Hope Beneath Our Feet_ Restoring Our Place in the Natural World - Martin Keogh [71]
When we recognize the somatic opportunity in earthwork, we move more slowly and deliberately, checking for proper alignment and breath patterns, and we heed our body’s requests for a break. By treating our human bodies kindly and humanely, by dancing and telling stories in the garden much like our ancestors have always done, the line is blurred between work and play, between action and activism, between life and art. Over the last few years, I have facilitated many earthwork and building projects that integrate dance, song, bodywork, rest, and play into the worksite and program, with results that are both empowering and fun. (Check out http://bcollective.org/gaia/output5/)
Here I am suggesting that we view embodied arts though a holistic lens. Ours is no armchair movement. We cannot simply sit back while someone else does the “dirty work” for us. To create ecological habitats, we will need to rid ourselves of the outdated stigmas attached to manual labor, and welcome the sweat on our brow. Thriving, sustainable villages and gardens will not build themselves. Only healthy, vital bodies and communities working cooperatively can achieve the vitality we seek.
The arts are designed and destined to move beyond the bamboo-floored yoga studio or velvet-cushioned theater, where they can be put to practical use—out of doors—in our everyday lives. In true egalitarian fashion, the arts have always offered anyone (not just professionals) who practices them deep understanding of earth’s grand cycles and strength of community. The good news is that these tools are still there. All we need do is use them.
The Ecology of the Body
Recent research in biology has shown that every time we take a breath, a billion electrochemical reactions occur within our bodies, a billion cells are born, and a billion die. This information reveals that the inner ecology of the body mirrors the greater ecology. Our modern sciences have now provided evidence confirming what indigenous cultures have always known: that universal and ecological patterns are right here, beneath our skin, and beneath the soil-skin of the earth. These ecosomatic patterns can be experienced and perceived directly through embodied arts practices.
It is imperative at this time to invest in the soft technologies—the skills, stories, and arts that connect Earth, Body, and Community. As they have always done, the Arts are helping us to create the respectful, cooperative, sustainable cultures of the future, and thus they ought to be widely adopted as best practices, especially among activists. And as a pleasant side effect, our lives will include more play and more celebration as we become, once again, indigenous to the places we live. As Dr. King once said: even if I knew that the world would go to pieces tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Hanna, Thomas. Somatics: Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility and Health. 1995. New York: Dacapo Press.
Hartley, Linda. Wisdom of the Body Moving: An Introduction to Body-Mind Centering. 1995. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Zaporah, Ruth. Action Theater: The Improvisation of Presence. 1995. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
The Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education Web site www.feldenkrais.com/method/the_feldenkrais_method_of_somatic_education/
The Open ATM Project (Awareness Through Movement), free Feldenkrais exercises for download: www-ccs.ucsd.edu/~falk/openatm/
Feldenkrais Exercises from the University of Utah Somatics and Human