Session Notes: Period J, Stretch 2/3, Video 1

Duration: approx. 18 minutes

DC Notation: [ A O S ] < D | L

Material: A: The Emperor; O: The Lovers; S: The Hermit

Preparation: Cellular-Breathing and Visualized-Tarot-Card*

Amit, Omer, and Susanna act as practitioners; Dror as director; and Lena as videographer. All participants experienced the same preparation. Through the preparation, each participant established a connection with one random Tarot cards drawn from the Tarot of Marseille deck. The practitioners hold stewardship of their individual card; all participants are in-the-know of the three-practitioners’ cards. Additionally, all participants are encouraged to draw on and be informed by the preparation.

*Preparation: Cellular-Breathing and Visualized-Tarot-Card

1. Set Up. One participant will prompt the group through a guided meditation and movement research, the prompter partaking in the preparation themselves. The prompts are to remain sporadic and concise, allowing generous time and space for exploration. The group members are thus invited to find their own intrigue and creativity in unfolding the prompt; encouraged to take responsibility of the practice; find ways to share with the group the various point-of-intrigue and games that they have found. The rest of this preparation description will trace the prompts as spoken instructions.
Draw a Tarot card from the Major Arcana of the Tarot of Marseille deck. Take a look at it, and place it in your pocket. Stand in space, and close your eyes.

2. Somatic Alignment. Return to your body. Direct your attention to the breath. Visualize the anatomical process of breathing, respiratory-breathing. Visualize the breath spreading throughout the body. Explore the breath through sound.
Visualize your cells enacting breath, cellular-breathing. Visualize your body as a container, the cells like grains of sand: shifting with every shift of weight and reshaping the container. Explore the breath through movement. Find your way to a sitting position.
Seal: Take note of your current embodied-state. Mark or compartmentalize it with a quick and vigorous inhalation, followed by long exhalation – your teeth forming a barrier through which to squeeze the air. Release the state.

3. Visual Alignment. Draw your card from its pocket, placing it in front of your gaze. Open your eyes and examine it. Close your eyes and visualize the card, increasingly specific and detailed. Peek at the card to gather information, then close your eyes; continuing to construct a the visualized-card. Do this several times: visualize, check, visualize. Take a final look, then place the card on the floor in front of you, and close your eyes.
Invite the visualized-card to animate and transform. (Depending on the group’s experience with visualization practices, it may be helpful to support this prompt with additional ones, shared by the guiding practitioner and by the group. Regardless, dedicate ample time to allowing and instructing the visualized-card to animate and transform.)

4. Synthesis. Unseal: Summon or decompartmentalize the somatic alignment of cellular-breathing by repeating the breathing pattern with which it was sealed.
Explore visualization – informed by the visualized-card – through sound and movement – informed by cellular breathing.

5. Greeting the Space: Play with the opening and closing of the eyes. Allow yourself to interact with the space around you and its inhabitants.

6. Find an ending.

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