of forward/backward, rather than subtly reiterating and reinforcing a normative, ableist body expectation of human anatomy and locomotion.
Studd and Cox (2019: 150) added ‘vocalizing’ to the list of Basic Body Actions to explicate voice as an action. Whilst LMBS supports understanding non-verbal communication, the use of voice as a continuum from breath, sound, word, and sentence is a vital, foundational part of human experience, interaction and movement. The symbol acts not only to include voice, but to argue it as a kinaesthetic, kinetic phenomenon. Expertise from fields of music, drama, literature, linguistics and philosophy exists to offer immense specificity about how voice might be used and its effects. In LBMS there is no one particular way voice should be used, but rather the system can be explored to identify or support vocalization based on the context or situation, for example, communication or movement re-patterning, not forgetting the working languages, values and aims in that specific time and place. The inclusion of voice within the LBMS taxonomy explicates as well as integrates an understanding of movement that does not ignore vocalization. Including voice as movement recognises complex relations between voice and communication, and the addition of this symbol reflects how LBMS attempts to explore wholeness through different strategies. This update and addition to the Basic Body Actions symbols makes something implicit explicit.
Likewise, it became important to differentiate and identify how a mover’s experience occurs in a context and environment. The focus of the locus of control on the mover and identifying solo movement experience that Somatic practices tend to focus on the actions of an individual and repatterning them, mover regardless of context, whereas context is always a crucial aspect of what we are looking at, in which repatterning might not be the aim or only possibility. This symbol allows reflection upon the whole of a context, not only a part. Again the update to BBAs supports what was implicit to be explicit. We have also added a symbol for Interaction – which moves beyond the solo mover and allows to recognize the mover in the larger context of environment. This symbol references the action of connecting with two action strokes.
The Innersphere symbol, and the concept of Innersphere, recognises Inner Space which unlike the specificity of Kinesphere was not explicated in the literature historically. Experience of ‘inner’ was primarily relegated to the Body Component through Breath experience (often through a process of Dimensional Breathing), but not articulated as a spatial phenomenon. The concept of Innerspere becomes foundational to a Body/Space duality in which Space can be understood as a continuum including the mover – from inner space to Kinespheric Space to General Space, and where Space can be both the content and container of human movement within in, around or outside the body. The Innersphere symbol helps to make explicit the spatial continuum of the human movement experience. Whilst this talk focuses on Motif, the large idea of Space Harmony is foundational to understanding LBMS as a theory, practice and intervention. Space Harmony in LBMS is premised on the Body/Space duality and wholeness of the development of self/other. The human capacity for abstract thought and symbolic representation grows out of the foundational Body/Space experience and continuum. The development of symbols that help recognise and articulate experience are a significant part of this process. Hence we understand BESS in ways that are not so equivalent as the acronym suggests.
We use Motif to bridge ways of thinking, moving and learning for meaning-making and recognition. It helps to develop a shared language, which is important generally but especially in cross-cultural classrooms in which Motif continually reminds us that language is a lived and living context. We have found that both the learning and facilitation of LBMS Motif transforms our teaching and perceptual habits, and challenges our students to do the same. Teaching and using Motif in different parts of somatic movement education and observation training produces conditions for new modes of perception to arise through experience, observation and interaction. Grappling with the problems of fragmentation in learning – both for the individual student and broader community that this conference helps to overcome – we argue that LBMS Motif can be an integrative tool for bringing to consciousness habits and patterns of thought and action. Using it as an intervention to repattern the system, and the ways it is taught and learnt, continues to open the door for further choices and engagement with other bodies of knowledge.
Language evolves and develops organically, playfully and out of necessity. Indeed, emojis and text-speak reflect choice, brevity and consensus. We are constantly encouraging students to develop symbols that meet their own needs and in their particular application, as part of a creative practice and communicative intent. As WholeMovement co-founder Laura Cox always liked to tell students, there are no Motif police.
If creativity involves myriad processes of curiosity, generation of ideas and the will to produce and share with others, LBMS Motif shows enduring creative potential for explicating awareness and perception. Engaging in LBMS Motif as a tool, a practice and a creative process stimulates new approaches to learning, and supports making choices, whilst opening to new experiences, both individually and together.
The Phases of the Moon are perceived as Phrases in the moon’s cycle
Phrasing is key to movement – All movement is change. From simple to complex, changes in body position, location in space, muscle tension, focus (etcetera) create the patterns of our actions. Understanding movement is through the process of recognising and interpreting the patterns. Phrases are containers . They hold the content of intention. They allow a large whole to be organised into smaller increments (or units of change ) as illustrated in the above photo of the cycle of the moon. Unlike another Foundational Pattern – the pattern of Thematic Duality, Phrasing is temporal as it is a sequence through time. Phrasing is one of the ways that the phenomenon of Time is part of Movement Analysis and LBMS.
A series of linked actions, connected through sequences of time, create the phrases of our human movement. Phrases may be seen at different “levels”, from a more macro to a more micro perspective. For example: seasons of the year, to months, weeks, days, hours, is starting from a more macro way of phrasing time and becoming increasingly more micro in how we parse sequences of time.
Aspects of phrasing include duration or length of phrases as well as if the phrases are discrete or overlapping, where one phrase blends into another. In addition, if there is an emphasis in a part of the phrase, for example at the beginning or ending, this too can create a pattern or type of phrasing linked to its meaningfulness.
