Reflections - Movement Exploration Day 2

It was a cold, windy, rainy, summers day in south wales, grey clouds, gusts and heavy showers were presented to us by mother earth.. I was hit instantly by the energy of the sea, it was tempered, waves curling and crashing.. Then I was hit by the sounds created by such energy, the sound of the sea and the wind, roaring and howling, together creating a perfectly orchestrated sound..

Moving with explorations offered in 'The Dynamics of Flow: The Fluid System of the Body' Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (1993).

'The fluids can be explored through visualizing and sensing their presence and through feeling them in movement..' 'begin by opening and closing your hand..' 'Improvise with swing-like movement, rising and falling and rebounding..' 'produce sound with and/or from a free-flowing and loose quality' (Bainbridge Cohen: 1993).

I stood on the shore, feet sinking, melting down into the sand, into the earth.. The wind was blowing so strong I felt I could lean back and be supported by its force. Waves danced vigorously to my right side, whispering in my right ear.. The sand, the earth held firm on my left side and the sun pepping through the clouds in front of me; the wind blowing behind pushed me forward while the sun in front pulled me from my heart centre. The sound of the sea filling my right ear, entering the ear canals and travelling down into my belly, filling deep in my belly, filling and curling in my sacral chakra; the energy centre associated with the element water and colour orange..

My movement was more vigorous, less clam and peaceful to what it had been on day 1. The sea was clam on day 1 and therefore, perhaps so too were my fluids within? I believe that the seas energy today enhanced my fluid energy, this can be observed in the video documentation of the two explorations visit www.vimeo.co./lucindaalexstone and view 'The Shape of Water' Somatic Movement Exploration 1&2, or simply click the following link http://vimeo.com/26377179

Barry Island, The Vale of Glamorgan

The sea was also surprisingly warm, warmer than day 1 when it was still; energy creates heat, creates warmth.. My fluid system was in tune with the earths fluid, moving intuitively with its mood, feeling, sound, presence, energy...

'Water connects us to the rhythms of the natural world.. As we observe crashing of waves, tumbling waterfalls, or a drop of rain running down a pane of glass, our bodies respond' (Olsen 2002). I felt my body respond to the waters energy and the natural rhythms of the sea & cosmos today...

Dancing the Sun Out

As we left the seas side (my dear friend Diane accompanying me and being a wonderful camera woman) the cloud and rain cleared. The sun shone high in a clear blue sky as we sat bathing in its energy in Diane's garden and I said 'we danced the sun out...'

Reflective Writing: Movement Exploration Day 1

Heart Opening

Focusing on movement explorations offered in 'The Dynamics of Flow: The Fluid System of the Body' by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (1993), and the wonderful words & wisdom by Sandra Sabatini in 'breath the essence of yoga' (2000) I move in shallow sea water.

Heart opens to the world... seeing clearly inside myself, seeing clearness inside me... breath becomes shape and sudden, I gasp, as the cold waves touch my surface, I gasp and gasp. Sit bones going home to the earth, to the water...

Clean... still... pure... happy... peace...

The sun comes out from behind the clouds and begins to warm me, I no longer feel the cold in the water, my surface has moulded with its surface... Coming to stillness I hear and visualise rivers and waterfalls, oceans and ponds making the journey to and from my heart.

Complete stillness in all the movement... Completeness. Suns rays reflecting, shinning on the water like crystals. Beauty, this is beauty, the most beautiful experience... I'm glad you found me...

Went to a yoga class after my movement practice, we did some heart opening in class but it was in relaxation at the end that I had a really clear image, and strong sensation in my heart centre; heart chakra opening like the petals of a flower, gold & red, radiating out in four directions through my body.

Beginning a new project; 'we all begin and end in water'

My next project moves away from working with technology (see Butterfly Caught), well not entirely, as I'll use technology such as my blog, film footage, vimeo (etc) to record, share, document, receive feedback on the process. 'The Shape of Water' is a somatic movement exploration looking at the spiritual significance of water with relation to the fluids of the body. I'll be moving with my fluid system while moving in, around, with, close to water, outside in natural environments. 'Every cloud, tree, blade of grass, insect, and animal in view, as well as one's own body, is mostly water' (Olsen: 2002).