From left brain intellect to imagination and play
Let’s face it. Changing our behaviour does not generally happen in the intellect.
Who does not know that to lose weight you need to take in less calories than you burn? Or that the best way to stop wasting away hours in front of the TV is to turn it off? Who has not said to themselves every so often, I really want to take up sailing, or samba dance class or guitar, but has not done it yet?
developing the power of observation
There are many techniques used by Act Out that aim at gently moving participants into such a space.
Firstly, tactile sensitivity exercises stimulate the sense of touch by awakening the feeling of what we touch. Similarly, they challenge ways of moving that are mechanized, bring up emotions that are not externalised and new ways of using muscles and expressing. Different parts of the body are disassociated from each other.
Then there are the activities that aim at recreating listening sensitivity and finding ‘inner rhythms’. Rhythms can often represent emotions better than words or faces.
The next category is the visual sensitivity during which participants create ‘visual dialogues’ by mirroring each other. Without verbal cues the power of observation is developed as well as a connectedness to the other.
The last group of activities I always use are the sensory sensitivity activities that enhance other senses by taking away our reliance on sight to perceive the world around us.
Blind Cars - participants receive messages through tactile signals while their eyes are closed. Another element arising through these exercises is trust.
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