Click on the image to make it larger.- We begin in a cellular stage, moving in a fluid body. We explored the boundary of our physical selves, our skin and imagined a permeable membrane. In this part of class, we explored asymmetrical movement.
- Next, we explored radial symmetry with the starfish. We allowed the mind and mouth to exist in the center of the body and made connections between our limbs and our centers.
- From there, our ancestors mouths to migrated in one direction while elimination moved in the opposite direction. Exploring with our mouths and throats, we felt a hollowing within our inner channel.
- Finally, we explored our head/tail connection. We sat and swam upstream noticing the feeling of the wavelike fluidity of our spines.
What did you experience in this class? What images were most vibrant physically? What movement patterns were more difficult to access? How does this information change your relationship with your body if at all? Where was your mind during this class?
*As we work with these images, please remember to honor your body in whichever way it needs to move or not move.
28 comments:
I found that more complex creatures are easier for me to visualize and emulate. I connected most easily with the fish and starfish. I found the swimming motion soothing and refreshing. in the case of the cell and sponge, I had much difficulty connecting to the essence of the creature. I found it difficult to forget my own form and replace it with another as different and simple as a cell. I look foreward to continuing on to more complex structures.
Jessica Mairi Holtzner
Initially, it was difficult for me to "become" an ameba. How exactly does a single celled organism conduct itself, move and interact with its environment? During this stage of development, I was fairly motionless, mostly because I've never been in this type of scenario. As a child, cats were my preferred animal to imitate—somehow "playing ameba" just doesn't sound quite as fun, however it did stretch my creativity today.
My favorite part of the evolutionary process was becoming a fish. When we were instructed to push through the strong current, guiding out heads upward and upstream, I experienced a sensation of weight above me. Perhaps it was merely gravity pulling my head down, but it truly felt as if something (in this case, the force of the water) was pressing down upon me, resisting my every motion. In this moment, I had a flashback of an elementary school field trip to the Ballard Locks, where all of the fish were simultaneously struggling up the fish ladder, desperately foraging seaward.
-C.McCoy
At the start of this exercise, it was hard for me to clear my mind and concentrate on visualizing what I was hearing. But I was able to feel the warmth of the fluid and started to gain a connection when we were focusing on our skin. The hardest pattern for me to visualized was the starfish, it was uncomfortable for me to lie like that, thus make it hard for me to visualize being a star fish and my relationship to my surroundings. The most vibrant imagery I had was when we were noticing the connection between our tail and head. Being a pisces myself, I felt like I was able to really trancend into the body of the fish. I enjoyed the swimming movement and really was able to gain the most connection with my body.
After class, I felt alot more in tune with my body and my height. I felt how everything was connected through my core like in the starfish exercise and felt more in control throughout the day.
--Kristen Shapton--
I enjoyed today’s activity, especially becoming a fish. At first it was also hard for me to imagine myself as a single cell, even though we all evolved from a very single cell. I had thought about this many times before in my biology classes, but it was still hard for me to imagine and also to bring my attention to my body, since it was at the beginning of class. Becoming a starfish or a fish was a lot easier. I could truly feel like I was a fish today. I felt like I was smoothly swimming upstream in an ocean. I felt the water against my body and the waves that went up and down. I have a hard time putting it into words, but overall I liked being a fish today. It was very relaxing for me, and at a certain point I didn’t feel like I have arms and legs like a human being. Out of all the activities we have done so far, I was able to connect to my body the most today. I was able to stop my mind from telling me stories, and just think about my body, and what it would be like if I was a gold fish swimming in the sea or a starfish on the ground. I am really looking forward to Thursday and the rest of this activity!
Sahar Z.
We began our class today as normal, with everyone lying on the floor. The music was familiar, the floor was it's usual hardness. Once we began the exercise however, the environment seemed to change drastically for me. With my eyes closed, envisioning myself as a single celled organism moving in an underwater world, I experienced the blueness of the water. Cells are made up almost entirely of water, and this thought caused me to believe that my body was a blue single celled organism that was separated from the water only by a single membrane. We listened to a familiar song, but soon the music changed as if a new tone was added which mimiced sounds of underwater life. I could feel my body moving delicately as it sensed the viscosity of the underwater environment. My body felt comforted but curious and adventurous. I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of being a single celled organism, it was my favorite part of the exercise. When we were told to imagine ourselves as a single-celled organism, I was honestly shocked, it just seemed like such a brilliant idea to imagine oneself as such a simple but alive organism. It was refreshing!
