If being embodied means to acknowledge the storehouse of experiences that is the body and all our behaviour, embodied teaching means to recognise that in your students and yourselves while teaching. Simple enough right? the practice of it however, brings with it a series of habit and perspective changes.
Teaching, like performance, facilitates the generation of many personas. There exists our embodied selves, the regulated, portrayed and relational self, and then the larger self that is presented to a larger audience or a classroom. the multiple personas might seem like they are just matter of fact and we require them for different purposes. However, recognising that the mind and our habits are not as clear cut as one realises is the crux of embodiment. Therefore the healthiest, safest form of building relationships, especially that of the teacher-students' is to have a well recognised and regulated transition from one to the other, as one does on stage. And embodied teaching is the practice of teaching with the recognition and regulation.
Miroslav Petrovic elucidates on the 'fakeness' or 'plasticness' that takes over oneself when on stage or in a classroom. That one is 'stripped off their humanity'. However, I argue that an authentic self cannot be the performative or professional self. There is a true need of being different in different environments and we cannot always exist in the present and allow our body and its needs take over in the presence of an audience. The slippery slope is that this means expectations of the environment dominate all habits and practices of the performer or teacher. The expectations of an environment, if they match the needs of our authentic self, allow us to flourish in that environment. However, the body and the authentic self can very often have its needs and desires rejected. When that happens, our bodies can betray our true needs.
Our bodies may reflect that through relationships that otherwise allow our authentic selves to scream through - breakdowns, anger, fights, violence. If one does not have the power to do that, it shows up in the form of health or as chronic stress (refer to ACE). Not having our authentic selves needs being met at the cost of performing our selves creates schisms with long term consequences of which alienation from ourselves is the kindest one.
Embodied Teaching is then teaching as your authentic self that allows ones 'essence' to pass through without dominating our bodies needs nor allowing the needs to dominate. It is of negotiating the vulnerable needs with the needs of the other and the environment. Of creating a presence, giving space for the students to also grow and navigate themselves through your relationship. The transferring of content is a transformation of a cognitive and emotional self. It is a vulnerable act of healing via transaction and is powerful if only for that reason.
Why embodied teaching is distinct from other forms of regulation is the developmental impact it has on a larger group of individuals. It is the delicate balancing of multiple bodies, experiences with our own and creating and building healthier bodies and habits for all. Therefore the lofty term 'transformative' is used. it is the subtle ways in which we create vulnerability, build resilience and allow for authenticity to flourish. Therefore this balance that teachers need to develop of being embodied and relating to other embodied beings is embodied teaching. It is a space of strength, presence, peace and growth. Embodied education argues to always be that.