The Practice
In the Open Floor Movement Practice, we have two objectives: to bring the body into movement (you decide what kind of movement), and to observe what kind of physical sensations arise during this movement. This is the basis of this mindfulness practice: no matter what we do, our attention will wander, and through noticing the bodily sensations, we can always return to the physicality of the present moment.
The movements are improvisative, and beyond this freedom, there are always structured pieces of exploration, so we can try out new things, go beyond our comfort zone, and widen our range of possibilities.
We do all of this in community so we can learn from each other, and be mirrors for each other.
The Movement Cycle
When we step on an Open Floor, we start with Open Attention, without any specific focus, we just notice what we notice. We take stock of how we are arriving, how we are right now. We prepare the body for the rest of our practice. We then focus our attention, and Enter an Embodied Anchor – a specific physical part of the body. We simultaneously enter a specific topic, the subject of our current investigation. We Explore this particular territory of our life through movement, breath, and dancing. At the end of our Movement Cycle, we Settle to calm our system and to integrate our discoveries, before we embark upon the next Movement Cycle.
Core Movement Resources
&
Embodied Anchors
Ten general qualities of movement, the Core Movement Resources lie at the heart of the Open Floor movement practice. If we become familiar with, learn to embody and express these through movement on the dance floor, soon they will start to show up as supportive resources in our everyday lives.
We learn to articulate these resources through Embodied Anchors, physical parts of our body that we can use as entry points into our exploration, and as a home base where we can always come back if we find our attention wandering away throughout our practice.
Ground
Centre
Vector
Towards & Away
Expand & Contract
Activate & Settle
Spatial Awareness
Release
Dissolve
Pause
The 4x4 Weave
The moment we start moving our Body, our Emotions, Mind, and Soul will move with it, and we include all these parts that belong to us into our practice.
As humans, we are relational beings, and we constantly hunger either for Solitude, Connection with another person, Belonging to a group, or for communing with that what is present in all of us and in everything around us: what we might call Spirit (God, the Universe, or Nature – my preferred version).
The 4 Dimensions of Embodiment and the 4 Relational Hungers make up the 4x4 Weave, a map that covers our whole existence, and that we keep on exploring on the Open Floor.
It’s a Practice…
Coming to one class, workshop or event can often be a transformative experience, and the deeper power of Open Floor lies in regular practice. Check out my Events and our Global Calendar with all the possibilities that our 350+ teachers are offering.
If you want to read more about the Practice, check out Open Floor International’s more detailed description of it .