-Hanalore Alupay
I really enjoyed today’s class. The sound of Louis’s voice and the sound of the music really helped me relax. I felt like the water was really rushing over all of my body. The most vibrant part for me was when we had to press out our limbs like a starfish. It felt great to stretch but it was also nice to connect with the floor beneath me. The part of the exercise that was more difficult for me was the part about being a fish and fighting against the water. It was hard for me to visualize being a fish. Either way, I liked the fact that we were being guided by the story but the movement was all up to us.
-Jasmine Boado
Refreshing
Cooling
Freeing
Loose
Push
Pull
Explore
Navigate the space
Open
Close
Undulate
The concept of our skin as a permeable membrane resonated with me and I felt a heightened awareness of sensation throughout the day. I observed my skin absorb, and release; so vitally present with the environment.
Thinking of our bodies as fluid organisms brings recognition to the necessity of movement in one’s life. As liquid forms, to move is our natural state of being. By intentionally moving, exploring spaces and places through one’s body ignites our physical potential.
The visualization was a delight; I loved being submerged in the water. I left class with an intense craving to be in the water. It has been a long time since I’ve swam…maybe I’ll check out the IMA to satisfy the desire to be weightless.
-Lindsey Goldberg
First we were a single cell. This was the hardest stage for me. It was difficult for me to imagine what a single celled organism was like. How did they move? I know it was a 'fluid movement,' but what exactly is that? I also think I was moving too quickly. I couldn't find a smooth, slow pace to move. I was either moving my limbs around, or completely still. Even when adjusting my body slightly, I moved sharply. I felt a lot more comfortable when we 'evolved' a bit more.
Next we were starfish (though technically 'sea stars' as they're not fish at all). This X position reminded me a lot of some of my favorite modern dance classes I've taken. My favorite exercise of this part was moving one limb completely across my body until it turns me over. It was fun and it felt good to my body. I just wish I would have had more space to move bigger - I had a person on either side of me which limited my range of motion.
Moving into the distinction in areas of the body between our mouths and elimination was interesting. I could really feel the differences between the two - but it was like I truly was discovering just how separate the two were for the first time. Yet at the same time, I realized just how connected they are, like through a tube. I know that in our human bodies there is a whole lot more going on between these two parts but essentially, it still is like one big tube.
The last stage we practiced was my favorite. I really enjoyed being like a fish. Swimming upstream was so much fun - I felt like a kid again! It was different but cool to initiate my movement with my head and feel my spine ripple down to my tail.
It was a fun experience and I can't wait to continue on Thursday!
-Lauren Cook
At the end of the exercise, I was not ready to speak. I didn't feel like words would serve me at that moment. I think I also felt really vulnerable with what had arisen. I felt like I had sort of leapt away from the narratives and reality that I cling to. In this way, the process was liberating. At moments, I felt myself as a salmon, and as algae. Visualizing these various aspects of nature, those beyond our human identity, was powerful. Additionally, engaging the body by motioning through the reality of cellular stages allowed me to develop a visceral connection with the material. I realize as I write this, that the activity was somatic. The work required imagination and intellect by allowing the mind to wrap around images and sensations that lie outside of our normal reality. The work also required migration from the mind into the body to allow it to freely experience the spine and a horizontal reality. Evolution is an idea that I fell in love with immediately. I love the image that it evokes inside me as I feel my human self fold away into deeper layers of my animal and vegetable selves. Thank you for showing the fish in us! ++aa roesch-knapp
I most connected to the idea of the single celled organism and the image that our bodies were almost completely fluid and our skin was impermeable. I did not really have a movement experience but I was transported into another form of being and consciousness that was very relaxing and centering. It was hard for me to stay in this state of bliss and sensing when I was being prompted to move. When I did move I felt sensations on my skin that did not match what my inner self was experiencing. Although I enjoyed all of the evolutionary steps that we made during the course of the class, I really wanted to stay with one at a time and really explore. (Even though I know the class time does not allow for this luxury). The starfish experience was wonderful because I related my body shape with his and the fish swimming was a wonderful way to feel the connection and fluidity of my spine.
I understand the intent behind speaking with a partner at the end, but I was feeling very internalized and it took a lot of effort to just pop out of it. I wanted to sit and process on my own for a little while first, but again we are working with very short amounts of time. I did find it interesting to hear though that what I connected to the most was the opposite of my partner.
