Elemental Movement

Abstract

This thesis describes the theory and methods of an original somatic approach to movement education. Based on the five Elements of ancient philosophical tradition, Elemental Movement integrates somatic and alchemical principles, processes, and practice. It employs movement as the primary vehicle for a wide range of personal explorations, using the Elements both as a framework and as a set of symbolic tools.

The first two sections offer a review of the literature on Elemental, alchemical, and psychological theory related to the development of Elemental Movement. The third section outlines a basic conceptual framework, and the fourth describes the methodology of the approach. In addition to describing the historical, theoretical, and methodological bases of Elemental Movement, this book is also designed as a handbook for its practice. Section Five describes in detail many of the movement experiments used in Elemental Movement, as well as introducing some of the related somatic practices that inspired them. The final section reports on feminist somatic research conducted into the effects of Elemental Movement. It describes and offers a creative synthesis of the experiences of seven co-researchers who participated in and evaluated an Elemental Movement workshop.