Gravity and the Development of the (Body) Self in Dance Movement Psychotherapy

Abstract

This chapter highlights the topic of gravity and relates it to the development of the self in DMP. The baby is born into a world with laws of gravity, which are first explored in the horizontal, then in the vertical and finally in the sagittal plane. The chapter focuses on the relationship the infant establishes with gravity and the development of the (body) self and others can facilitate the infant’s relationship with gravity. On the basis of developmental movement patterns, object relations, and psychoanalytic theories, as well as notes from 2 years of infant observation, personal observations and clinical materials, the chapter outlines our relation with gravity, the relation of gravity and (body) self-development, and the use of the concept of gravity in clinical contexts (case vignette).