Movement as Therapy for Women
Have you ever really looked at the marvel of engineering which is your hand, foot, knee joint or ear? Have you studied the medical charts which show our complete respiratory, nervous, muscle and bone structure (such as the female display at the local Health Museum on Euclid Avenue)? Athletes and dancers have proven the potential of the female body when careful and systematic training result in such examples as Billie Jean King, Margo Fonteyn and Martha Graham.
Research is now beginning to point out the biological advantages of the female anatomy--our flexible pelvis and spine, smaller frame (and weight) resulting in more movement flexibility, suppleness of our joints and musculature and the resultant aptitude for physical movement. Look at the intricate movement patterns in a natural birth, which most women can perform without the aid of the medical profession. And the health benefits of physical activity -lower incidence of heart disease, control of blood pressure, tension, ulcers, etc. We need every woman living out a full life span, with high energy, to really change this world!
Some women are still discouraged in physical development in schools (from kindergarten to college), homes and in society. But we are allowed to verbalize. Mouth power is less threatening than pelvis power! But when the verbal skills and the
body control are completely unified, we are able to realize our full potential as women.
Most forms of therapy emphasize the verbalizing and analyzing of our experiences. But we are more than a brain and a tongue. A woman may tell you that she is happy, but when her body droops, her head hangs forward, and she shuffles rather than walks, her body is saying something else!
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Body language is a popular term with an underlying truth. Our physical image is really who we are and where we are psychologically. One dance researcher found the body to be a "frozen image of our life experiences". All our frustrations, tensions, depressions, and anger are there and can be unleashed for constructive growth. Marion Chase, a pioneer in the use of movement therapy, discovered tools for this process during the early part of the 20th Century. But the movement therapy profession, still in its infancy in the U.S., is already going the direction of most other professions, interested more in limiting the valid use of skills and knowledge and playing power and control games, than in making more opportunities available for use and knowledge of the tremendous value of movement therapy, especially for women!
Eight sessions in movement therapy will be available at WomenSpace starting Thursday, April 6th. Participants will be able to improvise movement
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based on themes from their daily life birth, joy, depression, anger, pain whatever they have experienced in this world as a woman. These movements are each woman's personal choice: sometimes depression is expressed by curling up on the floor completely immobile. A woman can dance as much or as little as she wishes, by herself, with a partner, or with the entire group for as long or as short a time as she wishes. When each woman has participated fully, the group gathers, usually in fairly close proximity, to verbalize their experiences, images, fantasies and dreams for the future. Readings from such books as The Book of Hope or the Hite Report may be suggested, as well as other positive, nurturing experiences such as consciousness raising groups and other feminist activities. But the atmosphere is confidential, completely noncritical, supportive and allowing for each woman's space.
Classes will be held on Thursdays starting April 6th. Possible times are 10:30am, 12 noon, and 8pm. Classes will last 11⁄2 hours each. The cost is $20 for the eight sessions. Call me at 321-8413 for enrollment information and to let me know your time preference.
Shirley Aenne
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базанне сч
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March, 1978/What She Wants/Page 7