MY BODY CARTOGRAPHY
I can’t strengthen a muscle dynamically if my goal is to limit, reject or make invisible the part I need to move. If I hold tension in the muscle, fascia and skin, I’m going to speak and move with that tension. It’s about learning a new way of movement. It’s about inhibiting the movement that’s already engraved on me to give myself more choices. It’s about a pause; an internal preparation of movement. In this Pilates-based series, we will investigate a specific body part which is involved in personal, social, cultural narratives by using body parts to create a portfolio for exploration and movement. The goal is not to build muscle and tension, but to release it.
CONNECTIONS
A cartography is a map, not just of places but of connections, of movement. Today is an opportunity to put what you’ve explored so far into practice. Notice how your body parts connect. Notice where you may be holding or blocking connections. And then how you connect to the outside world. Allow yourself to schmooze with the floor, yielding into the earth in order to reach out. Remember we can connect in many ways. We can distance ourselves or we can take ownership of what we say, do, feel. It’s always fluid. It’s always available. You’ve just got to find the pathway there.