I vividly recall entering theatre school as an undergraduate: l marched into my advisor’s office to tell him that I would study voice and I would study acting, but I would be skipping the movement classes. Movement was not for me. He listened patiently and then informed me that it was non-negotiable; movement was an essential part of the curriculum.
It was hard for me. I was skilled at using my mind and had had many academic successes, but I was disconnected from my own body. Theatre school changed that.
At university I studied with dance teachers, choreographers, clown teachers, tai chi masters, Iyengar yoga teachers and two incredibly talented Pilates teachers—the first in Canada, my home country. At first I was resistant—I wasn’t good at it and it embarrassed me. But I was forced to stick with it and over time, when I found the right teachers, I began to thrive. The right teachers were the ones who respected their student, wherever they were on their journey. They were curious and interested in each human being they worked with. They taught without judgment of the abilities or challenges their students brought to the table. More than 30 years later I remain deeply grateful to this handful of remarkable people who launched me on the path of learning to inhabit my own body.
I’ve had many extraordinary teachers since those early days and have learned so much, but when I teach today I remember what it was like to be new at this. I remember feeling fear of appearing weak or uncoordinated or foolish, and I try to embody what I can of my first, brilliant teachers who showed me so much compassion and pointed me in the direction of making friends with my body in a way that I could never have previously imagined.
There are so many fears that prevent people from embarking on a mindful movement path. We have all kinds of legitimate reasons not to want to explore our own physicality and our own interior landscape. But finding the right teacher and taking those first steps are so worth it. You may begin to unpack some doubts about yourself that you didn’t even know you had. And you may discover you are capable of much more than you ever knew.

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