A phrase is often described as a “complete thought” in language. In this way a phrase , is both a whole in itself, as well as a part of a greater whole (Part/Whole theme).
Phrasing creates and supports meaning. Below are some language examples of this idea. * The words below, in example “A”, are somehow meaningless until the phrasing creates the containers for the content and intent in example “B”.
(A) That that is is that that is not is not
(B) That that is, is; that that is not, is not.
When we change the Phrasing, we change the meaning as illustrated in using the same sentence with 2 different phrasings (below)
Woman without her man, is a savage. – -or – – Woman: without her, man is a savage.
Examples
of phrasing can be found in phenomena of all kinds. Phrasing can be seen in
everything from functional structural designs (architecture and engineering
come to mind) to the expressive compositional phrasing of music, poetry and
dance. Language as it is sounded, spoken and written is phrased in its patterns.
Learning movement, teaching movement, re-patterning movement all are dependent
on the phrasing of movement.
Body Phrasing – In looking at the phrasing of human movement we can start from identifying the functional phrasing of body organisation. For example, kinetic chains, or the neuromuscular initiation and sequencing of actions are examples of Body level Phrasing. Does a sequence progress from the upper unit and sequence to the lower unit, for example? Or from the distal end of a limb to its proximal end, or vice versa?
Unsupported
or “disconnected” movement often is the result of breaks or interruptions in
the sequence of a body phrase and may be a key, both in identifying a
problematic pattern as well as finding a solution through re-patterning the
phrasing of the movement.
More BESS Phrasing – In addition to Body aspects of Phrasing, we can also look at spatial (Space Component) and dynamic (Effort Component) aspects of movement phrasing (Space Phrasing and Effort Phrasing) . Understanding the spatial and dynamic aspects of a phrase may assist in clarifying the intent of the mover.
A spatial phrase creates a pathway – or several pathways – through the mover’s space (the Kinesphere). Such a phrase might be seen in a linear progression in the Vertical Dimension from high to low, or a sweeping Planal arc, or in a more complex spiraling sequence through the 3 Dimensions of Space.
The dynamic Effort changes in action support both functional as well as expressive aspects of the phrasing of movement. Looking at the dynamics of a phrase we can see what changes, what is emphasized, or if there are accented moments. These Effort Dynamics including their phrasing reflect the mover’s attitude and intent underlying a sequence of actions.
Emphasis in some part of a phrase at the beginning, or in the middle, or at the end – creates an identifiable type of phrasing pattern. Emphasis may be observed in Space or Dynamics/Effort or Body or Shape Phrasing. In other words Phrasing can be observed and experienced in all the BESS Movement Components.
Rhythm and Phrasing are interconnected concepts. Patterns of duration, holding and emphasis create rhythm , thus rhythm is linked to the concept of phrasing. Rhythms are linked to repetition and patterns emerge from repetition.
Rhythmic patterns can be seen in space through movement ( as well as the rhythms seen in art and architecture of line, design proportion) . Rhythm divides or breaks up the ongoingness of Flow (here addressing Flow as baseline from which all patterns emerge). The rhythms of our flow become the phrasing patterns of our movement sequences.
Fundamental Rhythms – The nature and feeling of duple and triple ( 2’s and 3’s )
TWO (2) is a statement of a line, an ongoing progression. But also creates the simple clarity, of beginning and ending. And in this way it describes opposites. Two ends of a continuum creating an either/or polarity. This duality can describe a harmony of balance and symmetry.
Examples of duality in the LBMS organisation of perception and experience of the patterns of movement can be found in:
LBMS Themes – Inner/Outer, Exertion/Recuperation, Function/Expression Mobility/Stability as well as other themes often addressed including: Simple/Complex, Self/ Other, Beginning/End, Part/Whole, Macro/Micro
Effort – Condensing/Indulging creating the 2 Elements of each Factor ie. Light/Strong, Direct/Broad, Free/Bound, Quick/Sustained. Effort Phrasing which emphasises either the beginning (Impulsive) or the end ( Impactive) of a phrase
Space – the phrase of the progression of space which connects the two ends of each Dimension, the two ends of each Diagonal, the two ends of each Diameter.
Body – our bilateral symmetry and our organisation relative to our form for example in the rhythm and phrasing of our walking. And in a more macro phrase sense beginning (our birth)/ end (our death) And all the many duple rhythms of our biological existence – inhale/exhale, heartbeat, ingestion/excretion etc. etc.
Shape – The Concave/Convex Relationship, the Gathering/Scattering actions and in Shape Flow linked to the 3 dimensional of our form through lengthening /shortening, bulging/hollowing and widening /narrowing, The Spoke-like Directional mode in actions towards and away from self, which in turn is based in Self/Other duality. Other examples in the Shape category are the oppositional polarities of the Core Shape Qualities – Spreading/Enclosing, Advancing/Retreating, Rising/Sinking
THREE (3) is often curvilinear in its nature but can also create the form of a triangle Which in turn can create a loop or cyclic progression around the closed triangle. In a 3 rhythm there is more differentiation as the idea of the middle emerges. This suggests more complexity and a shift in emphasis to what happens between the beginning and the end. The process becomes even more important – the life between the birth and the death – the dash between the dates on a tomb stone depicting the date of birth and date of death which has always seemed such a reductionist way of recording the phrase of one’s life!
Rhythms
of 3 can also create Stable Triangular patterns and can be linked to aspects of
our Dynamic Alignment (Body Component ) through our bony architecture but also
to all the BESS components such as what we identify as a 3 ring as a Spatial
sequence.
