I think it was while learning Session 5 of the Phase II Rolfing training. A person is made to stand, and one walks slowly toward them from the left side, the right side, and the center, observing how that person perceives the world. In my own case, there was a sense of wariness when approached from the left side, whereas from the right side or the center there was nothing of the sort.
A colleague who had lived in New Zealand and is now learning Rolfing alongside me says that they come to feel wary when approached from the front.
This happens because the perception of Space differs from one person to another.
How does the world of science think about Space?
In The Body Has a Mind of Its Own by the well-known science writer Sandra Blakeslee, Space is introduced in the following way.
Stretch both arms out in front, fingers extended, and sweep them through the full range around the body — overhead, out to the sides, up and down — as if expanding one’s own territory. The entire volume of space the arms pass through is the personal space surrounding the body, which neuroscientists call peripersonal space, and it is mapped, corner to corner, within the brain.
This peripersonal space differs by individual, and it shows up in how each person handles the sense of distance between themselves and others. The reason securing personal space matters is that, when placed in an external environment, unless the brain grasps how it is moving through space, it becomes unable to respond to the unexpected (for example, a car or bus coming toward one, a person approaching). To respond, it is necessary to extend the hand, to pull away, to draw near, to protect oneself. It is for this that peripersonal space is formed.
Next, how is Space thought of in Rolfing?
I have introduced Tonic Function several times in this column (on Tonic Function, see “Tonic Function 1” and “Tonic Function 2“); its proposer, Hubert Godard, is one of Giovanni’s mentors. What I myself learned from Giovanni is to value the Space between oneself and the client This idea is influenced by Godard’s way of thinking.
Godard defines Space as “the imaginary building of our relationship to the world.”
And the objectively measurable space is called Topos, considered as distinct from Space. Because Space is about “building a relationship,” in the sense of how an individual grasps Space, it comes to be influenced by the environment one grew up in, the experiences one has personally lived through (experiences of success, experiences of trauma), and one’s cultural background.
One cultural example is Japan’s packed commuter trains. On a packed train, one may encounter a situation crammed so tightly that there is no physical Space — no Topos — at all. And yet there is no sense that one’s personal Space has been violated.
In this column, I have taken up the history of painting and the body; this expresses precisely how, in the history of humankind, the painters who created the works perceived Space with the body (see “The History of Painting and the Body (1) — Viewing the Body Through the History of Western Painting” and “The History of Painting and the Body (2) — How Do We View the Face and Head Through the History of Painting?“).
To bring the body into order in Rolfing is to create Space within the body (see “Awareness of Gravity and Space“). And Space is not only the Space within the body; it can also be said that the body exists within Space, and the inner and outer Space influence each other.
Godard developed his thinking about Space and crystallized it into the theory of Tonic Function. I have introduced Tonic Function in this column (see “Tonic Function 1” and “Tonic Function 2“), and the key to it is bidirectionality (Palintonicity) (see “Basic Concepts — Bidirectionality (Palintonicity)“).
To introduce Godard’s words: the two directions mean holding both a direction of building the foundation of the lower body by ordering the feet (Ground Orientation — ground: settling onto the earth; orientation: direction) and a direction in which, based on that foundation, the upper body freely builds a relationship with Space (Space Orientation). By holding two directions, the Tonic Muscle works efficiently and the body comes into order.
The real delight of Rolfing — for all the various techniques and exercises that are introduced — lies, I think, in bringing the client new options regarding the Space around themselves. And “Hold the space” is what helps make that possible. I would like to keep performing sessions with Space held dear from here on as well.
References:
Sandra Blakeslee, The Body Has a Mind of Its Own
Phenomenological Space, Interview with Hubert Godard, Contact Quarterly, 2003