Contact improvisation, play and the nervous system
I’ve been practicing contact improvisation (CI) on and off for 36 years and I really think it’s one of the best physical practices for health and well being - so many things about it are good for you. This short post focuses on how CI can foster nervous system regulation.
Dr Stephen Porges (originator of polyvagal theory) is a behavioural neuroscientist who researches the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is part of the system that enables us to regulate our emotions. Healthy emotional regulation means that we are able to respond to real stress/challenge effectively when needed, but are then quickly able to return to a balance, where we feel calm, safe and in control.
Most of us probably have aspects of our emotional regulation that we feel don’t serve us so well. For example we might feel over anxious, or down, or we find we are quick to anger or are easily knocked by other people’s reactions.
Porges talks about play being a great neural exercise for balancing the function of the ANS. The reason for this is that play can only happen within the context of perceived safety. It also engages the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system (which respectively, are co-opted into the defence behaviours of fight/flight and shut-down – when in a context of threat) at the same time. So engaging in play with another, allows the nervous system to experience being highly activated but also allowing close proximity in a context that is safe, therefore establishing an alternative reference point for the feeling of being stimulated. This grows the potential for a greater flexibility of response by effectively practicing the efficient transition between active and calm states.
CI is a form of movement exploration partnered with another person. There is a fairly simple framework of engagement whereby the participants always stay in physical contact whilst moving together. The practice is a shared experience of giving and taking weight, leading and following, playing with balance and momentum. The spirit is that of play and exploration and every dance is a little adventure because nothing is planned, the form of it unfolds into the present moment.
For it to work well, the participants need to be extremely sensitive to their own and their partners physical capabilities and personal boundaries. CI is, I think, quite unique as a nervous system regulation practice, in that it requires the movers to be physically intimate and active with another in the context of play.
Particularly valuable, is the ethos of acceptance as you move with another. Because in effect CI is a non verbal communication between two people where everything that is offered (within the acceptable boundaries of the practice) is received and accepted as a valid and valued response. In this context there is no right or wrong or judgement, there is just what happens.
The pre-verbal developmental period in our lives is when we form our core beliefs about what kind of world we live in and we start to organise ourselves in such a way to survive whatever experiences we have. If during this period we are not met with loving attuned communication by our caregivers, for whatever reason, we may begin to form core beliefs that say for example, ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I’m not lovable’ or ‘I need to be more than I am’.
If this is the case, the nervous system becomes wired to reflect those limiting beliefs and so we tend to interpret our experiences as an adult, through the lens of those assumptions about ourselves. But the nervous system is plastic and constantly changes according to new experience, so there would seem to be great healing potential of a practice like CI to begin to ‘rewire’ the nervous system by having conscious experiences that offer a new context for feeling safe in relationships that are attuned, resonant, present and consensual.