MYSTERY: The Practices of QiGong and Authentic Movement

Energy Orb caught on camera at Confuscious' Burial Ground

Authentic Movement (AM) is an "in-depth" movement process named by Mary Starks Whitehouse (a dance therapist) in the 1950's.  It is the act of allowing oneself to listen deeply to the innate intelligence of the full body and following the body/voice’s cues in the moment, while a trusted facilitator witnesses, is holding the container for the mover’s expression. What transpires is an authentic expression, true and spontaneous from moment to moment, often revealing understanding and information not usually accessible. "The movement becomes ‘authentic’ when the individual is able to allow their intuitive impulses to freely express themselves without intellectual directive, as opposed to movement initiated by conscious decision making – a distinction which may appear clear, but practically a challenge. Individuals simply pay attention to what they feel at a sensory level, since 'the core of the movement experience is the sensation of moving and being moved.'”*

*Adler, Janet. Offering from the Conscious Body: The Discipline of Authentic Movement. Rochester: Inner Traditions, 2002.


My decades long study of both Qigong and Authentic Movement has been a search to understand this thing we call energy and the relationship of the body's fuller intelligence to that which is inside and outside of me.  For me, AM and Qigong are not separate practices, but one practice that is a many sided prism, reflecting their own unique emphasis.  

The following essay was first posted in http://authenticmovementcommunity.blogspot.com/ and http://www.healingtaobritain.com .  SEE for more articles of interest on both practices.

MYSTERY.doc 29K   View

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObLgFrbP-AQ