Dance Therapy Exploration Workshop 

Anne Lemos Edgerton 

Theme:

Exploration breaking of one boundary you are facing in your life 

Purpose:

To explore what you feel is holding you back through visualization, movement, words and phrases, group connection. 

Question:

What is one thing you are experiencing in your life that you feel holds you back? What boxes you in? What binds you and your creativity? What are the boundaries you would like to break through?  

We are going to explore this today in the concepts of Baseline, wants and needs 

Grounding 3-5 minutes 

Please sit comfortably, feet on the ground, if standing is more comfortable you can to that as well. I would like you to take a body scan. Start to breathe deeply, taking slow breaths. Try to breathe into different parts of your body.  Start with your feet and visualize they are connecting you to the earth below, move up the body and check in with your body as you do so. How are you feeling? Calm?Stressed? Overwhelmed? Happy? Open? Is there tension in any part?  Start to have a conversation with yourself.  

Questions to ponder while grounding: 

In what ways have you attempted to defend or protect yourself? 

In what ways have you held back or blocked yourself? 

Think of some repetitive patterns you would like to change in your life 

Establish the baseline. 3-5 minutes 

Today we are going to explore the concept of one thing in your life that you thinks binds you, holds you back, creates boundaries in your life and work   Stand up and start to move to the drum. Try to identify this thing that holds you back and put it into one word statements.  

“Expressing my feelings” 

“Opening up to people” 

“Expressing my inadequacies” 

“Fear of being found out” 

“Being brutally honest” 

“I’m not good enough” 

Please move to the drumming and ask yourself some of these questions.  See what words come up for you. You may find many words or just one. As you continue to move choose one word and put that into a movement. Explore this movement, develop how it feels in your body.  

  1. Establish the want statement 3-5 minutes 

Continue to move and take your word and see if you can turn it into a “want” statement.  

“I don’t want to hide anymore” 

“I want to express myself without question” 

“I want to be accepted” 

“I don’t want to be vulnerable” 

“I don’t want to hold back my creativity” 

“I want to contribute” 

Continue moving and you can make these statements out loud or keep them inside. Try to narrow down to one statement and concentrate on moving this statement. As you feel more comfortable choose one phrase to focus on and find a movement that fits it.  Repeat and develop this phrase until it can express itself.  

Break the binds! 3-5 minutes 

Return to the group. We are going to liberate what binds you. We are going to do a “movement telephone” One person starts by moving their phrase, speaking it or not, and then throw, or pass that movement on to the next person. That person receives the movement and then expresses theirs and passes it on to the next person. On throughout the group.  

Purpose of the final exercise: to take what binds us and toss it away, let it go into the atmosphere, be caught by someone else. To free ourselves from this boundary 

Next steps.  3-5 minutes  

Take out your journal or sketch pad and write about the experience or draw a picture of it. Share with the group.  

Witnessing 

The group shares with the facilitator their experience of the exercises. Were they able to break one boundary in their life?