The Sensing Breath

I was reviewing James I. Kepner's book Body Process once again and ran across something I thought I would share:

"...working with breathing is essential when developing sensation;...Body work that is disconnected from breathing loses impact and control of breathing becomes a secondary defense that undermines change."

There is an awful lot to digest in that one sentence, but he continues...

"Sensation does not require particularly deep or laborious breathing for its support, or any great 'charge' (unless the sensations are highly charged, such as fear or anger). What it does require is continuous and regular inhalation and exhalation, without which the body becomes frozen and awareness of bodily events is minimized. If you carefully observe a person's breathing, you will notice that when breathing stops momentarily, the whole body stiffens slightly, and the content of conversation become more intellectual, with little background feeling. Without the background to bodily sensation, the figures that form and emerge in speech are unrelated to the presently felt reality; they are abstract cool and partial. We keep our disowned feelings from contributing to emerging awareness by deadening our feeling body through minimal breathing."

Perhaps, there is nothing new here, but I always appreciate Kepner's voice. As a somatic psychologist he brings a unique perspective that often makes seemingly old information new again. In particular, his link between breathing and sensation is most insightful. Breathing keeps us in touch with a host of bodily sensations that manifest themselves in chemical, neurological and endocrine changes associated with  qualities, patterns, moods, and structures that form the physical machinery of feeling and thinking. His discussion of the important role that background feelings play in the speaking process reflects a deep understanding of how the mind and the body contribute to the meaning making process. When working with the breath, it is always important to "keep it moving."

Integration

Integrate (In·te·grate v.) “is defined as to join two or more objects or make something part of a larger whole, or to become joined or combined in this way.” It seems when integrating one is always uniting, combining or joining seemly distinct things. To my mind it is a mistake to assume that the word “integration” or “integrated actor training” suggests that by some miraculous means voice, movement, and breath all become one thing rather than a combined set of parts working together. The parts are always there (and can be identified separately) just united for a common purpose. This is how integration is best achieved. This makes sense after all we need our body, breath, voice, thoughts and feelings to work together when we express ourselves. This integration I speak of is not unlike a group of single flowers combined to make a bouquet. To make an integrated and beautiful flower arrangement attention must be given to each individual flower, but it is important to understand each flower’s specific and unique contribution to the larger whole. The Japanese call this integrated

art of flower arranging "Ikebana." When integrating we must always strive to understand each of the individual parts in a larger context. In my work integration is achieved through a shared set of principles that articulate the universal manner in which thought and feeling is expressed in the body—the major and minor Principles of Expressive Action. When a sound philosophy is in place, one no longer references voice, movement or acting in isolation, but in the integrated act of expression itself.