One of the most interesting features of somatic practices is the absence of the mirror in class which is much used in other contexts as a checking tool for one’s body appearance and physical outcome. Why is that?
As a commercial dancer I got used to train while watching my
body or the perception of my body at the mirror, and to compare myself with
others’ performance all the time.
By studying the concept of ‘Dualism’ and how this translates
into mind-body separation, I have recently reflected on how many body practices
still use external props for self-assessment. Not to mention, how many professional
environments completely deny the unification of the material, psychological and
spiritual aspects of a person.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s quote ‘One can have no smaller or
greater mastery than mastery of oneself’ encapsulates the essence of challenge
and self-mastery as opposed to basing one’s performance on external value scale.
Yet again, what is the perception of ourselves in our daily
lives?
Investigating in the beliefs of thinkers and philosophers
from the past, we can look at either monist or dualistic visions of our body
and mind.
For instance, Plato argued that each person is given
knowledge and truth at birth, and was adverse to the idea of ‘body’. Aristoteles
contraposed this theory, supporting the importance of nurturing a person in
his/her process of learning, although he just emancipated from Plato by taking
about materialism.
This binary assumption between body and mind has increased
through the Christian consideration about one’s and others’ bodies and dance.
Throughout the following decades, beliefs about the
integrity of senses in the development of one person’s identity and interaction
with others has been originated, neglected, challenged, obscured, or encouraged
at times.
For example, Orphic priests sublimated the material aspect
of the body worshiping Dionysus by means of the body. In the late 1800 and
early 1900, Nietzsche attacked the notion of absolute truth, by asserting
although two people have the same learning experience, the perception of it can
differ according to their personal meaning they attribute to it.
From a teaching point of view, I relate to Nietzsche's perspectivism
as a resolution to conflict that may result from acknowledging one’s limitation
in being exposed to the truth. Somatic movement learning/teaching provide one
person with the instruments to explore the perspective of one’s body and
integrate mind into the re-harmonization of all aspects of physical and mental being.
The way we contemplate the essence of learning, our physical
existence, knowledge and truth gives rise to how we see ourselves and engage to
others. The way we learn about learning significantly influence the way we
teach and share knowledge with others.
Hence, my reflection on the capacity to hone our vision, our
skills, our capacity to train and challenge ourselves in our respective roles
for the sake of fitting that role or for the sake of embodying an integrated
self which sees human potential as key to an ever-growing engagement in
self-mastery.
Can you re-learn how to learn from now? Can you re-consider the
perception of your body? Would it help with your current tasks?
Reference:
Bob Bates, Learning Theories Simplified, 2nd
edition, London, 2016
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