Sensations

Most of us are aware of our senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, seeing. What do you notice when you bring your awareness to these senses in your movement work?

What if you could sense more than your five senses?

Consider other senses such as:

Balance – generally, are you feeling in or out of balance in your life. You might think about your work/life balance, or balance in your personal relationships, or with your health. Are you easy thrown off-course when unexpected things happen, or are you able to take change in your stride? What supports you to feel balanced?

We can also think about bodily balance – being able to balance your body in space. Do you have a good sense of balance or do you feel the need of support?

Work through the dimensional directions on the Space page, locating all directions in space around your body. Locate your anatomical centre, breath into these directions in space always coming back to centre.

Movement – consider that movement in your body is a sense. How do you know your surroundings through the way you move? How do you know another through movement? How might you know your feelings, ideas, ambitions, fears and joy through movement. What kinds of movement are you experiencing – full bodied, gestures, sluggish, energetic, precise, or carefree?

 Warmth – consider your temperature. How does temperature affect your ability to move, work, rest? What happens when you feel uncomfortably too cold or too warm? How do you move differently, how do you respond to changes in temperature.

Life force – most of the time, we feel this sense when we are sick or when we feel depleted in some way we notice our ‘life force’ is weak.  What activities, thoughts, feelings support you in sensing your aliveness? Become aware of your heartbeat, your breath and your bodily senses. Which feel most present right now?

Language – do you speak more than one language? How do words enter your body, your living experience? Are you attuned to body language? Do notice other people’s body language, and your own? Do you write and read? Are you a confident or reluctant speaker? Are you a good listener? How do words shape your experience right now?

Thought – ideas and concepts. Do you notice yourself forming ideas from writing, speaking, reading, and listening to others? Do your thoughts have images, colour, sounds, shapes, feelings, energy, movement? How, in what ways? Can you describe them?

“I” – your sense of yourself. How do you talk to yourself – kindly, aggressively, encouragingly? How do sense yourself right now, alone? How about in a particular place, or in the company of others? Do you sense other people’s ‘selves’? What do you notice in yourself when you acknowledge others, for example do you behave or feel differently in different relationships – how? What are the various ‘selves’ you sense throughout your day?