Movement: Bodies in Motion

Insight with Pablo Escorcia
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We are born through movement. 

From our youngest days, we are nurtured to move, to grab, to crawl. We are taught how to walk, how to run, how to climb. But at some point, our movements become restricted, and we are prevented from running around and exploring our surroundings. This is mostly out of fear. We later spend our days inside classrooms, delineated courtyards and other prescribed parameters - all the way to our office cubicles. While we may take part in various athletic activities, the focus is often on competition, performance or teamwork, and not simply on moving our bodies. With technological advances and everything now at our fingertips, we barely need to leave our homes, desks or sofas. But we are starting to see how static bodies affect our minds, emotions and overall health. And it’s time to do something about it.
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We spoke with Pablo Escorcia, Co-Founder of Purpose and Motion, a social enterprise that supports game-changers, working together to make the game of life more meaningful, more sustainable and regenerative. They believe that one of the biggest challenges most of us face right now is being able to embody the change we want to see in the world. One of the tools they have developed is what they call  ‘embodiment for social transformation,’ practices that help their clients connect to and consciously use their mind, emotions and body intelligence. 

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Organisations don’t tend to have that level of awareness with regards to their needs. But in the context of covid and lockdown, well being has become more present. Organisations now know that it’s not only about performance, but it’s about how we feel while we are working, and how to create the necessary incentives and spaces for people to feel good and well while working.

We live in a disembodied culture.

I believe that we can perceive reality with every cell in our body. But there’s a hierarchy in the way we perceive the world, and on top of that hierarchy is the mind. Our whole society is created to train our ability to come up with great ideas and thoughts. But we don’t necessarily receive the same amount of education with regards to emotions, to manage and use and express emotions, which is the key to engaging in any kind of relationship.

Most of the education that most of us receive in regards to the body is oriented towards performance; either being a good producer, somebody who knows their set of tasks, or training to compete in a specific discipline - an athletic discipline, for example. But besides these two aspects, we don’t understand our bodies as something that is alive. Not just a vessel that carries our mind around, but actually that allows us to perceive reality as we perceive it. And this is the same way that we structure organisations. 

With embodiment work, we understand that our bodies and emotions are essential parts of the way that we are aware of ourselves in the world. We start seeing how the organism is more like a network of different types of information that complement one another. And this is the same way that new organisations are trying to structure themselves, more like networks or ecosystems.

We have lost their ability to rest. 

The way that our nervous system is structured means it needs to have a balance between what is going on outside, being active, being fully present, trying to achieve our goals, and at the same time, moments of regeneration, knowing how to rest. This is something that not a lot of people know how to do. And that’s where we see this amount of burnout.

We don’t understand why we are making certain decisions. 

Our bodies understand through sensing. We are sensing all the time. In the space we are in, in relationships, and those sensations guide the way we behave. But the language of sensations is one that most of us are not fluent in. We never received instructions on how to sense, so most of those sensations still speak to us, but on an unconscious level. Why is this space not good for me? Why do I feel this way? All of those questions that cannot only be answered rationally. And our bodies start screaming so we can pay attention.

We see a lot of the ‘superhero syndrome’ in the nonprofit worker.

We consider ourselves to be the good guys, so then we burn ourselves out in order to fulfil objectives. We sacrifice ourselves, and this of course is not good for the individual, nor for the organisation.

This is in part because we haven’t really reviewed our main motivation. We want to change the world, yes, but at what cost? How can we come back to ourselves, incorporate new habits into our everyday lives in order to take care of ourselves and play a role in trying to contribute to the change in the world? It’s not grandiose; it’s a much healthier and realistic way to think, and it allows us to take care of ourselves while working.

Read the full conversation here: https://www.rights-studio-magazine.org/bodies-in-motion 

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Pablo Escorcia is a Colombian Berlin-based entrepreneur, Biodanza teacher, Yogui, coach and consultant. His life has been a journey of searching for his own path by integrating the practical world of business and the integral world of yoga and dance. His goal in life is to lead processes of enhancing human consciousness from gratitude and love to help create a better world. He is an experienced organisational consultant, coach and trainer. He has worked with hundreds of organisations, reaching thousands of people, from private companies, public institutions, international NGOs and educational institutions. Find out more here: http://purposeandmotion.com/