by Myrskyryhmä – The Tempest Group (Elli Isokoski and Pauliina Laukkanen)

In Short:

This exercise guides into embodied experiencing of self with others. It creates and supports embodied connection between participants.

Set-Up: 

Large open space, group of participants

Timeframe: Approximately 30 minutes. Beforehand it is good to do something where the participants can explore and feel their own embodied existence, before turning towards others.

Participants: The whole group together

Process: 

            Part 1: Encounters

• Music playing in the background – maybe something with soft rhythm but flowing and gentle.
• Everyone walking in the space, trying to go fill the whole space and going to different locations (avoiding everyone walking in a circle in the same direction).
• Encounters: when you come across someone, stop together for different encounters. Feel how long is a good timing for you each time to stay with the encounter, continue walking when you feel it is time to move on. 

Encounters:

• Standing opposite and seeing each other
• Raised arms meeting / connecting (between elbow and wrist, this was a covid-safe choice)
• Feet meeting
• Side by side, shoulders / upper arms meeting
• Open meeting: create a way to meet together, either one of the earlier options or a new one
• A dance of some kind can emerge in the meetings, being mindful to find it together, not one leading too much at the expense of the other.
• There can be several individual meetings of each kind before continuing on to other kinds of encounters.
• One is always free to walk around a bit more and to choose their meetings and the durations of the meetings, while staying respectful to the experiences of others.

Part 2: Discussion

• Groups of three, including teachers 
• Talk about your experiences, giving space for each to share their thoughts
• Possible considerations:
  • What kinds of encounters did you experience? How did the encounters find their form? What kinds of factors were involved? What was important for the encounters to happen in a mutual way? How did you feel in the encounters?

Principle:
Encountering another person through connecting to each other in different embodied ways brings in playfulness, non-verbal communication and bodily knowledge. Each having the freedom to define the duration and quality of their encounters is vital, as it supports sense of safety.

Variations:
Different kinds of encounters can be introduced, above are just a few options. For example, a handshake is a familiar way of encountering people and a good gateway for the exercise, but in the covid circumstances it was not the safest option. 

Connection to PIMDI:
Exploring different ways of encountering others who are different from me and who approach the encounter in their own way. Something new and unexpected can happen when staying open to the differences and having the choice to find your own ways of encountering each time.