Exercise
7

Mapping my emotional terrain

This exercise allows you to transform your personal stories and symbolic memories into a body score of gestures and movement. 

Write down on paper the journey you have undertaken. 

How would you describe this journey? What did you observe or learn about yourself? 

What were some highlights or lows of this life journey? 

Choose a few words or phrases, line drawings or symbols to express your thoughts. 

Map your journey with these life imprints. Map the terrain from point A to B. 

Include transitions and significant changes that occurred.

Create a walking line. Start with your feet.

Explore a pathway through this journey.

How do we navigate from these different experiences?

To spice things up, try these elements and variations in movement:

  • Changing the way you breathe: continuous breath, heavy, light, pulsing, staggered breathing
  • Alternative movements: walking, skipping, standing, stooping, jumping, stillness.
  • Navigating space differently: Heights/levels: experiment with positioning your body at different levels (squatting, crouching, lying on the fall, rolling, tip-toes, leaping etc.)
  • Shapes: What shapes can you create with your body? (round, long, etc.)
  • Rhythm and Tempo: What speed do we move at? What patterns do you observe or create with your body?
  • Repetition

Tentative square
Tentative feet
Stepping out into the Unknown (circles)
Skip-hop (circle)
A-void-dance
A punctuation of ending
Standing Cradle
Walking Cradle
Heart Reach (longing heart)
Abhaya Mudra
Resting on the horizon (30 sec)
Circling hands
Brushstrokes
Sisyphus (moving forward, moving back)
Exhaustive Shields
A-void-dance
Struggle-release
Punctuation of an ending
Starfish (Stationary instead of open vulnerability/close safety)
Foetus Position (Comfort/Womb)
Reclining (breastfeeding)
Submission (prostration)
Traveller’s stop
Hello/goodbye (beginning and endings of relationship)
Backwalk