Metaphors of Movement - 24th April 2010

A Modelling Project of Problem Solving and Personal Excellence

In this workshop, Andrew T. Austin, inspired by the work of Charles Faulkner, demonstrates how to overcome stuck states and create effective movement towards your personal goals. "Not enough people pay attention to their mode of transport," Austin explains, "in trying to move forward in life, people need to know in which direction they are heading and how far they need to go in order to reach their goal. The way they transport themselves towards that goal is vitally important and of course it is their body that is their transport."

Clients often arrive in therapy complaining of a lack of movement in their lives, both metaphorically and literally. Common expressions of how the person feels that reflects this lack of movement include:

I feel stuck
I don't feel like I am going anywhere
I am stuck in a rut
I feel like I am going around in circles
I'm not making any progress at all
I am not moving forward
I feel like I am going backwards

There are many expressions that reflect a lack of movement in a person's life. In addition to this, many people lack direction:

I don't know where I am going
I don't know which way to turn next
I feel lost
I lack direction in life
I feel disorientated
I feel like I'm going the wrong way in life
I don't know the right way forward

Instread of paying attention to these metaphors of movement and direction, all too often in therapy there is an excessive attention paid to the kinesthetic system and the emotions. As a result we often find a person who finds themselves unable to move forward until they have the right feeling in place.

It is often noticed that many martial arts and systems of physical movement are highly philosophical in nature, an example that is well known to many people is from Aikido, where an opponents movement is not blocked, but instead is redirected. In this Metaphors of Movement workshop, Austin demonstrates the relationship between the way a person moves their body and the way a person moves through their mind and through their life.

This workshop also details the type of path on which a person moves. Life is often describe as a journey and we walk different paths. This can reflects the type of terrain, or environment, with which the person interacts. Common expressions of a person's terrain include:

I have fallen on hard times
I am on shaky ground
It's an uphill struggle
I'm skating on thin ice
I'm out in the open here
I'm at a crossroads in my life
I'm walking a dangerous path
It's a jungle out there
It's a long road ahead

The mode of transport is important too, and is something that is so often overlooked. for example in order to feel like we are getting somewhere in life, we may need to:

put our best foot forward
put one foot in front of the other
stand up for ourselves
take one step at a time
jump in with both feet
leap ahead of ourselves

But sometimes we may feel as though we are moving too slowly or that we are not the driver of this transport, but rather are a passenger:

we are racing ahead
we are driving this forward with great haste
ploughing ahead
it's all plain sailing
it's all rolling out of control
I'm being taken down a path I don't want to go
it feels as though the wheels have come off

Price £95.00