It is remarkable to think that we, of the human species, evolved from tiny microscopic creatures. We started off submerged in liquid for a period of 36 weeks and everyone lived and breathed in the water during their lifetime. More than half of our body consisted of liquid. As we rested with our body leveled to the ground, we were left at a state of peace. Due to the chaos an individual endured in their daily lives, people tended to lay and sleep right away.
Yesterday, in class, I remembered how peaceful it was to connect with my body internally. I was captivated with the beats that my heart emitted every second. As my heart beat, my blood flowed to every organ to keep me breathing and functioning properly.
I felt my blood racing through my brain and veins whilst being protected by the outer core of my skin. As I explored the movements in my body, I turned clockwise and felt the heat on my back. It was caused from the pressure of my body pressed against the floor.
I felt hypnotized, as if I was in a trance, when I was lying on the floor. Mentally, I turned into a creature that I once was, swimming upwards and feeling the current pushed against my head. By feeling the breeze from the air duct as a stream of water trickled down my ears, I thought of a baby salmon. Rushing from the river into an open ocean of many wonders, I felt fluid rush from the top of my head down to my spine.
For the first time, I controlled my heart beats. As I swam against the current, my heart started beating faster. My mind was free and relaxed. My body, internally, is so powerful: a place I have never explored before. It felt as if I internally explored and saw all my body parts from my blood cells. I felt connected and in a state that I would have never encountered anywhere else.
While were were experiencing the feeling of being a single cell I really felt like I had been transported to another realm. All of class seemed to have this particular effect on me. I loved the feeling of such fluidity the description of simply being suspended in water and moving with the current, nothing of the body having prominent control just an entire being present. Very poetic
As we shifted into the starfish feeling I do admit that this one was a little difficult. I really tried but I guess when I started to think about where my mouth was and how it was all centrally located I found my mind contradicting what I was trying to think. The radial sensations that we were suppose to experience during this exercise did not hve a hindered effect however, I still was able to observe the idea of my limbs stretching from my core but I don't think I was able to grasp the whole concept while my mouth was still stubbornly sticking to its current location.
The head to tail connection was amazing I dont think I have ever been so present in my body to really feel and observe how even the slightest movement will ripple down the spine. I have experienced other exercises that focus on spinal work but the fact that I was able to identify it so clearly was amazing. I especially enjoyed when we were sitting in class and only making small movements with our heads because even then I was able to feel the connection through my entire spine.
I almost felt after class that the state I was in (with reference to mind and body) was where I wanted to be for authentic movement...I didn't really mind the voice telling me how to feel just as instructions that were simply carried out with no weighted authority, just present. I really enjoyed this experience.
This was a fantastic experience. I loved the deep relaxation component, just what I needed on Tuesday. I discovered a couple of new and unique things. First, there were two occassions during the guided meditation that I saw/perceived to see light. One was a blue light in the lower left hand corner of my eyes toward the beginning of the exercise and the other was a bright/white light about midway through the exercise in the center of my eyes. I have never experienced this before and have no idea what it means but it was a peaceful and enjoyable experience.
Secondly, when Louis talked about moving your right arm across your body and using it to guide your movements, I was successful in doing this for both arms and both legs. In other classes, mostly modern technique classes, I've done this and never was completely successful in truly leading with that one limb. Now I know how this feels and I practiced it again on Wed just to keep the feeling in my body.
Finally, I love any analogies relating to water - I can relate well to them and the comparisons Louis made with our bodies being the same composition of bodies of water hit home with me. The sounds of the ocean were also very soothing.
There was a brief (I think brief) moment where I was in sort of like a dreamlike state and Louis's voice was really distant. I think that has been the most relaxed. yet awake state I've experienced in the class so far.
I look forward to doing more of this on Thursday. I was especially glad that we got to share our experience with a partner before the conclusion of the class so I didn't forget these moments. My partner and I had similar experiences, especially relating to the arm/leg initiation movement and the continual comforting feeling of being in water.
I smiled when you mentioned that our body is full of water. Of course, this is something that I’ve always known, but since I got sick a few days ago, I have pretty much consumed nothing but water, so I took this statement literally.
In the beginning, this exercise actually caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting to become a single cell organism or an amoeba or a blob, so I spent a few minutes laying still and absorbing everything that you were saying. After I got comfortable, I had fun imagining that I was one of those things. I even started picturing what those organisms look like and recalling images that I have seen of those creatures, either on TV (Discovery Channel) or from back when I was in junior high and had to look at them under a microscope. I also enjoyed the starfish exercise. Being in an X position was surprisingly very relaxing, and I really got into the whole imagining that my mouth was on my abdomen. The most difficult part of the class for me was the fish exercise. For some reason, I had a hard time moving my head and upper body like a fish. I couldn’t get it right, even until the very end!
