What we learned in class today...February 26, 2024

Today I’m on-site at Texas Christian University working with various student bodies and groups. 

In our opening class we explored the Four Dimensions of Expansion….

In my teaching these days, I have moved away from the traditional directions of Alexander (Neck free, head forward and up, back lengthen and widen), preferring to go with a more global direction of expansion in all directions all at once.  It’s global, less about the parts, and more unifying.

Within this framework, we observed a vertical expansion as a movement into our dignity.  As our feet connect and push on the ground, the ground meets our feet and pushes against them, allowing us to move into length and our dignity.

We observed the deepening of expansion as a movement into our safety, looking at the relationships between our perceived level of safety and how much we will allow ourselves to settle into the experience of our depth.

We observed the widening of our bodies as a movement of our belonging, our connection to each other and the spaces that we are in.

Finally, we explored our experience of time as an experience of our worthiness and enoughness.  When we feel that we are enough, we allow ourselves to experience time as it is passing, without getting lost or dreading its passing.

These were the four dimensions of expansion that we played with today and their somatic connections. 

It was a lovely 50 min class.