The Healing Self: The Effects of Accessible Toolkit Mindfulness Practices as Analyzed Through Laban Movement Effort Qualities
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
This project will promote a deepened understanding of mind-body integration through asking the question: How does movement change with emotions and how can it change again as we learn self regulation and mindfulness? Five participants will meet for wellness sessions over the course of 22 weeks. In these sessions, the participants will learn a variety of wellness skills and practices that will increase personal resilience and promote psychophysical balance and integration. These wellness practices will pull ideas from Alexander Technique, Laban, and Yoga. Each session will begin with journaling where the participants document their current states-- moods, general feelings of wellness or unsoundness, and any present physical experiences-- through written word and drawings. The session will then transition to a wellness practice. After this, participants will document the effects of their practices in two ways: a short improvisation excerpt and a post-drawing of mood and state. The effectiveness of the varying wellness practices will be analyzed through the four Laban Movement Effort qualities-- space, weight, body, and time. These analyses will be performed through examining the collected materials– videos, drawings, and journals– from participants. In considering these qualities, it can be currently noted that there are predictable patterns in effort qualities that coincide with the documented moods of the participants. My current conclusion is that, though Laban effort qualities both correlate and can predict mood, this correlation can be disrupted through a regular mindfulness practice that promotes both physical and mental ease.
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wellness, Laban Effort, mindfulness, yoga, somatics, Alexander Technique