The Four Elements

Since I chickened out from today lesson I had a good opportunity to observe and take notes.
Here is a short summary of the 2 days of elemental studies we had so far:

The four elements have different centers in the body where the impulse of the movement starts from:

AIR: upprer side of the torso - chest, lungs, upper back and ribs

FIRE: under the navel - agnii chakra or fire center in yoga

WATER: pelvis - as seen in crossing the river excercise

EARTH: not as much of a center as a direction - down into the earth (we will come back to this)

We've been let free to discover our individual elements but all four have certain guidlines we need to be aware of.

AIR:

The most important aspect of the movement of air is that it is being pulled.
All movements of air is initiated from the chest, being pulled from the chest. Remember the excercises when we disect the undulations. Air fills all spaces, dare to be big and follow the movements with the arms as well (we have a tendency to leave them hanging)
Air definetly does not make loud thumps with the feet (be light and relaxed)
The movement of air is a constant flow, out of balance, one impulse after another involving the whole body (as in the neutral opening closing excercise and the movement lesson of yesterday)
As if the movement of air is a constant fall.

FIRE:

We had no specific notes on fire apart from the personal and group investigations.
We've been discovering different aspects of fire: matches, candles, grills, vulcanoes
(many of them had a feeling of epileptic seizure... Which is probably a good way to go since seizures start from the fire center)

WATER:

This was with Ruth as well as with Ole. Water is smooth. It starts at the pelvis, so let everything else follow the pelvis. This includes the hands and the head. The pelvis is being pushed and pulled as it moves in waves.

Also, let us explore how different types of water can change how you use your body to express it. With bubbly, freezing, boiling, or flowing water it all changes, you see. You knew that already, though, huh. Yuppers.

Ruth took us on an epic journey from the fresh water of a river (over the rocks and through tree roots and down a waterfall) to the salt water of the sea.

Water has very little resistence, which means it flows around objects. It is also somewhat continuous in motion, without pauses. So, keep it moving, bub!

EARTH:

Earth is grounded in its movement...obviously. Like clay, earth moves quite slowly and with a great deal of resistence. (It may help to either think of pushing and pulling your body through clay, or it may help more to think of yourself as an Ent from Lord of the Rings.)

Each time you move, it is uprooting yourself and then replanting yourself (either into the ground, an object, or another person).

We also climbed mountains in this way, not being people, but being the earth. You see, when you experience these elements with the mask on, it is like the mask is giving you a grand tour of these elements. It is showing you how they move and where they live (and who they love). Follow the mask without hesitation and with full confidence...and try not to bump into your partners on stage, please and thank you very much.

Holding hands,

Team Imre and David