Namaskar,
For two weeks, I get the pleasure of spending it with the medical NGO Aarogya Seva. Aarogya Seva is based in Bangalore and advocates for the medical needs of those living in the city and the surrounding area. I’ve been volunteering with Aarogya Seva for a week and it’s been a great experience to see who they help, what they’re doing, how they’re organized, and learn what experiences I can take back to the States with me to provide better patient care!
While this week has been amazing and the different experiences of visiting local hospitals, attending the inauguration of a rural clinic, and visiting local doctors; the moment that I want to talk about now is what we did on Sunday morning! Yesterday, Sunday, we attended a creative movement therapy workshop. It’s part of the Art for Aarogya Festival this week and one of the many workshops, plays, and dances that the organization is putting on to raise funds for their medical projects this year.
The workshop focused on free style movements to help us learn to better communicate with one another and express ourselves. We went through a ton of fun exercises, including closing our eyes and using our whole bodies to paint a canvas we were ‘enclosed in’. Have you tried to ‘paint’ with your elbows, knees, or nose? Try it, it’s quiet fun! We were also paired up into twos and had to follow the pointer finger of our partner, wherever it led. Needless to say, some of us were jumping into the air and several others found themselves wiggling on the floor, like a caterpillar. Much fun! For the final project, we had to vocally tell our partners what we were doing with our body as we were moving. We had to explain to them, “I am putting my left and right hand on my hips”, “I am placing my right hand on my head and scratching it”, “I am touching my toes with both hands” as we did those motions.
The workshop enlightened us that while we think we are fully self aware of our bodies, we hardly are. Throughout the session, we had to be reminded to quit ‘painting’ in front of us and to remember to use our peripheral field and paint all around us, even behind us! Likewise, when we were talking about our body movements in the final session, the instructor pointed out that most of us chose to vocalize the movement of only our hands. What about the movements of our elbows, shoulders, or nose?
The creative therapy workshop was a great way to start off the week and reinforced the idea that I must look beyond the conventional boundaries of life. A lesson that I easily forget much of the time. The instructor uses the techniques to often work with children with ADD, ADHD, and autism. However, by all means, it certainly doesn’t need to be confined to that. Workplace difficulties, marriage difficulties, scheduled time to hang out with friends, family reunions? We’re always looking for ways to make memories with one another and have fun in the process. Next time you’re stressed, hanging out with friends, or at a family function. Gather a group around you, ask everyone to close their eyes, and paint with your nose!