Examples
of a tri-partite rhythmic patterns in the LBMS system of organization of
perception experience of the patterns of movement can be found in:
Body – our experience of the volume our 3D form, true spirals in gradated rotation of the whole body kinetic chains connecting flexion/extension, abduction/adduction & inward/outward rotation as well as in the progression from 1D to 2D to 3D.
Effort – Effort is constantly fluctuating as we move between and among the constellations of the States and Drives and the link to 3 can be seen in how each Drive combines 3 of the 4 Effort Factors and in addition how each Drive is supported by 3 “Cluster States” linked to the Drive.
Space – A phrase of 3 directions linked as 2 pathways in theTransversal progression of: Flat, Steep, Suspended in Icosahedral Scales including the Axis and A or B Scales. (These are Space Harmony Scales practices in LBMS Movement Analysis training programs)
Space Harmony – In the Harmonic structure of the rhythms of Space, in the Transverse A & B Scales of the Icosahedron, Rudolph Laban identifies the Steeple type phrasing as a “bipartite rhythm of diagonal directions” (The Language of Movement: A Guidebook to Choreutics p 154). He goes on to identify the Flat, Steep, Suspended phrasing as a type of tri-partite rhythm through which to experience the space harmony of patterns of human movement.
More about Phrasing and phrasing types
Please
read this. I see what you mean.
Please read this. I see what
you mean. or I see what you mean
Please
read this. I see what you mean. or I see what you mean
Please
read this. I see what you mean.
Try
clapping a simple 3 rhythm accenting the 1 over and over. Switch to the 2nd
beat. Switch the accent to the last beat. What is the nature, feeling or mood
in each case?
Impulsive Phrasing – the emphasis is at the
beginning of the phrase. It may be abrupt – as when happens when someone
interrupts. It may be aggressive or intrusive. It may also be excited – the
initiation of a big new idea – “I’ve
got it!”. Or
being impressed “Way to go!”. Impulsive Phrasing can
also be found in duple rhythms such the double pulsing often used in jump
rope.
Swing Phrasing – the emphasis is in the middle
of the phrase. It builds to a climax
then recedes. An example may be cracking a whip (preparation – snap – withdrawal). A wave
breaking on the shore, skipping rhythm. Although a Swing type phrase requires 3
parts – a beginning, middle and end – you will frequently find rhythms of 2’s
and 3’s layered. As in the common 6/8 meter which can also be experienced as
duple feel with emphasis on 1
2 3 4 5 6. In LBMS the interconnectedness of 2’s and 3’s
can be seen in the States associated with a Drive or the nature transverse
movement and more specifically the pathways of Transversals in space. Where the
2D nature of each individual plane is interwoven through a cycle (pattern) of
moving through all 3 Planes. In addition, the relationship of the (2 D) Planal
Diameters experienced as deflections of the 3D Diagonal
Impactive Phrasing – the emphasis is the conclusion.
This can be about being definite it builds up to a conclusion. It may be authoritative,
or absolutist used to show determination or resolve. “That’s It!”
Phrasing style is an important aspect of one’s baseline Personal Movement Signature.
So
far so good – but what exactly is a
Phrase? A phrase is often (to use a word
I heard CMA Carol Lynne Moore apply to the concept of the Dynamosphere) a
“fuzzy” concept in LBMS. It is fuzzy in that the edges are unclear. Although
perhaps unclear is a poor word choice as it is clear to the individual
observer. According to CMA and non-verbal communication researcher Martha
Davis, observers each seemed “to have an individually consistent approach to
delineating phrases. However, the observer’s recording very often differed from
each other. They do not appear to share concepts of phrase boundaries.” This
would seem to resonate with the idea that Phrasing can be viewed from both a
Macro as well as Micro perspective – something we do all the time as we shift
our attention to the phrasing of a day morning, noon and night, to seasons of a
year, or patterns of time into epochs. We do this as well in LBMS, looking both
at the BIG movement picture as perhaps revealed through the larger lens of a
particular theme, or in a small movement unit of a single action. Like fractals
larger patterns are composed of smaller patterns which, when magnified, become the larger pattern. Theme
of Part/Whole
*Thanks to my WM colleague Esther Geiger (CMA) and her husband Joel for reminding me about these examples from language
Post by KStudd – Updated Summer 2022 from earlier document of 2015
My favorite thing about LBMS is that it helps me look for patterns, in myself, my interactions, my environment, and my life. Finding the pattern makes it possible to choose what, if any, change(s) to make.
Patterns
of Movement / Changing to Heal
Years ago,
when I first immersed myself in LBMS studies, I developed a knee injury that
sidelined me from dancing, performing, even walking. Physical therapy exercises
to strengthen the surrounding muscles helped only temporarily; the injury kept
recurring. Finally, I realized that the LBMS
training was changing an old pattern of mine.
Decades of dance technique – mostly Graham and other early Modern forms
– had strengthened me through Binding.
Now the multifaceted world of LBMS exploration was encouraging me to let
go. Which I did, into Passive Weight,
dropping all the holding and dumping the stress into my knees. Once I noticed that pattern, I could begin to
think in terms of “what else is possible” rather than just “either/or”. I discovered that, instead of releasing from
holding into collapse, I could release into activation. As I practiced this new movement pattern, my
injury gradually healed.
