Reduce exercise doldrums by tapping into your soma
Emily Bogard, founder and director of the Pilates Annex in Bloomington, teaches a Pilates certification course for Indiana University's Department of Kinesiology along with another class, Postural Alignment for Musicians, for the IU Jacobs School of Music.
Below, Bogard talks with Active for Life about somatic practices such as Pilates and their surprising influence on modern dance.
AFL: Pilates and yoga are just two examples of "somatic practices." How would you define somatic practice, and what are a few other examples?
EB: Somatic practice is what brings about integrated movement. Integrated movement has to do with sensing, feeling and doing a movement with full consciousness. Sensory awareness techniques such as Feldenkrais, Bartenieff Fundamentals, the Alexander Technique are just a few additional examples of somatic practices. Somatics, itself, is a field of study dealing with the somatic phenomena of a human being using his or her own proprioceptive senses to experience himself from the inside. This phenomenon is the human soma, which is the body perceived from within by first-person perception.
AFL: Can you describe integrated movement? How does one "integrate" his or her movement?
EB: The mover is fully attending to his or her self and his or her environment. An integrated movement is biomechanically well organized, with an efficient and effective use of energy. The movement pattern is visually experienced by the observer. The muscular, skeletal and nervous systems are unified in a way that makes everything look easy! This is what we see and experience when watching fine performers and athletes.
AFL: Over the past few years, there seems to be an increase in classes like Pilates and yoga. Why is this?
EB: Many people get bored with their exercise routine if they are not involving their soma, so they tend to move to another modality to keep their interest. In a body-mind discipline, the simplest exercise can lead one to a deeper experience of oneself as the layers of the soma are explored. It's like peeling away the layers of an onion to its center. This seems to provide a more satisfying experience. People are participating in a process of connecting the body and mind rather then just working toward flat abs or a "ripped" body. Whether one is a skilled performer or a once-a-week exerciser, working from the inside out can intertwine the sensory and motor systems to provide a fully embodied integrated experience.
Jim Dusen
Choreographer Bill Evans taught the Bartenieff Fundamentals for many years. In a panel discussion preceeding the IU Contemporary Dance Program's annual guest artist and faculty concert on Jan. 16, mind-body expert Emily Bogard will discuss Evans' influence on modern dance.
AFL: What do somatic practices and integrated movement have to do with dance?
EB: Many dancers are now studying sensory awareness techniques to train and develop their sensory-motor systems enabling them to move in a more integrated manner. These techniques have taken the performance abilities of dancers, and athletes alike, to new heights. But greater skill is not the only benefit. Injuries are reduced, and dancing "smarter" is extending many performers' careers.
Upcoming Events
Bogard will continue and expand on this discussion on Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center during the pre-concert panel discussion before the IU Contemporary Dance Program's annual guest artist and faculty concert. This discussion is free.
Bogard will be discussing the influence of world-renowned choreographer Bill Evans on modern dance. Evans has spent many years teaching the Bartenieff Fundamentals, a somatic practice that Bogard mentioned above. Evans' is one of this year's guest artists for the IU Contemporary Dance Concert. He served as coordinator of IU's Modern Dance program and was an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology from 1986-1988.
This year's concert, "The Community of Dance," will be held on Jan. 16 and 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre at IU Bloomington. Tickets can be purchased at the IU Auditorium Box Office or by calling 812-855-1103.
