catherine fallis: dance & movement therapies

Dance/Movement Therapy

Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is based on the assumption that the mind and the body are inseparable, and that our emotional life is reflected in our body movements. In most early and indigenous cultures, dance was seen as an integral part of community life, providing individuals with a means to express themselves, and to connect with each other and their natural environment. Many of us in modern society have lost touch with our capacity to include our moving body in our quest to find balance and ease as we negotiate life’s challenges. We sometimes feel self conscious and awkward when we think of using our bodies in this way. DMT offers a non-threatening way to gently explore concepts such as grounding, acceptance, empowerment, and aliveness, and to deepen the experience of feeling truly at home in oneself. I use DMT in both my one to one practice and in weekend workshops and retreats, where the experience of sharing in community often brings added delight and wisdom to the process.

Authentic Movement

Authentic Movement (AM) is a movement practice that is used as a psychotherapeutic process, accessing the personal history stored in the body; as a creative resource, freeing artistic blocks and renewing vision; and as a spiritual practice, providing an experience of meditative, intimate contact with the soul. Authentic Movement is described as movement that is simple, inevitable, essential, belonging to that person. It takes form in the relationship between a person moving with eyes closed and a person witnessing that movement with eyes open. The mover’s task is to listen deeply and respond to an inner impulse, allowing energy coming from the unconscious to be expressed in movement. After the movement, the mover and the witness talk together about the images, thoughts, and feelings that have emerged, bringing formerly unconscious material into consciousness.