- Felicia Widjaja
I loved being a single celled organism, freely moving with my oceanic environment. That is a meditation I hope to keep for years to come. I felt so wonderfully relaxed and peaceful, not fighting anything, simply taking in my nutrients and releasing my excess. Feeling the connection between my diagonal extremeties was also a powerful experience. We talk so much about how our solar plexus is the center of our body, but this connection between limbs gave this meditation more power (made it more identifiable or real). Lastly, sitting upright and feeling the water pour down over my head was fantastic. I could feel the resistance of my environment, but was also impressed by how well I could "cut" through the space and how beautifully by spine, all the way down to my tail, waved with the tiniest motion of my head. My body is superbly synchronized, harmonious, and capable. - Suzanne Wilson
Well I came into this class very tired. My body didn't really want to move at all. I stayed with the class most of the time imagining what Louis was describing in my head. My body made very small movements. The lighting and the music made me feel very relaxed. I just kept imagining myself in these environment and at some point I dozed off. I thought this was a little strange for me because normally it is so hard for me to fall asleep even when I have danced all day and worked all night! It usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to relax enough to go to sleep. In this class it was like I was there one minute and completely out the next. When I woke up everyone else was sitting up with a partner and discussing their experiences. I felt confused because I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. However, I felt so refreshed and good when I woke up. I'm not sure I gained the experience that Louis had hoped for everyone to gain, but my body was happy with my experience.
*Kali
This was a very interesting experience. Through the first few evolutionary steps, I did feel rather primitive mostly due to the fact that we each had a limited amount of space and couldn’t really move around. I would have liked to explore these movement patterns a little more while actually…well, moving; but these organisms probably were limited, as well. The radial symmetry stood out the most for me. I felt my belly open up as my mouth, but it was really hard for me to imagine that my brain was also at my center – mostly because I couldn’t shut it up. I found my experience as a fish very fascinating; it was amazing how such a little movement of the head rippled down all the way down and had such a great affect on the tail. At first, it was difficult for me to let go of my human tendencies, but once I stopped thinking like a person, the whole exercise was much more effective, meaningful, and enjoyable.
~Marcee Wickline
The beginning steps of eveolution were interesting, and awkward. There was so little opportunity for movement that i was forced to recognize the small internal movements of blood flow, breathing, soreness, and digestion. When we did begin to move, as a starfish and then again as a swimming fish, it felt srange. Although I loved to gain the freedom of movement it was useful to think about how any creatures on earth don't "move" in ways that we would classify as movement. The rippling movement of the fish was fun to try to master. In daily life, I dont use this pattern of movement, left to right, rippling motion, extending from head to tail. The rythm was hard to keep but also made me feel free.
-jessica j
In class on Tuesday my body was really restless. While we were being single-celled organisms I felt my body wanting to move or my cell wanting to protrude in all directions. I liked the sound of the ocean and imaging that I was floating in the waves, moving as they moved. However, I feel that it would have been a much more relaxing experience if my body was not so restless.
I found it particularly hard to be a starfish. While it is easier to visualize myself as a starfish, it was harder to feel like one in my body. It was especially difficult to imagine my brain and mouth in my center, as well as make the head to tail connection since I do not see myself as having a tail even though the bone is still present in my body. I feel it was also difficult to be so limited in my movement. I have seen starfish before and they never seem to move very much and if they do move, their movements are slow, and this image was portrayed in my body when I imagined that I was one.
What I enjoyed the most about this class was being a fish. I was amazed to feel how natural it felt to swim through the current, leading with my head and simply allowing my body to follow. I felt like I could actually swim really well in this manner even though I know that I am not a very good swimmer in actuality. It was just very interesting to me that I felt so much more comfortable being a fish than an amoeba or starfish. ~ Miranda Schmidt
It almost seemed surreal when we were going through evolution in class. At first I struggled slightly with making sure that my mind didn’t wander, but as the activity progressed it became more and more interesting. It was so strange to start out as nothing bigger than an amoeba, with no head or intelligent thought. It was oddly nice to just be something, without having to do anything else. However, my favorite part of the entire exercise was when we were floating through the water. For some reason it just seemed so real and so easy. It was also very peaceful just to let my body sway slightly back and forth. It also seemed slightly uncomfortable to be a fish when we were on our hands and knees, however when we were lying on the floor it was surprisingly easy to imagine myself in that state.
