Allow for at least 30 minutes. Please wear comfortable, loose clothing and bring one piece of clothing that has a strong personal and emotional resonance for you.
You can experience this Somatic Act as a solo, duet or group. If experiencing it as a duet or group, you can witness the ´opening and closing journey´ below, of each other.
Begin already dressed
in your chosen piece
of clothing.
As you are ready,
begin standing
forming an X-shape
with your body.
The legs are in a wide
but comfortable base
with arms overhead
and extended in full length.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in an upward direction.
Picture yourself
as a blossoming flower
– opening and gathering warmth
into all your petals
along the front, back and sides
of the skin
from the sun.
Very slowly
move into making a small, contracted
O-shape
with your body
as your spine
and knees bend,
gathering your arms, legs,
and head in towards
your centre.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in a downward direction.
Picture yourself as a flower
closing itself at night
– protecting its nectar and pollen –
from dew and cold.
Gather in all your petals
as close to your stem as possible
to stay warm.
Allowing time…
As you are ready,
explore moving back and forth
very slowly
from this extended and open position
of the body in an X
to slowly moving into
this more contracted and closed position
of the body in an O.
In the X, your legs are in a wide
but comfortable base
with arms overhead
and extended in full length.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in an upward direction.
In the O-shape
spine
and knees bend,
as you gather arms, legs,
and head in towards
your centre.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in a downward direction.
Sensing this transformation
in your physicality,
X to O
to X
as you are journeying
from opening
to closing
to opening,
little by little
layer by layer
slowly.
Allowing time..
The blossoming
and closing
of a flower.
Creating connection
and differentiation
with yourself
and your environment.
Sensing the edges
of your body
meeting the edges
of the place
surrounding you –
touching air, earth, light
and the nearby ´things´
in your environment.
Allowing time…
As you continue this
essential journey
of opening and closing
with your whole body
inviting your attention
to ´sensing´
your breath,
skin,
tissues,
bones,
organs.
Inviting the eyes
to close, for a moment
As you are
sensing breathing
sensing skin
sensing tissues
sensing bones
sensing organs
As you travel in and out
of opening and closing
– X and O.
Allowing time…
Slowly,
broadening your
attention to
sensing how the touch
and movement
of your clothing shifts
as the physical form
of your body moves
from X to O.
Your clothing is touching
and moving
along your skin
and your skin is touching
and moving along
your clothing
in this opening
and closing
dance.
Allowing time…
As you are attending
to the touch sensation
a direct tactile meeting
in this present moment.
Noticing the texture,
weight,
pressure,
temperature,
of your clothing
against your skin
as you move…
Opening
closing
opening
closing
and breathing.
Allowing time…
And as you continue,
Allowing the eyes
to open
a little
layer
by layer.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in an upward direction
in the X shape.
Head and eyes
are slightly gazing
in a downward direction
in the O shape.
Allowing time…
Sensing the touch
and movement
of clothing against
your skin.
Attending to the tissues,
bones, organs, breath
in your dance
of opening and
closing.
Allowing time...
Slowly, from this place
of sensing
and breathing
and attending
to the substance
of your bodies
and the touch
of your clothing
begin inviting
a small window
of emotion
into the experience.
As you stay with sensation,
how does the simple
movement form of
an X or an O
enter into feeling with an emotional tone?
Noticing how it is to sense and feel
being in the form of an X
or the form of an O
and the transitional places
in between.
Allowing time…
As you are attending
to sensing into feeling
in your opening and closing
dance
returning again
and again to
sensing.
Your sense of touch
your chosen piece
of clothing are
anchoring you
to this present moment.
An invitation into
resting into substance
as you are
sensing feeling.
Allowing time…
As you a ready,
sharing your experiences
speaking, writing, or drawing
with or without a partner.
How was it to experience
and/or witness
this opening and closing journey?
How does the position
of the body in X or O ´feel´
to a participant and to a witness?
Notes: Reflections on Sensing into Feeling
Flowers open and close. Butterflies open and close their wings to fly. People open and close their legs to walk. Nature, as a sentient being, senses this process of opening and closing, responding to light, temperature, visiting insects, and more. How can you stay with sensing, as nature does, before entering the terrain of feeling?
The movement of opening and closing invites a particular direction and way you experience your feelings in your body. As qualities and orientations of movement, they define a living boundary, becoming a constant dialogue between your body, the chosen clothing, the things in the room, and the world around you. This dialogue creates a relational field, allowing you to differentiate your own being while remaining in connection to the clothing, to another body, or to the place. Through this subtle dance, you discover the threshold where self meets world.
By staying with the sensation first, in the physicality, attending to this living boundary, you can move into the place of feeling from an embodied position. This offers a sense of safety by welcoming feelings that arise from the substance of our bodies.