I started my Level 3 improvisation class last night. We started the course with exercises that were more skewed on the physical side. It was a lesson on embodying a character and tuning in to how your body feels in this state. I have always been one who is stirred by movement. This opening of eight weeks of learning excited me.

Embodiment starts with doing. It entails the deliberate and repetitive action to initiate an internalisation process. It is through the movement that we lose ourself to a character or a condition. It is interesting though that as we embody an “other” and let go of ourselves, we discover more about who we are. The surrender of the notion of self seems to unlock parts of our inner selves.

Embodiment is also about listening. It is staying attuned to the stirrings within as well as to the offering of another. As we take on a character further we then have the space to focus on accepting and giving to our partner. This generosity springs from forgetting about the self, its beliefs and perspectives. I shall try to remember this when I get overly fixated with my agenda.