Allow for at least 20 minutes. You will need a comfortable place to move and rest, and three winter heavy coats. The coats will be tied around the waist.
This Somatic Act can be done as a solo, duet, or group. If done as a duet or group, you can create a giant coat nest to rest in at the end.
Begin with eyes closed,
standing
with your three coats nearby
gently shifting your weight
from one foot
to the other.
Noticing the gentle transfer of weight
as one foot slowly rises from the floor
and the other sinks…
Allow your breath to soften
and begin to rest
inside your skin, tissues, organs, bones
as the rhythm of your movement
a simple sway from side to side
offers a settling or quieting
of any tension or thoughts.
Gradually noticing
how the movement of your feet
travels up to your pelvis…
If you would like you can
bring your hands
to rest on your hips
or at the tailbone or pubic bone,
listening and sensing
to the movement there
as you breathe
as you shift the weight
from one foot
to another.
Allowing time…
And then gently finding a pause...
Noticing how you experience
your feet and pelvis
in stillness…
And gradually opening the eyes
and begin dressing yourself
in your three heavy coats
one by one,
using the sleeves to tightly tie
them around your waist
near the pelvis.
Perhaps one coat is attached in front
and one is attached behind
for example,
making sure that they are securely
attached with the sleeves
creating a slight compression
at the waist
and a sense of weight
around the pelvis
as a whole.
Once dressed,
returning to closing your eyes,
noticing your breath
and shifting the weight
from one foot
to the other.
How do you sense
and experience your pelvis now?
Allow the movement of your feet
to take you somewhere
and the touch of your
coats
to begin to move you.
As the movement grows,
allow your eyes to open
keeping yourself safe enough
not to run into anything
in your nearby environment.
Allowing time...
And then finding a pause…
and sensing your pelvis
in stillness for a moment.
Closing your eyes again.
Slowly, one coat at a time,
begin undressing.
Sensing, when removed,
how the touch
of the coats – their weight,
compression, texture
perhaps remains with the felt sense
of our pelvis,
and perhaps
even our breath.
Pause...
Breathing in – breathing out
Shifting the weight again
from one foot
to another.
Allowing time to move a little, if you like,
with this after-touch resonance
from the coats.
Allowing time...
And returning to stillness
for a moment.
And then
returning to the felt sense – the tactile and kinesthetic memory -
of wearing the coats,
as if they were still on the body.
The coats attached firmly around your waist
creating a bit of compression
adding heavy weight around the
pelvis
and possibly being sensed
all the way down
to the feet.
As the coats return to touching you,
acting as an invisible costume
allowing yourself to follow
any movement or stillness
that arises.
Allowing time…
And then finding a moment
to pause…
returning to the simple
rhythm and weight shifts of the feet
one foot slowly rises
as the other slowly sinks
further into the floor.
Gradually, gathering the coats
creating a nest on the floor
with them
to rest and lie in
for a few moments.
Closing the eyes
and sensing the rise
and fall
of the breath
held by the touch
of coats.
Allowing time...