"Making Connections"
with movement therapist and educator Thomas Greil
Presented as part of BodyCartography's
"a collection of fluid spaces"
Introduced by Carla Bottiglieri
Teknisk Museum, Oslo
April 28, 2022
A special applications workshop for working with embryology for the work with children with disabilities with movement therapist and educator Thomas Greil Our earliest experiences stem from the time we were in the belly of our mothers. These “memories” have descended into our unconscious mind where they are still part of who we are today. Any disturbances, shocks or traumas during that time have an effect, as well as the environmental conditions inside and outside of the womb. In the first month before birth babies develop their basic tonal state, their primary tone, determined by the capacity to condense and expand. An embryo floating in the amniotic fluid is in flexed position even though there would be plenty of space to stretch out. Only later when the space gets more and more limited by the elastic membrane of the womb, the baby starts to expand against the resistance of the uterine wall. In the birthing process the baby pushes itself out of the womb. This primary tone can be set off in children with developmental delays, premature babies, or children with disabilities. There can be a lack of tone (hypo) or an increased tone (hyper). Unless these tonal imbalances are addressed further progress can be limited or inhibited. Body-Mind Centering provides tools to support balance between condensing and expanding forces, and with that support postural tone. This allows moving away from gravity to lift the head, come to sitting and walking. The workshop gives a brief introduction to the idea of primary tone and offers small experiences to feel tonal changes in oneself.
Thomas Greil is a practitioner and trainer of Body-Mind Centering®, a
JKA (Jeremy Krauss Approach) practitioner and a Registered Somatic
Movement Therapist (RSMT). He is teaching and directing Infant
Developmental Movement Educator programs in Europe, the US and South
America since 2003 and is one of the co-founders of moveus as well as
SOMA in France. He has extensive experience with babies and newborns.
His work is particularly dedicated to the accompaniment of families with
children with fragilities. He created the project “Making Connections”
to support families with children with disabilities. He lives in Faenza,
Italy, where he directs together with Carla Bottiglieri minima
somatica, a nucleus of somatic research in practices and narratives of
embodiment.