Patterns
in Interaction/Changing to Get Along
While
administrator at a large yoga center, I heard complaints from two employees in
conflict. “She’s pressuring me, she’s
pressuring me! If she would just slow down!” cried T, a careful, methodical worker. “She won’t get moving; she’s not getting
anything done! She needs to hurry up!” declared B, whose Quick Impulses kept
her flying through her day.
I spoke to
each of them:
“T, I’ll bet, when you are cooking, you read the recipe, then line up all the
ingredients, then read the recipe again before you follow the steps one by
one.” “Yes! How did you know?!”
“B, when you
cook, I imagine you might have glanced at a recipe for ideas, and are
assembling and chopping stuff while you’re throwing things in the pot, and
keeping it stirred, right?” “Of course!”
she exclaimed.
“Well, here,
you are both cooking the same stew; you just have different ways of going at
it. Let’s see how you can get the thing
done together.”
We looked at
what changes to choose: which tasks were best assigned to whom; how to sequence
their assignments, align their goals and adapt their expectations. Perhaps B should swoop in to open and unpack
all the boxes and get the props on the shelves, then have T focus time on comparing
the inventory to the packing slip and logging everything in to the online
system. The idea was to allow each to
use their own preferred patterns in support of each other and the job at hand.
Patterns
in the Environment/Changing its Functioning
“Why are they
all just running in circles and yelling? There are plenty of things for them to
play with. They’re going to crash into each other!”The day care director and I were watching
as the children emerged from their small classrooms into a large open gym,
strewn with a few small climbers, some tricycles, jump ropes, balls and
miscellaneous building toys. Clearly,
they experienced that Phrase – from enclosed space to open area, from quiet activities
to recess, from stillness to motion – as a Becoming: now I can get big
and go fast and be loud.
Given the pattern inherent in the space, the timing and the children’s
bodies, the director needed to choose an intent for their gym time. Running in circles might be just right for
that moment in the day’s rhythm. But, if
she saw it as dangerous, or “unproductive” (that’s a different article), she
could reorganize the space for a different result.
We talked
about setting up “landing” areas around the periphery, with a section for
building, one for jump rope games, etc.
Still leaving running space, but perhaps taping lanes or a large circle
on the floor for the trikes, to safely separate the riders from the runners. The next time I visited, there was still lots
of high energy, but a little less scary chaos.
Pattern
as Metaphor/Change as a Choice
In the
middle of downward facing dog pose, C exclaimed “It’s my life! Dog pose is my life and it’s staring me in
the face!” The class paused and he
explained. “I want to get strong, so I
decided to practice holding dog pose for five minutes. I built up gradually, minute by minute. One day, I held the pose for five
minutes! I’m so pleased with myself, the
next day I took off and didn’t practice at all.
It’s my life – staring me in the face!
I have a girlfriend, we work on our relationship, it gets pretty
solid. Then I leave. Dog pose is my life, staring me in the face!”
C had
discovered a Phrasing pattern that he’d applied unconsciously, in yoga
practice, in life. Now that he sees the pattern, he has options for changing –
or not.
What I love
most about LBMS is that, by helping me find patterns, it gives me choices about
change.
Our human bodies are designed for our alignment to be
dynamic. This means when we move a part the whole adjusts and/or when the whole of us moves, the relationships among the parts adjust
accordingly. We are designed synergistically to optimize our efficiency. This
is fundamental to the harmony of human movement. Of course, due to behavioral
patterns, such as sitting for long durations at a computer or in a car, this dynamic capacity is frequently
diminished. But reconnecting to our
inherent embodied dynamism is possible and can support self-care and well-being.
The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System facilitates this process.
In the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS) a large part of the explication of the body’s actions is from the perspective and framework of Bartenieff Fundamentals (BF), named for Irmgard Bartenieff. This perspective promotes awareness of movement to optimize function and expression. Bartenieff Fundamental Principles (BFPs) are specific concepts that support awareness to enhance and enrich our movement. BFPs are not movement themselves but rather motifs to focus attention on the process of moving or to explore the experience of moving in order to gain and deepen awareness of movements possibilities. What follows is an explanation of the Bartenieff Fundamental Principle of Dynamic Alignment
Defining the terms:
What is a Principle?
A principle is a foundational idea that serves as the foundation for a system (in this case the BF part of LBMS)
A principle is a concept that is a guide for action
What is Dynamic ?
characterized by constant change, activity, or progress
relating to forces producing motion
What is Alignment ?
arrangement in appropriate relative positions
a position of agreement or alliance
In LBMS the BFP of Dynamic Alignment focuses on the synergy
of the part/whole relationship of the form and function of our body. Dynamic Alignment supports fulfilling the
intent of our action. This principle recognizes that a change in a part creates a
change in the whole.
All the BFPs support movement awareness, and through awareness expanded movement
possibility.
The science of human physiology reveals how the body is an
interconnected system. And like the body itself, the Laban/Bartenieff system for
movement analysis is also structed around the interconnectedness of its parts. Therefore,
the BF Principle of Dynamic Alignment links to many other parts of the whole of
LBMS including the Theme of Mobility/Stability. And in turn this major
movement theme can be linked to other BF Principles such as Active Weight
Support and Shift and this implies how in different Patterns of Body
Organization the neuromuscular patterns of kinetic chains involved in our Body
Level Phrasing occur. Links can be
made also to the BF Rhythms and to activation through BF Connections.
