A somatic congress in the 1950s? An overview of the First International Congress on Release of Tension and Re-Education of Functional Movement

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the First International Congress on Release of Tension and Re-Education of Functional Movement that happened in Copenhagen in 1959. Acknowledging their common interests in the emerging field of psychosomatic studies, the congress gathered creators of somatic practices, some of their students, and professionals with medical, artistic and pedagogical backgrounds in order to share theoretical information and practical classes, and to further collaborations amongst peers. In this article I present historical information in the form of a first-person fictional narrative based on factual evidence and descriptions from actual attendees in order to offer an immersive experience of the event, recognizing it as the first collective effort for Somatics as a field early in the 1950s.