body integration…
what does it mean? a friend recently told me that my body seemed “more integrated than it used to be.” it was a compliment, and i had a pretty good sense of what she meant. i think it was that my various components, arms and hips and shoulders, etc, all worked together like one unit, rather than separate entities. what’s interesting to me, though, is why that usually is not the case. why do so many people have shoulders that rise or hunch, hands that grasp, butts that do funny things? is it because most of us do not live our daily lives with strong centers–and is a strong center the thing that makes the difference?
do our various components act like creatures unto themselves because of something psychological going on inside? i know for me, my shoulders often rise up and my hands curl inwards, and i’m positive it’s some sort of emotional message–one that can take a hell of a long time to decipher and dissolve. so does that mean that people who are perfectly emotionally healthy have great centers and would be great movers, if they actually tried to move? maybe it’s about being in your body, rather than your head, that makes all the difference in how things work together.
i find it quite fascinating.
6 comments »
Copy link for RSS feed for comments on this post or for TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
this is great, daniel–thanks so much. it definitely is a complex subject. i now have a clearer sense of what integration means–it’s as simple as being able to use different body parts in concert. it seems like for dancers, though, it goes a step farther–not just being able to point your toes and also arch backwards (for example) simultaneously, but also doing so in such a way that the body looks like one unit…that is, not just accomplishing a number of actions at the same time, but somehow having those body parts work together more closely. that might not make any sense–it’s hard for me to verbalize. i only know that sometimes i see a dancer with a very strong center whose limbs truly look like extensions of their core, and not just like separate appendages.
i saw a video of chimpanzees recently, and was amazed at how integrated (if that’s the right word) they were! all their actions seemed to stem from their centers and everything was engaged. and so i still wonder why it is that adult humans aren’t like that naturally. is it because most people’s (especially non-dancers’) bodies are reflections of emotional states, and most of us aren’t totally mentally healthy?
Comment by Amanda Abrams — July 21, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
This is juicy and lovely to read and ponder; thanks for putting it out there. Often I’ll hear a former teacher’s voice in my head reminding me that body awareness is an all-the-time task, not a classroom exercise. He believed that as dancers we have a responsibility to demonstrate the awareness (integration) that the human body is capable of mastering with all the synergy between mind, body, and spirit we can find. My $0.02: when the academic study and physical application intersect with a peaceful and open soul both mover and observer sense the experience. It sounds like you are in a place of synergy
Right on! Personally, I find that peace and openness most often on-stage or in the rehearsal room (much more often than I find it in everyday life) - I’m seeking more of the latter as the former is a rare and scheduled event!
Comment by Kelly Mayfield — July 22, 2007 @ 7:41 am
I don’t know what happened to my original post, but Amanda - if someone is pointing their feet and arching their back in such a way that they are doing those two movements it is an act of differentiation, but when they combine these movement (with the rest of the body) and it is one movement it becomes integrated. And, Kelly, I would stress that awareness and integration are two different, though related, things…
Comment by Daniel Burkholder — July 23, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
thanks y’all. daniel, i’m so sorry but i must’ve deleted your comment while trying to get rid of some of the spam coming to this blog. my many apologies–it was a great comment!
i can imagine that integration and awareness are different, but they’re definitely connected for me, somehow. when i go running and keep my mind on where my core is, how i’m connecting to the ground, to the sky, and where my head is, i feel like it makes a difference somehow in a broader sense. perhaps awareness allows for greater integration over time?
i love your teacher’s comment, kelly, about awareness being a fulltime activity. i certainly feel that way, not because i’m so far along but simply b/c my mind is slowly becoming more in tune with my body, and especially with the bad habits i have! like hunching my shoulders and ducking my head to brush my teeth…i don’t think i ever realized that being a dancer, really exploring using my body, would lead to this, but it’s pretty great. endlessly fascinating.
Comment by Amanda Abrams — July 24, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
fortune junction…
fibrously rocket falsifies …
Trackback by fortune junction — July 19, 2008 @ 5:27 am
Askmen com dating mature women….
Askmen com dating mature women. Dating mature women dating. Mature women dating. Dating mature women….
Trackback by Dating mature women. — November 3, 2008 @ 1:59 pm