All these other aspects of BF – Connections,
Rhythms and Patterns of Body Organization, are all more specific concepts linked to
specificity of action. These other parts
of the BF framework can also be addressed individually – perhaps in a later
blog post!
Dynamic Alignment recognizes the Space Harmony of
human design. This is primary addressed in looking to the skeletal structure of
our bony architecture. From this perspective it is often useful to look at the
triangles and arches in understanding the Mobile/Stable relationships of parts.
Some examples that illustrate the relationships of the architecture
of our bony landmarks to explore in movement:
The diamond that can be envisioned from the bony
landmarks of pubic symphysis, coccyx and greater trochanters of the femurs.
The triangle created from the landmarks of the calcaneus
(heel bone) and 1st and 5th
meta-tarsal bones of the foot on medial and lateral (big toe/little toe ) sides
The connection between sternum and occipital
portion of skull (back of head to breastbone ) – – as an oblique line useful in accessing the depth
of the Center of Levity of our upper body core and experiencing the head/upper spine
as a limb and also linked to the Spinal Pattern of Body Organization.
Accessing our body parts and envisioning them as we move supports
awareness of the Inner/Outer connection we
have as movers in our environment. And this Theme of Inner/Outer is
another major movement theme recognized in the system. This awareness of the
Inner/Outer continuum provides a way to map the body experience. And as we know
maps create a context to situate our experience by providing references. In LBMS Rudolf Laban famously mapped the
personal space of our movement. Likewise, his protégé Irmgard Bartenieff
provided ways to map the body’s organization. Together their work provides
movers access to a comprehensive reference map for the observation and
experience of human movement. This is the basis of the Laban/Bartenieff
Movement System.
There are countless examples that can be used to explore the
dynamism of our body’s part/whole synergy to awaken sensations and gain new
awareness of our movement potential through the content and container of our
moving form. It should also be noted
that while the focus in this post is on the Body Component of LBMS, the other movement components – Effort,
Space and Shape also
contribute to the experience of our human dynamism – – this perhaps can be food for a future blog
post…
Connecting is defined as: The action and intent of linking or joining 2 or more things – literally or figuratively.
The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System is a way to model or
map the phenomenon of human movement. Models and maps are useful, but they are NOT the phenomenon themselves. Models and maps are tools. Over time, the models and maps we use are updated, and tools are refined. This process of change is part of the large pattern of human evolution and development and includes the
process of continuing differentiation of the parts from the whole.
Always bear in mind that –
Movement is contextual
Movement is complex
Movement has intent (although not always about our conscious, or even unconscious intent, as a sneeze of course does serve a functional intent, but is not the same kind of intent as that of our actions of volition that movement analysis addresses.
The addition of Connecting to the list of Basic Body Actions under the LBMS Body Component is indicative of the ongoing development and evolution of the System. Part of this evolution is connected (!) to the recognition of parts that are not identified in the model (i.e. the LBMS taxonomy) or in making explicit what has been often implicit in how we frame what we observe through the lens of movement analysis. The addition of the Basic Body Action of Vocalizing is another example of this development. But in this blog post, I want only to address the action of Connecting.
It needs to be noted that, in the complex phenomenon of movement, many times there are simultaneous actions – such as rolling (Rotation) and Traveling. But in the case of a scenario in which these actions occur simultaneously, one (or the other) of these actions maybe the primary intent of the mover and that the other is rather a modifier of the main action. So, for example, I might be (1) engaged in the Basic Body Action of Rotation through rolling and this might result in my traveling through space. Or (2) it might be that Traveling (locomoting from one place to another) might be my primary intent and my action of rolling was simply one way of doing it. Or (3) that these two actions simultaneously might be fused and equally significant. Movement Analysis allows us to differentiate these 3 possibilities.
How do we connect? We connect through:
touch
gesture
sound
eye contact
proximity and facing
The Connecting Basic Body Action is often correlated with the Directional Movement and Shaping Modes of Shape Change because, like all Basic Body Actions, there is at some level a Body/Space Relationship. However, keep in mind that Connecting falls under the Body Component and that is what is being discussed here.
Let’s look at this action of Connecting from some examples:
I might, in some context, come into contact with a group of
people and go through the motion of shaking hands. However, Connecting may not be what is foregrounded in my experience and may not be my primary intent, but rather something that is peripherally occurring. I might be, in this situation, also facing these persons but not really making eye contact, although I can see them. Yet in another situation, I might have an active intent to connect as I engage in the actions of handshaking and making eye contact, and these can then be understood as actions of Connecting. The terms core and periphery can serve us
metaphorically in this understanding. In addition, we can look to the process and intent of the practice of Motif as we seek to address intent. Motif asks – what is the essence, what is significant? What is the primary action? In this way Motif allows us to better understand how actions convey or support the intent.
In another example of how we express the Basic Body Action
of Connecting, I might want to show my support for someone and so shift in space to be positioned next to them. I might not, in this example, make eye contact
or touch the person, but could have the intent of Connecting through the change
in spatial relationship. In this example and the prior examples of handshaking and making eye contact, the addition of the Basic Body Action of Connecting is linked also, to expanding the system to look not only at actions,
but also to address the concept of interactions.
