Improvisation Exercise

Objective: Improvisation makes you aware of your mind and body relationship. This exercise helps you notice how much you think while executing a movement. The creative process of improvisation allows you to foster a better relationship with your mind and body. Although improvisation is a vulnerable process, this particular exercise gives across the floor prompts that assure you never feel lost in your process of self discovery.

Duration: 35 minutes

Materials Needed:

• Floor space

• Speaker

• Journal (optional)

Exercise Outline:

Warm up (10 Minutes)

• 5 minute quick warmup: Toe taps, skater jumps, squats, and mountain climbers (30 seconds each), rest break for desired time, and repeat.

• Light stretching: Flock of birds exercise which allows yourself and the group of participants to spontaneously choose a stretch of their choice, repeat until you feel stretched or everyone has participated. Suggested stretches if needed: Neck rolls, reach up to the sky and down to your toes, deep plie in second, lunges, spinal twist, butterfly, downward dog, child’s pose

Exploration of Improvisation (20 Minutes)

1. Introductory exercise

   1. Close your eyes (in seated or standing position)

   2. Reflect on an instance where you had to be vulnerable: How did this make you feel? Does this make any unwanted thoughts arise? Do you believe improvisation connects to vulnerability?

2. Across the floor exploration

   1. Pedestrian walks across the floor: Are you thinking about walking in a pedestrian manner right now? Are you simply walking mindlessly?

   2. Think about moving through molasses, honey, or peanut butter as you move across the floor: Are you moving slowly? Is there a particular motion you are repeating or are you exploring different movements?

   3. Now think about the opposite - you are moving freely through an open body of water: Are you moving quickly? Do you feel like this gives you more opportunity for exploration of more movements?

   4. Lastly improv across the floor while guiding from your head, shoulders, torso, legs, then feet. Is there a particular body part that guides you better than another? Is there one that feels awkward or difficult in terms of guiding your movement?

3. Come together for final thoughts

   1. Sit in butterfly position and close your eyes

   2. Reflection questions: Did the “Flock of birds” stretching exercise help you warm up well for today’s exercise, mentally or physically? Did pulling from a vulnerable situation help you in your improvisation? Was there a particular across the floor exercise that felt the most comfortable?

Reflection (5 Minutes)

• Reflect on whether all the improvisation exercises correlated well together. For instance, if pulling thoughts from a vulnerable situation helped you move across the floor easily. Additionally, if the progression from pedestrian walks, to moving slowly, to moving quickly felt like a beneficial continuation. You can also reflect on the questions asked in the final thoughts circle, using a journal if needed.

Note: This exercise honed in on developing improvisational techniques through experimentation. It is important to reflect on whether or not these were valuable exercises for you. This exercise is recommended once you’ve grown more comfortable with somatic exercises. Improvisation requires vulnerability, freedom, and an open mindset.