“There is something magical about the theater… because the actor’s gesturing animates my own body… which is precisely what is called ‘drama.’ The basis for this magic is the intentionality which links our body to the world … between actor and audience… the movement of transcendence that represents the expressive signification of the body.” Merleau-Ponty
Introduction
Are you at the edge of a next step, yet one that feels hard to take? Are you aware of a chronic pattern, one that seems hard to break? Today we are going to embark on a journey, an embodied journey from intention through blockage to expression. I have been experimenting over a number of years with integrating elements from embodied improvisation and drama work in my practice of Wholebody Focusing. It has opened new avenues in my own growth and development as well as presenting exciting and expanded possibilities for deepened engagement with clients and students. Since Focusing is all about facilitating direct experiencing and bodily knowing, why have we restricted the practice to mostly verbal symbolization and the connection of head to torso? Why do we practice mostly with eyes closed and in a sitting position, when this can be very restrictive, limiting and disconnected from the visual field with another? Are not the eyes our gateway to the soul? Do we not body forth our patterns and life-stances in interaction? We all experience internal theater of inner dramas and characters that “inhabit” our personal world. The dynamics of WBF oriented drama-work is to allow our internal theater to be “played out” in an interactive space with others.