Pilates, Laban, and Communication

This Friday June 15, I am going to have the pleasure of collaborating with Jeff Rock and Doug Foresta at a men’s retreat entitled: How To Get From Where You Are
 To Where You Want To Be 
(Even When There’s Stuff in the Way) At this retreat I will give a talk about non-verbal communication strategies based in the theories of Rudolf Laban.  The retreat is in Belchertown and promises to be a day of interesting ideas and collaboration.  For more information visit the website for Swift River Coaching.  If you have interest in attending this retreat it’s not too late there are a few spots left, call to reserve your spot, 413.283.6376.   If by chance, you have interest in this retreat but June 15^th is too close, then never fear.  Jeff, Doug, and I will continue our collaboration further to bring the retreat to you again on July 21.  Stay tuned for more information. 

First, who is Rudolf Laban? He was a man who developed a system of movement analysis.  Dancers, actors, physical therapists, dance therapists, and psychologists have used his system among many others.  I came to this work as a dancer and continue to use it in my every day communications, and movement education.  Rudolf Laban and Joseph Pilates were contemporaries and collaborated in England after World War I.  His system is analytical and relates the movement of the human body into the world that surrounds it. 

As I was preparing for this talk, I thought I would share some of these ideas with the readers of The Pilates Studio’s blog.  Maybe you might want to go to the retreat this Friday or on July 21, or maybe just maybe you’ll want to have a conversation date with me about Laban Movement Analysis.  Though you should know that nothing brings out the fast talking nerdy side of me like the theories of Rudolf Laban.

In a world of miscommunication, what if we filled our toolbox with every communication skill?  Movement is meaningful in all of its forms whether it is the performance artist in downtown New York,  the comedic movement genius of Steve Martin, the nurturing parent, the angry lover, or the charismatic leader, every movement we make has meaning.

I love observing animals because movement and posture is often the only way that they have to communicate...How much meaning does the dog's tailwag have?  What do you know is coming when a cat reaches its paws towards you?  What about the shaking of a mouse or the gentle nip of a parakeet?  Without words our human bodies communicate in much the same way.   Sometimes this non-verbal communication matches the words we are saying and sometimes it does not.

It's takes a talented photographer to catch meaning in photographs because the meaning in movement happens between the stillnesses.  The way our body moves from shape to shape has as much meaning as any posture we find.  Imagine a child jumping out of a chair when it's recess versus that same child who's been called up to the chalkboard when he doesn't know the answer.  What about the person that leans forward to hear the conversation better? Or the person that takes a step back and assesses a precarious situation?  What if a person yawns at the end of a long day right before spreading out on the couch? Consider, the person who might suddenly clasp her hands in front of her.  It is more than posture that communicates it is the change in posture that creates meaning.   

Moving on from shape, let's think about the way in which we express ourselves.  What is our relationship to the world around us and how do we feel about it?  How do we express those feelings to the outside world?

If you know me, you know that, I fail to see that which is black and white in this world. This may be why I resonate with Laban's theories so well.  When speaking about our relationship to the gravitational pull of the earth nobody is floating and nobody is cracking pavement with each step.  Yet if you think about it, you can imagine the person whose gestures move through the air as if riding a slight breeze.  Or another person that moves with a commanding power like the wisest of lions. 

Have you ever met the person that is rushing everywhere she goes, or the person with a sharp, fast wit?  This person might be using quick time in his or her relationship to time as it passes.  There is also the person where it seems that time doesn't exist...Her movements might ride the breath making the most of every inhale...Feeling every movement...Nothing is skipped everything is noticed.  

What is the person's relationship to the space around them?  Is he taking it in as if there are eyeballs all over his body? Or is she so focused on one item that the space outside of this item almost disappears from her awareness?

Is someone's movement so connected that he or she never seems to pause or find stillness, and if so, if you asked could he or she find stillness?

Find a conversation to observe.  What do you see?  And for more information contact Jeff Rock of Swift River coaching to learn about this fabulous insight opportunity.

Thanks for reading!

Katrina Hawley

Co-Director The Pilates Studio