Inside Out: moving from the organs.

When I first began studying embodied anatomy, there were some systems and tissues that were already familiar: muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, joints, even skin. These are the ones that I had a direct experience of through movement, massage, contact, even injury; the ones that in a way are visible to me and to others. They provide my postural signature, the way I show up in the world and move through events, encounters and environments.

Of course, I also know that I have organs and glands, fat and fluids, a brain and nerves, but it’s quite possible that you, like me, hadn’t attempted to connect with any of these with the intention of seeking movement support, inspiration, and expression. It turns out that embodying the organs can revitalise our posture and everyday moving, as well as any specific movement practices we follow. They can also illuminate our feeling states and give rise to creative impulse and expression.

The organs may be invisible but getting to know them and making them more present, is not only a fascinating exercise in embodiment but one that is also rich with potential.

Some initial thoughts.

We can identify organs as individual structures, for example, we recognise to one extent or another the shape and location of our lungs, heart, stomach, and kidneys. We also know that our organs function in systems: respiratory, circulatory, digestive, urinary, etc. Each of these systems has its own set of processes that keep to their own pace and rhythm: breathing fills and empties, blood pulses and lilts, digestion ripples in waves, urine falls and flows.

When we take a more holistic approach and explore the systems somatically, we might discover that our organs can be places of expressive feeling: lungs for joy and grief, heart for love and courage, stomach for appetite and need, kidneys for clarity and precision.

How to get started.

Take a peep at the images below to help you orient or find others in your own books or internet searches.

In the first one, consider how the skeleton acts as a container for the organs, offering protection and support, whilst maintaining space. In the second image, you’ll see the front view of the organs, and in the third you’ll see them looking in from the right hand side.

First, take on board this idea of content and container. Whether you are sitting reading this or moving around as you listen, imagine the skin, muscles, connective tissues, and bones holding the overall frame and space of your body and the organs are its soft, slippery interior.

Distinguishing the content and container can add a richness to familiar posture or movement. This richness appears as volume, fullness, depth, and pliability. It can all add up to an experience that sometimes feels like the container is ‘organising’ around the organs and bringing them into movement - as if it’s carrying a kind of luggage - or that the organs are filling out the inner space to lift and transport the container from within.

You don’t really need much in the way of anatomical knowledge to explore the idea of content/container. If it’s possible for you, try coming to semi-supine and rolling from side to side to bring forward the sense of the inner weight of the organs ‘pouring’ as you turn from one way to the other and back again.

If you get really interested, take a balloon and partially fill it with water to the size of a small orange. Pass it from hand to hand for an impression of fluid weight within a membrane. You might also rub a little oil or soap over the surface to appreciate how friction-less the movement is (if you have a few balloons place them in a bowl to have an idea of how the organs slip and slide together).

Second, without trying to differentiate the organs, imagine them collectively taking the weight of your bones and muscles, alleviating any pressure and strain, especially if you are feeling tired or tense in your shoulders or spine, for example. This can shift our frame of reference from questions like what’s happening in this or that joint? which muscles do I need to “release” or “engage”? etc. We can start to think more about making movement and organising our posture from the inside-out.

Third, start to differentiate the organs, and you will find ways to support and shift areas of the body where you may have otherwise experienced a lack of clarity or resistance