Bio-somatic dance movement naturotherapy: The occiput, scapulae and sacrum – fulcrums of support and reorganization. Issue 1 (1st July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Williamson, Amanda; James, Maisie Beth; Tucker, Vanessa; Ortuzar, Macarena; Henderson, Miranda; Hussain, Adam; Rugman, Karin
• Is Part Of: Dance, movement & spiritualities. Volume 6:Issue 1/2(2019)
• Page Start: 49
• Page End: 85
• Publication Date: 2020-07-01
• Subjects: Dance -- Periodicals; Spirituality -- Periodicals; Mind and body -- Periodicals; Movement therapy -- Periodicals; Dance therapy -- Periodicals; 793.3
• DOI: 10.1386/dmas_00004_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2051-7076

Abstract

This extensive article shares foundational practices and theory developed in the field of bio-somatic dance movement naturotherapy (a two-year professional training in association with The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association ISMETA). Unique to this programme is the experiential study of the cranial bones, craniosacral motion, restoring balance through the parasympathetic experience, and a deep blend of western anatomical knowledge with the subjective living experience of the organism. In this article I share foundational practices that often start sessions. The key areas covered in this article ares'the occiput as a fulcrum', 'the scapulae as fulcrums', 'the sacrum as a fulcrum', 'sensory awareness of the foramen magnum and the jugular foramina', 'releasing soft tissues in the suboccipital region', 'expansion, contraction, flexion and extension of the cranial bones', 'craniosacral and thoracolumbar divisions' and 'the flow of cerebral spinal fluid'. Here I discuss discreet areas of the body in anatomical and physiological detail, but always in relation to the whole. In this way, I am working in a post-cartesian framework, which is one of the defining educational and therapeutic features of practice internationally, where there is an applied balance between objective science and the subject experience of living breathing tissues.