A Letter to the Boulder BodyMantra Community

FEBRUARY 21, 2016

An important follow up with my much-beloved Boulder BodyMantra Community:

My deepest gratitude to all of you that were in class yesterday morning, attending to a very important conversation about the continuing growth and preservation of this practice called BodyMantra.

For those of you that weren’t with us:
I spoke to the group about the core intention of BodyMantra … that we are here to listen consistently for the voice of the soul as we move the body, to stay in contact with our innermost guidance and wisdom, even (and especially!) when we are in contact with others.

What has been developing on the dance floor over the last few months that is distracting from this primary focus and affecting the safety in the room is … Contact Improv.

Simply put, BodyMantra is not a practice ground for this form.

CI is a wonderful body of work. It teaches powerful principles. We are lucky that Boulder has a rich Contact Improv community for you to tap into if you wish to explore this body of work.

However, when movements become acrobatic and about the “physics of movement,” you have moved away from the practice of BodyMantra.

Does this mean that you can’t be in contact with people in BodyMantra? Not at all.

BodyMantra is absolutely about exploring relationship – with ourselves and with others. There are valuable and essential experiences of contact in BodyMantra that I have no wish to disperse. Experiences of leaning in and sharing weight that are inclusive of the whole, keeping each person close to their own internal compass, and contributing to the safety of the room.

However, the way we approach relationship and physical contact in this practice is quite different than how it is explored in the world of CI.

Yesterday, we opened a dialogue about this and I invite you to join in.

Speak your questions. Tenderness. Fears. Relief. Confusion. Some people have already wondered:

Do you want me to get smaller? Did I get too big?
Absolutely not. AND, as we all get bigger, we have to be aware about how that fits into the Whole.

Should I not lean into another person?
Please, lean in. It’s what you do with that leaning that matters. Are you becoming acrobatic or focused on playing with gravity? You have now left the practice of BodyMantra.

How can I make contact with others in a meaningful way that doesn’t head into the world of CI?
Let’s please explore this together.

What are the “rules” for contact in BodyMantra?
There is no checklist. However, when the focus moves away from connection to your inner voice, and/or when the physics of movement becomes the highlight, you have left the BodyMantra practice.

Also, when you have become focused on complex contact with one other person to a degree that you have lost track of the whole room or are unaware of how your movements are affecting others, you have left the BodyMantra practice.

As I have always said:
The reason this community has remained healthy for over 13 years is that we have these discussions. We speak about how we can grow together – within the container that I hold as BodyMantra.

Thank you for your insights into this conversation. The wisdom flowing from yesterday’s discussion is profound. And necessary. Let’s keep it going.

 

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