-Emily Stromme
Unluckily, I wasn’t able to attend the class today because I had an appointment with my doctor. However, I did experience the class on Thursday which I may conclude that the concept was quite similar while the action was different. However, after I read about the exploration of the movement on Tuesday class, I feel like I have to use a lot of imagination in my movement as well as to concentrate on my movement. This might not be an easy part as a first time trying this kind of experiences, but I think I would be such a helpful method to relax and do whatever my imagination told me.
Pitchaya N.
After Tuesday's class, I started undilating my head as I walked home in the dark. That experience made me think that things I learn in biology and really any hard science classes, can be applied to our lives in from a different approach. The spirituality with which Louis guided us was unfamiliar in that context. During the class hour, I was delighted to be recalling past knowledge, surprised in the way it was presented. Swimming like some ancient ancestoral fish made me giggle.
-Eugenia Prezhdo
It was very hard for me to feel like I am a single cell. I felt really limited and couldn't do much. It got better as the animals evolved and got to the fish. The music that was playing and the words that were being read were very effective.I felt just like a fish swimming in a sea. I could feel the waves against my body. I felt my body moving smoothly through the water and into the waves. The feeling was amazing and very relxing. The sounds of waves and the way music changed as we evolved matched everything. It felt good to be out of everyday life and become a fish for a couple of minutes! :)
~Afsoon Fazeli
Frankly, it was quite an extra-ordinary experience. It is not very often (err never...) that I try to imagine myself as a single cell or amoeba creature (as compared to a bird, monkey, or a dog). Visualizing myself like a amoeba was easy, however simulating its movement - very hard. It seems so much fun (in imagination) to wiggle your body without the sense of direction. Its just that it is awefully hard to wiggle (while laying down on the floor too!). Being a starfish was relatively straightforward, except everything being concentrated on the center. It was like an oscillatory struggle with mind to concentrate itself as being in the center and then pop up again at the top. Connecting it with limbs did help to keep the mind in the center (although for a short time). Being a fish was kind of cool. While moving my head/neck I could see the decaying waves move my spine. The most vivid part was imagining water flowing downwards and swimming against it. I think it was because majority of the time, water does flow downwards (rain/river/fall/shower). I liked the session since it causes (whenever I am thinking about it) me to think way out of the box.
Tuesday we started an evolution journey. We started class listening to the ocean audio. Louis gave us a narrative to follow through our evolutionary path. We started as single cell organisms on the ocean. Being full of fluid and moving with the currents. This reminded me of the feeling I had when I “flew” in Jamie’s class last quarter. Jamie had 10 of the students hold up and move around one student who had their eyes closed and was completely relaxed. At one point when I was rolling in the waves, I felt sea sick and had to stop for a moment.
I enjoyed feeling the radial cemetery of my limbs as the starfish. It was easy to imagine my mouth on my stomach, but not my brain.
The sea cucumber was the next stage. Where we moved in waves initiated from our pelvis.
Next we where fish initiating movement from our heads. It was very easy for me to lead with my pelvis, but not with my head. As we moved faster to get food, or away from predators, I could tell that I wasn’t going to survive that stage of evolution. There would be moments when I got it and I really felt like a fish who could actually propel myself though water, but then just as fast as it came it would leave me and I’d be just wiggling.
-Sandra Viall
This journey along evolution trail is a new way to discover the teachings of evolution. I have never been interested in science, but learning science through dance makes it more memorable. I found myself struggling with imagining myself as an ape the most. Even though this is the closest to a human, it made me feel the most rediculous. I kept feeling like a crazy human, instead of embracing my apeness.
I could most imagine myself a fish. I like to swim and I often imagine myself a fish when swimming. I took this feeling and applied it to my dance. The class was enlightening.
Tuesday was a very interesting evolutionary learning day for me. I found I feel most at home when I am a single cell floating in the water. The movement of the ocean is peaceful, so subtle that only I could feel it. I had not ever felt my connection with water as much as I did here. I felt like my body/mind/spirit was not confined by my skin but it as everywhere, in everything.
When it came to the fish, the movement was interesting but I was very uncomfortable with this feeling. I just wanted to curl up into child's pose and not have to face the depths of the sea.
I have been sitting with this experience for awhile and still don't have many words to say about it. That is all :)
-L.O'Neill
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