The Fluid Nature of Being is a collection of writings by practitioners
of Integrative Bodywork & Movement Therapy (IBMT), an approach to
somatic movement education and therapy. The cultivation of consciously
embodied movement is at the heart of somatic movement practice. Through
embodiment practices, soma - the subjectively experienced sense of
embodied self - becomes a vital, living reality and a foundation through
which healthy relationship to others, to Nature, and to life as a whole
can be nourished.
The book describes the practice, thinking, research and creative work of
twenty-one IBMT practitioners. Each has also trained in other
disciplines and their writing weaves together their broader learning,
passion and professional practice within the IBMT approach to somatic
work. In this volume we offer a collection of expressions with a rich
diversity of themes and styles, bringing these voices from the next
generation of somatic movement practitioners, writers and leaders to a
wider audience.
The book covers topics such as IBMT in therapy, education, early years
learning, dance and theatre; the integration with psychotherapy,
psychoanalytic thinking, and somatic trauma therapy; and the connection
between individual healing and the healing of the Earth and Nature
during this time of planetary crisis.
There are many aspects of IBMT practice described in this book that are
shared with somatic practices in general, though there are also aspects
which are specific to this approach. IBMT uniquely integrates in-depth
studies in Somatic Psychology and the Discipline of Authentic Movement
into a foundation of Body-Mind Centering(R) training. At the core of the
practice is the quest to deepen connection with self, and from there,
connection with others and the world around us.