In another example, I might connect to the handrail of a
staircase. This example comes from my personal experience with stairs, due to having had a serious fall down a flight of stairs. I now always seek to connect to the rail for support before traveling down a staircase. Someone else might not
need this action of connecting to the rail at all. But in my phrase of this
sequence of action, I begin with the action of Connecting before the action of
Traveling. Remember that Phrasing is how all movement occurs in creating meaningful sequences of actions. So, it is not a coincidence that the Phrasing Bow and the Basic Body Action of Connecting share the same form of the Bow arc shape of Motif. Phrases are, after all, based in connecting the parts into containers of action of a shared idea/intent.
Like many, many aspects of movement analysis there are
both macro and micro perspectives and macro and micro patterns involved in the
actions of connecting. LBMS continues to develop and evolve at both of these macro and micro levels. The users of the system are the refiners of this tool, as both pattern perceivers and pattern makers in the ongoing process of the development of our knowledge and understanding of human movement.
Rotation is both a body action and a larger meta concept (meta in the sense of beyond) constructed from the physical sensorial experience of rotation.
There is something inherently beautiful about rotation – spinning, twirling, spiraling twisting, turning,
rolling – Ferris Wheels, the Wheel of Fortune – The mind-boggling discovery
of the wheel!
Universal Pattern/Individual Experience
Rotation gives us access to the entire world around us. Rotation allows us to change perspectives and supports access to alternative possibilities. Rotation is a universal pattern of movement. The earth rotates on its axis and in its orbit, it revolves around the sun. Children love to spin turning around and around till dizzy. The ballerina, in pirouetting, sublimely expresses the wholeness of the theme of Mobility/Stability through her rotary action. The spatial Vertical Dimension aligned with the pull of gravity and the dancer’s vertical thoroughness are the stable center around which the mobile turning action is performed. This graceful action reflects both the celestial rotation of the heavenly bodies but also how humans indulge in this experience – the same action that the child relishes. And too, this same connection – that of the unique individual human experience to the universal pattern is also reflected in the Sufis whirling dance of devotion.
Rotation creates a circular pathway and the circle is an eternal form; it is endless, having no beginning or ending. The circle is harmonious, the circle creates a safe-haven. On the inside its center is stabile, creating a harmonious balance of inner and outer. In a circle, all points are equal. This is the idea of the Knights of the Round Table. The circle’s center can focus us by becoming the “center of attention”. Rotation connects us both to ourselves as well as to our environment. We “circle our wagons” or we get lost “running in circles” or we get stuck in place and simply “spin our wheels”.
The Shape of Space
To experience rotation is to experience space taking shape. One fundamental shape revealed through rotation is the screw shape form. You may recall that the screw along with the lever, pulley and inclined plane, is one of the basic “simple machines” (and keep in mind that the pulley relies on the wheel shape).
The circle in 3D becomes the sphere, the coil becomes the 3D vortex. A spiral or a twist can change everything or bring us round again. A “twister”, that is a tornado, can bring chaos and destruction. The “windup” can be a powerful preparation before the baseball pitcher releases the ball. The spiral twist of upper body against lower is the key to perfecting the golfers swing.
The Movement of Rotation
With our first full body rotation – when in infancy we turn over- the whole world changes, not only for ourselves providing a new perspective, but also for our caretakers as we are now mobile and will no longer stay put!
Rotation enables us to accommodate by allowing us to wrap ourselves or parts of ourselves around things. It is the cornerstone of our ability to move 3 dimensionally. It allows our form, our body’s shape to accommodate to our environment as we master wrapping our hands around tools or ourselves around another in an embrace.
Rotation is key to our survival as it allows us to scan the full view of our environment. And while we do not have the ability to twist our heads like an owl, we are able to, with access to our entire spine and joints of the pelvis and legs scan 360 degrees.
Our spines rotate, our proximal joints rotate, and embracing the fully rotary action we are endowed with through all our parts, liberates our movement potential. The elderly loose this function if they do not stay in touch with their joints mobility and such tasks as backing up a car where you must rotate head and spine to see become limited. Rotary actions often appear more fluid because they involve a harmonious phrasing of multiple joints, rather than the simpler single joint actions of flexion and extension and of abduction and adduction.
Rotation is connected to fluidity of motion. This link goes to the essence of the nature of fluids – a drop of water adopts a spherical shape. Water, in its fluid form, also adapts to the shape of a container. Shaping expresses a mutual relationship. So while water can take on the shape of a vessel containing it – it can also shapes its containers – think about how rivers shape the canyons through which they run, expressing a mutual relationship of the elements of earth and water, a merging of contents and container.
Experience Understanding Metaphor
Our experience of the body’s action(s) of rotation leads to the conceptual understanding of this phenomenon leading to metaphors based in the experience. An abundance of metaphors grow out of this movement experience.
Some images/ideas/metaphors to think of in relation to rotation:
Play – balls of all sorts in all manner
of sports!
Planets – the sun the moon as eternal
ongoing cyclic images
Cycles of all sorts from the cycle of life, and the daily and monthly cycles associated with the sun and the moon, to the traditional clock face with the “hands” cycling its “face”.
More Metaphors and the languaging based in the foundational experience
of this concept
“Roll with the punches” to address the larger idea of accommodation. Or descriptions of chaotic situations described as “spinning out of control”.
Rotating an image to get a different perspective or rotating around something to see it from differing points of view are common images. We say that we “turn” things over in our minds. The metaphor of “turning something over” conveys a means of smooth transition to the next phase or next person and provides continuity and continuation. Rotation therefore can be seen as an action in support of development and evolution.
We ask students to “turn in” their
papers or assignments.
We say that there was a good “turn
out” for an event.
