Dialoguing with Body: A Self Study in Relational Pedagogy through Embodiment and the Therapeutic Relationship

Abstract

This article emerges from a self-study (Baird, 2004; Bergum, 2003; Grumet, 1990; Ham & Kane, 2004; Kitchen, 2005a, 2005b; Loughran, 2004) conducted as a requirement for a doctoral class at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Education. In this study, I reflected on my embodied experiences and the role of the body in my consulting practice in sport and performance psychology with athletes and dancers. Inspired by the work of Chehayl (2006), I engaged in a narrative analysis (Sands, 2002; Sparkes, 2002) of my own emerging autobiographic tale, and actively worked towards re-storying my body through a multi voiced dialogue between various "bodies" at play, both mine and those I interacted with. In light of my own personal experiences, combined with my growing understanding of the philosophy of the flesh (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999) and notions of embodiment in the therapeutic relationship, this study aimed to examine a) how I experienced my body in different domains of daily practice, b) what meaning I derived from these embodied experiences, c) what tensions, congruencies, and divergences existed within my embodied experiences, and d) what implications emerged relating to my consulting practice. Emerging from this self-study is the importance of learning to trust feel, learning to let go, and learning that I/matter. An embodied perspective appears to be an important part of a relational pedagogy and has the potential to facilitate healthy therapeutic relationships when integrated into a reflective, consulting, educational practice.