Hartley Linda (ed.) The Fluid Nature of Being: Embodied practices for healing and wholeness

Handspring Publishing, 2022. — 730 p. — ISBN 978 1 91342 6 507.The Fluid Nature of Being is a collection of writings by practitioners of Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy (IBMT), an approach to somatic movement education and therapy. The cultivation of consciously embodied movement is at the heart of somatic movement practice. Through embodiment practices, soma - the subjectively experienced sense of embodied self - becomes a vital, living reality and a foundation through which healthy relationship to others, to Nature, and to life as a whole can be nourished. The book describes the practice, thinking, research and creative work of twenty-one IBMT practitioners. Each has also trained in other disciplines and their writing weaves together their broader learning, passion and professional practice within the IBMT approach to somatic work. In this volume we offer a collection of expressions with a rich diversity of themes and styles, bringing these voices from the next generation of somatic movement practitioners, writers and leaders to a wider audience. The book covers topics such as IBMT in therapy, education, early years learning, dance and theatre; the integration with psychotherapy, psychoanalytic thinking, and somatic trauma therapy; and the connection between individual healing and the healing of the Earth and Nature during this time of planetary crisis. There are many aspects of IBMT practice described in this book that are shared with somatic practices in general, though there are also aspects which are specific to this approach. IBMT uniquely integrates in-depth studies in Somatic Psychology and the Discipline of Authentic Movement into a foundation of Body-Mind Centering training. At the core of the practice is the quest to deepen connection with self, and from there, connection with others and the world around us.Body, Earth, Nature, and Connection
Gaia Body
Becoming Nature
Awakening to the Collective Body: Authentic Movement as a Path to Wholeness
Pelvic Bowls – Digging/Drilling/Exploitation: A Performance
Moving into Life 1: Embryological Beginnings
Sailing Backwards Single-Handedly
Navel Radiation: The Development of the Internal Fascial Network
IBMT and Dance – “Re-Membrane”
Moving into Life 2: Birth and Beyond – Supporting Development
Support on the Path of Motherhood
Mother Witness: Revisiting Rupture at Birth Through Somatic Movement Practice
The Development of Movement and the Self
Finding Our Ground: Working with Adopted Children
Therapeutic Applications 1: Holding and Containing
Circle: The Nature of Containment
Somatic Counter-transference in the Work of a Somatic Therapist
Nourishing Ourselves: A Somatic Approach Towards Deep Connection and Healing
Therapeutic Applications 2: Working with Trauma
Somatic Bodywork and Movement Approaches to Trauma
Post-traumatic Stress, Chronic Pain, and Authentic Movement
Embracing Trauma Through Performance
Somatic Movement and Dance Research
Somatic and Poetic Movement: The Connection Between IBMT and Dance Practice
Mediating Resonant Spaces: IBMT as Support for Dance Making and Expanded Artistic Practice
The Best Present