We encourage children to “take turns”
The expression, “One good turn deserves another”
We talk about an unexpected “turn of events”
We express confusion as becoming “all turned around”
Use the expression, “Leave no stone unturned”
Refer to a new start as, “Turning things around”
The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System
links to the action and concept of Rotation
– a few of the links to the BESS components (Body, Effort, Space and
Shape)
Now let’s address the LBMS of Rotation – thinking about the connection between rotation in Bartenieff Fundamentals
and to the notion of Space Harmony – the body as spatially harmonic in form and function and a part of the Whole!
The concept of rotation from the perspective of the Body includes the anatomical action of joint rotation as well as
the more macro construct of, in LBMS terms, the Basic Body Action of
Rotation as well as the BFP – the Bartenieff Fundamental Principle of Rotary Support.
Rotation allows us to take in information from the environment (Body and Space) and then to engage, accommodate and to adapt as wanted or needed (Shape). This, in LBMS terms, is the way in which the action of rotation (both anatomical action as well as the more generalized Basic Body Action) supports the Mode ofShaping (Shape). And this connection of rotation to interaction in the environment also links this action to the Space Factor (Effort). Rotation allows us to get a new perspective, specific perspective and/or access a wide perspective. In this way,
rotation relates to the senses and Body Action that support Indirect and Direct
Space Effort, allowing us to scan our environment or to swivel to hone-in on something. Access to rotary motion also supports finding the full 3Dimensional volume and access to all zones and Directions of the Kinesphere (Space).
Rotation as expressed in both form and function is an aspect Space Harmony. This is well illustrated in the spiral shapes illustrating the Fibonacci sequence as can be found in the spiraled shape of a Nautilus shell. Rotary forms such as the spiral and the helix are also about an efficiency of Space. The form of chromosomes containing our genetic code in the DNA molecules are in the shape of double helixes, a form that allows a lot of information to be contained in a small space – expressing the efficiency of this rotational form.
Like the endless circle there is always more that can be expressed about the phenomena of rotation. And when in doubt one can always rotate!
** this document was initially written at the request of students in a movement analysis training program and was based on a class I taught in 2009 to that group. Most of these ideas /musings have subsequently been included in the text, EveryBody is a Body written by me with my WholeMovement collaborator Laura Cox.
Class notes for Karen Studd’s WholeMovement Class Session April 17th 2020
A WholeMovement approach to Bartenieff Fundamental’s
traditional “Heel Rock”(s) – starting from the basics and clarifying the
intent of this action. Then continuing to explore possible variations and
linking the action to BF Connections, BF Rhythms and BF Principles and the
Basic 6.
What is the “Heel Rock”?
I am (in this document and representing the WholeMovement
approach), defining this BF action as:
A repetitive, rhythmic, successive phrase of movement that is generally done through a lower to upper, successive, sequencing linked to
the foundational aspects of the human form. The action is standardly performed
from a lying supine position. Heel Rocks are based on, and stimulate, our foundational kinetic chains of action.
In other words, the BF Heel Rock (generally speaking), is a phrase of action that is initiated in the lower body and follows through the upper body, synergistically connecting parts to whole. Heel Rocks support and bring awareness to the efficient and harmonic patterns of our whole body’s innate postural actions (through limb/core differentiation and integration). It is linked to
our design – i.e. to stand and walk upright. (I stress “generally” as Heel Rocks can, and from my perspective should be, explored in many ways)
What is the idea of Heel Rock?
Why do it?
Why is it significant in the practice of BF?
The “Heel Rock” is used to explore and experience whole body
connectivity in order to:
prepare
recuperate
mobilize (activate through directing the internal
paths of our flow through our kinetic chains)
intervene (to support change or a shift in emphasis)
How and why it works
The Heel Rock is based in the Vertical Throughness of our
Axis of Length –
In the Space Harmony of our human design our length is
dominate. We are of course 3-Dimensional, but we have mostly length. We are taller than wide or deep. And our length (in our vertical upright stance)
is a foundational part of the pattern of our species design in relation to
gravity and to the environment. We are defined by our bilateral upright stance to interact with, and to locomote through, the world. The BF Heel Rock action is both based on, as well as supportive of the function and expression of our essential design.
To reiterate: The action of the Heel Rock supports Whole Body Connectivity through the Axis of Length. And awareness of our Axis of
Length is a Bartenieff Fundamental Principle.
The human Axis of Length is linked to our spinal column, and
as vertebrates the spine defines our midline. In addition, our spine is foundational to the Patterns of Body Organization, starting from the Spinal Pattern and linked to what BF identifies as the Head /Tail Connection. The spine, with its 2 ends (head end and tail end) is also the foundation of our Upper/ Lower aspects of Body and the Upper/Lower Pattern of Organization. And then subsequently the basis of the Body Half (Side/Side) Organization, because the spine as our postural midline, provides the structure to frame how the 2 sides are organized – toward /away from midline through the anatomical actions of adduction and abduction. Furthermore, the spine (and Axis of our Postural Length) is a significant aspect of Cross Lateral Patterning, where the midline (as demarcated by the spine) is crossed. And this culminating contralateral developmental pattern is linked to our walking pattern (and thus back to the essential function and form of our design: our upright stance and bipedal locomotion). This Cross Lateral Pattern is also linked to other ‘crossing the midline activities’ such as the corpus collosum bisecting the right and left sides of our brain…
Spinal design
There is a synergistic relationship of the spines parts
which we can experience in several ways.
