What does Authentic Movement look like in practice?
Authentic Movement is a relational embodied practice grounded in compassionate witnessing between a mover and a witness. In an open studio space and during an agreed upon time limit, movers are invited to close their eyes and attend to their inner experience. Movers practice tracking, noticing, and choosing to follow or not follow physical impulses, sensations, emotions, and thoughts that arise. The external witness remains in the same place and practices witnessing the trajectory of the mover while intending to see the other with as little interpretation, projection, or judgement as possible. For both the mover and the witness, work is concentrated on the development of the inner witness. Tracking our own experience in the presence of a collective body of movers and witnesses, we come to know the workings of our mind, including projections that obscure clear seeing.
After the movement time is complete, the movers have time to speak about their experience. With the mover’s consent, the witness speaks about his or her experience in the presence of the mover. The mover and witness together, through their attentiveness to their own ability to be present, can create a relationship of deep respect, compassion, and self-discovery.
Who benefits?
Individuals longing to deepen their mind-body-spirit connection
Individuals seeking a supportive place for self-directed discovery
Psychotherapists sharpening their own embodied observation skills and awareness of their current modality
Dancers, artists, educators, and students exploring expression and inspiration from the inside out
How do I begin?
To begin, call Ann at 406-241-1960 or email ann@stillpoint.llc to inquire about beginning individual or group work . Individuals are welcome to start at any time depending on openings and studio availability. With people new to the practice, Ann generally schedules an individual introductory session to talk about your interest and partake in a short experiential.
What form of payment do you accept?
Cash, check, PayPal and Venmo are accepted forms of payment. Insurance is available for individuals interested in combining psychotherapy with Authentic Movement.
What is the history of Authentic Movement?
Authentic Movement emerged in the 1950s from Mary Starks-Whitehouse, a student of modern dance pioneers Martha Graham and Mary Wigman. Starks-Whitehouse’s experience in Jungian analysis informed what she began to see as “authentic movement” when working with students in the studio. She began to use the term “authentic movement” to articulate the distinct difference between an individual moving in natural spontaneity, as if from within out, to an individual expressing imposed choreographed gestures and patterns. In an interview in 1972 with Gilda Frantz, Mary Starks-Whitehouse explained that:
“When the movement was simple and inevitable, not to be changed no matter how limited or partial, it became what I called ‘authentic’ it could be recognized as genuine, belonging to that person. There is a necessary attitude of inner openness, a kind of capacity for listening to one's self...It is made possible only by concentration and patience.”
Janet Adler and Joan Chodorow, both students of Mary Starks-Whitehouse, carried Authentic Movement into the field of dance therapy. The form of Authentic Movement is now applied in diverse ways depending on the teacher/therapist and their particular therapeutic orientation, interests, background, and students or clients. Janet Adler has distinguished the Discipline of Authentic Movement as a distinct branch. For further information on the Discipline of Authentic Movement and post-graduate Circles of Four teacher-training program, please see: disciplineofauthenticmovement.com
Ann’s experience in Authentic Movement
Ann has been practicing Authentic Movement since 2008. In 2010, she began annual group retreats with Janet Adler on Galiano Island. From 2013-2019, Ann participated in and completed the Post-Graduate Internship Program teacher training program. The relational and embodied aspects of the practice greatly inform Ann’s orientation as a psychotherapist.