The Somatic Self

The Somatic Self
Workshop with Matthew Spears
September 30, 2017

While doing a personal retreat at the Centre, Matthew Spears from Vancouver offered to present a two hour workshop entitled “The Somatic Self.” Matthew, who has a background in acting and trauma work, as well as a long-term interest in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, is passionate about exploring the relationship we have with our bodies, movement, and the breath in order to bring “choiceless awareness” to that relationship. He engaged the group of ten in exercises designed to bring awareness to the way we breath and move, and how that is affected by interaction with others. He also focused on our use of voice and invited us to play with sound with the intention of freeing up any tension around the throat and enabling an unrestricted expression of our voice. Interspersed with the activities were some quotes from Krishnamurti read by Matthew’s friend Kirsten. Some discussion of our experience followed each segment of the workshop and there were questions at the end about Matthew’s vision of how the work related to Krishnamurti’s views. It was a playful, fun, and interesting exploration of the body-mind dynamic and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We thank Matthew and Kirsten for their offering and look forward to more contact with them in the future.