One way is accessing the Rhythmic interplay between Skull
and Sacrum. This is what WholeMovement identifies as the Occipital/Sacral Rhythm.WholeMovement’s perspective of LBMS includes the Occipital/Sacral Rhythm as one of the 3 identified BF Rhythms – the other 2 are the Gleno-Humeral Rhythm and the Ilio-Femoral. ( I can talk about these in another context!) This is NOT the same rhythm as addressed in the Craniosacral Therapy – although of course may be linked to this work. In the Heel Rock action the spinal curves of the lumbar and cervical sections have a reciprocal, inverse response as the wave like action travels through the torso along the Axis of Length.
WM defines Rhythms as: foundational actions expressing
the Mobile/Stable, limb-core proportional relationships. (NB The spine in humans serves as both “limb” and “core” – core as the central midline and the container of the spinal cord content, but also because of the two
ends, head and tail, considered in another sense as limbs (2 of the 6 limbs we identify in core limb relationships.)
So in LBMS and more specifically the Bartenieff Fundamental
aspect of the system, “Heel Rock” is directly linked to these concepts of BF:
Principle – Axis of Length (one of
the BF Principles as explicated by WholeMovement)
Rhythm
– Occipital/Sacral (one of 3 BF Rhythms that WM identifies)
Connection
– Head-Tail
Pattern
of Body Organization – Spinal
In LBMS all the BESS Components are connected so now
let’s considering Heel Rocks in relation to all BESS Components
Heel Rock Link to ShapeComponent
Shape in Heel Rock can be addressed through the Convex/Concave relationship of the spinal curves and foundational spinal actions of our developmental progression and foundational postural actions. The Convex/Concave aspect of Shape, is a foundation of the Body Space intersection. It can also be viewed as the basis of our patterns of Basic Body Actions in postural Condensing and Expanding (Body Component) and the explication of the 3 dimensions of Space (Space Component). The length of our spine creating up-down, while dividing us bilaterally and creating side-sidedness and in the action of spinal flexion/extension exposing or protecting our “front” and “back” (anterior/posterior) surfaces, is the foundation of our relationship to the world. Remember that the Shape Component is, in essence, the Body Space relationship. So the 3 dimensions of Space as we define them come from the experience of relationship of our form’s design – in its function and expression in the environment.
Heel Rock Link to Basic 6
The link to the Basic 6 is in that it supports each of these actions as the Axis of Length is a support for all these actions. In addition, these actions can be also experienced by adding the “rock” into the Basic 6 actions themselves, and by bringing the foundational spinal action more dramatically into the awareness of the mover and supporting an emphasis on mobilization.
Heel Rock Link to Effort
The Heel Rock sets the stage for Effort to emerge as it
activates foundational Flowsensing and Weightsensing as precursors to Effort. The Heel Rock actions also sets the stage for time expression, due to its rhythmic nature.
Heel Rock Link to the Space Component
Access to Space starts from the expression of the Inner Space of the Body and directing the internal flow through the Innersphere. This then can be the beginning in defining our access to the Space of our Kinesphere in preparation to engage with the world around us. OF interest perhaps for some of you if we analyze the Space of the Heel Rock action it can be best understood as the Space of the Dodecahedral Sagittal Plan and not the Sagittal Plan that we associate with the Icosahedron. There is, as you may know, a dual relationship between the 2 forms – Dodecahedron and the Icosahedron. This relationship is something that in the WM approach we are beginning to explicate more fully in addressing the Body Space relationship of Space Harmony and the human form.
Why Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support (a Bartenieff Fundamental Principle ) are the key.
By K. Studd (2020)
Recently, in connecting to the students of an LBMS international training program, I encouraged the group to really continue to find how movement can help sustain them in these very challenging times. I said, in closing an email, “to keep moving and, in particular, to draw upon Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support.” One of the group’s members (P) asked why I singled out these 3 specific LBMS concepts in particular. Here is my reply:
In answer to your question, P – Well, several reasons –
First, because these 3 things are the baseline of all our movement, so the most basic foundational place to get in touch with ourselves. They can give us access to find our grounding, to find the capacity for both Mobility and Stability, and often also for active Exertion as well as passive Recuperation – NB we do not have to always activate to exert, of course, or become passive to recuperate, but these often go together and are built into the waking/active vs. sleeping/passive pattern of all animals. So, again, these activities are a baseline of Exertion and Recuperation balance.
Second, also remember that Flow is associated with empathy and with a universal life force that contains and connects us all. Whereas Weight is our own experience of ourselves in the world – self agency. So, finding this universal/individual aspect, too, is essential I think in such times.
Third, Breath helps us on so many levels. It links directly
to Flowsensing and all manifestations of Flow, and it also allows us (through
active awareness and sensation) to experience the ongoing connection between Inner and Outer. Breath is vital and has become such a sensitive image symptomatic of this pandemic. Our breath is something we take for granted. Generally, we experience that we will breathe with or without our awareness. But we can also modify how we breathe. We can choose how to breathe and use this capacity to actively breathe more fully or change its rhythm and phrasing. This makes breath a very unique part of the human movement equation.
So all of the 3, Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support
can serve us and do not require us to “do” too much, but rather connect us to a balance between our “being” and “doing” selves. Connecting to the thematic dualities and continuum of Inner/Outer, Exertion/Recuperation, Mobility/Stability, Universal/Individual, Being/Doing are an essential ingredient in continually finding balance and Wholeness.
