Rehearsal 4: gaze, liquid body, moulding, reconfiguring

Rehearsal TL, 13/01/21, Studio 11

Review myofascial tracks.

Score 1: consciously go from one track to the other

I notice various sense of being and expressive potential in moving with different tracks. 

For example I am more used to engage the deeper front and back arm line. When I engage the superficial one, my gaze changes. I feel more externally present in the space. Rather than internal focus. My chest opens. I feel a sense of strength, confidence and pride.

Deep arm lines: more connected to thumb and pinky finger that would lead on movement on a transverse plane (or table plane).

Question : if I engage one end of the line, does it activate the rest of the track?

Trial with flexing toes to engage the superficial front line (SFL). I feel an instant engagement of my core, abdominal muscles, so there does seem to be a link

But the other way around doesn’t seem to work equally : flexing the trunk doesn’t feel I am engaging my toe extensors. Limitation to the findings: I assume that my dance training may play a role in it, and can also condition and inhibit body mechanics in various ways.

The eversion of my right ankle is limited due to an old injury. It has an impact on the lateral right line and the spiral line: it is harder to twist and abduct the leg on the right side.

When putting an extra awareness on eversion and on the stability of the outer leg then it is easier to twist.

I may want to look into the clinical applications of this.

Score 2:  Moving with the image that fascia is a big skin enveloping the liquid body. Referring to Body Mind Centering (BMC) that considers fascia as part of the fluid system.

Outcome: Quality of floating. Indirect light sustained movements. The body is less segmented with hard and bidirectional bony structure.

Score 3: Mould and adapt, trial with an object/obstacle, a stool

Use of contact improvisation skills: meeting the environment. Sense of flowing through like water rather than being stopped by the angularity of the stool and its solid rough angles.

Changes in tonicity: change from back line to front line to lateral line (rolling)

I often need a strong anchoring point (earth or stool) to be able to move from or slide from.

Score 4:  moving only the feet and let the whole body ripple or react. Inspired the body has ‘one muscle’ (Gil Hedley)

Outcomes: Moving the toes moves the whole body.

Slide and bring different surfaces of the foot in contact with the floor.

Locating the feet in the 3 dimensional sphere makes the whole body readjust, reorganise and move around the structure that is the focus. Often the head and torso are reacting, swaying.

It reminds me of the fluidity of movement and attention between either moving from the articulation or moving the body part in space allowing other structures to support: single point of contact practiced in CI.