The world has been trying to convince us about the supremacy of the mind over everything for a long time. However, after going through a few weeks of movement and embodied exercises in the course of this program I am keen to look at the magical ways in which my body exists with oneself and others.

Breathing consciously and being fully aware of one’s breath in terms of its rhythm, weight and route. Air is collected from various corners of the organs, it travels to be let out of my system, and with it travels multiple other emotions, memories, traumas and anxieties my body and I are trying to breathe out. In breathing, we become aware. While breathing in, we let the air travel to all the empty places and let them pour themselves into the air so they can be breathed out.

While doing stretching exercises, I always ended up thinking about how far I could reach out while being in the same position. If breathing meant oiling my body with a steady supply of air, then stretching prepared it for work by opening up its closed joints. However, these comparisons don’t mean that I believe in the idea of the body as a machine.

Embodied work was a mix of configurations- individual, pair, trio and all four of us. The one where I maintained constant contact with another’s body- be it Mugdha, Ketki or Charvi was the most revelatory experience. It forced me to be aware of one another’s movement and comfort while we tried to complement each other’s motion.

Embodying wasn’t just about bodies alone- it was about spaces, body in space, bodies in space, bodies with other bodies and yes, sometimes it was also about the spaces in our bodies. When dancing with my eyes closed I was in two spaces at once- one outside and one within. We also experimented with rhythms, beats and sounds. Music was used as a cue to embody an emotion which was then played in space.

Everything matters.