Licensed Teacher Content | June 2006
Special Feature
A Somatic Kata is a movement that is deeply sensed, experience in both physical and non-physical ways. It is a felt experience, perceived by connecting to our internal environment—sensations, feelings and emotions, as well as to our external environment—space, time, one another, the community, and universe.
When we sense our experience versus thinking and analyzing it, we embody not only the physical realm, but the realms of mind, emotion and spirit. In Nia, a Somatic Kata is achieved through the dance we create individually and collectively. At this intimate level of co-creation personal power is unleashed and discovered. As you begin to more deeply connect to your experiences, you'll discover a new powerful sense of self - a self that includes your physical body along with the powers of your energy body.
To activate the Somatic Kata approach, view your body as a whole. Each part of your body – your organs, muscles, bones, nerves, brain, skin, tongue, cells and molecules etc. – sends you information to deepen the Somatic Kata experience. Open to feeling and sensing with every part of you.
Communicate and relate to your physical body as solid and fluid matter, as a body that includes a subtler body composed of powerful, formless energy. This formless energy Prana or Chi can be consciously accessed, felt, amplified, directed and cultivated to get stronger, relaxed, healed, transformed, enlightened, and aligned. It is when we integrate our "real" body, the physicalness of us, the one that has weight, height and temperature, together with our subtler "energy" body, the one that consists of gaseous, fluid, rhythmical vibrations, that we gain the greatest potential and power to continually heal, and achieve our greatest potential. Use Nia Katas as the medium to help liberate your body, mind, emotions, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. Open to Nia's structured and free-form ways of moving and to the moments where you spontaneously let go of your history and habitual patterns.
To connect to the Somatic Kata sensation, move from first attention into second attention awareness. First attention awareness is where you discover directions, the information that helps you categorize, organize, pattern and determine your orientation. Second Attention awareness is where you internalize, where you personalize and develop relationship to what you are doing that includes sensory feedback to deepen your experience.
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