Collective Conversation

Q: What was tied together? What was unravelled?

A: A thin thread tied us together—fragile yet strong—drawing us into the shared task of building a refuge for all. Before shelter could rise, the work had to begin: roles shaped, hands chosen, trust agreed upon. We learned to ask for help, to honor differences, to let patience guide us.

Along the way, what unraveled were illusions of sameness and solitary effort. Some stepped forward and carried on, others paused to observe; talents surfaced, creativity breathed, empathy learned its voice.

In the end, a beautiful tent emerged—co-built, collective, alive. And beneath it, we sat together, tea in our hands, enjoying not only the shelter we made, but the journey that wove us into it.

Q: Where is the boat heading to?

A: Art-Speak answer:

The boat path nose tip pointing direction stretches across the past, present, and future, tracing chronologies of ways to inhabit the planet. Each horizon fabulates flux, and introduces new imbalances as well as necessary speculations about what is to come.

A: A2 answer:

We cannot know where the boat is heading.

Q: After a year of mostly participating in the School of Commons digitally, are there any exercises or strategies that you are going to adapt for in-person learning/teaching/collective settings? (For example, playing a song, chosen by someone who has already arrived, until everyone is present.)

A: We'd love to play the game that Gabriel taught us in Zurich again! The one where we choose a sun and a moon and beautiful chaos ensues as we all try to orbit one another. This resonantes with our collective practice of self defining our roles in collective projects using: cloud (nebulous overall presence), moon (somewhat cerebral), rainbow (shimmering but distant), stone (background support) and wave (waiving participation). Gabriel’s activity could be an interesting embodied extension to our way of using natural metaphors to consider how we work together.

Q: Can we sit, write the best workshop tools and co-create new recipes?

A: Do we need to start by sitting?

Do we need to begin by writing?

Instead of pen and paper, what if we started with ingredients and cooking utensils?

Using ingredients as our shared vocabulary, co-creating dishes, and then writing the recipe down afterwards to document and share the process.

Elements of improvisation in the kitchen choreography.

Ingredients that work well together make a good recipe. But to know which ingredients work well together, we must first understand the ingredients. How do we share each of our understandings to create an ingredient database that can be shared and used to create recipes?

Q: How can we deepen the connection between somatic practice and archival research in future workshops?

Treat the archive as a body and the body as an archive. Find space for an embodied practice, such as listening or feeling what is already there, before digging into the reading and investigation. Take breaks, to check in with the body, give that space and move with it. Maybe, find ways to talk about the archive, as if it is a body. Does it feel tense, absent, overstretched? Allow the body to speculate, where the archive falls silent. Fill in the gaps.

Q: How can one feel how a tree feels?

A: Instructions for Vrksāsana (Tree Pose) inspired by Iyengar Yoga

- Find a place to feel what a tree feels.

- Tadāsana (Mountain Pose). Stand with your feet together. If you are menstruating or have lower back pain, keep your feet hip-width apart.

- If standing is not possible, sit on the edge of a chair with your legs hip-width apart and your feet aligned with your knees.

- Supta Tadāsana (Reclining Mountain Pose). If sitting is not possible, lie on the floor or a firm surface with your feet together. If you are menstruating or have lower back pain, keep your feet hip-width apart.

- If neither of these options is possible, find a comfortable position and visualize the actions below.

- If you have high blood pressure, do not raise your arms in any of the variations. If you have a headache, do the lying-down variation and if you feel uncomfortable raising your arms, don't do it.

- Standing (Tadāsana), sitting, or lying down (Supta Tadāsana), breathe gently and steadily through your nose. Bring your awareness to the entire surface of your body that is in connection with the support. Try to expand that connection as much as you can. Extend the skin from the center of your feet, buttocks, or back, to the extremities, sides, top, and bottom. Keep your inhalations and exhalations gentle and steady through your nose. Encompass as much of the surface as possible. Bring your awareness to each cell that is connected to the surface and expand the space within and between them. Stay on this observation for 1 to 3 minutes.

- Through this expansion, connect with the surface that supports you and through the surface with what lies beneath it, and beneath it, and beneath it. Imagine how that connection expands deep beneath your feet, buttocks, or back.

- Press your skin firmly to the surface to connect downwards, and from there lift the posture.

- If standing in Tadāsana, extend your legs, engaging your kneecaps to your thighs, quadriceps to your hips, and lifting your spine. Soften your buttocks toward the floor.

- If sitting, press your feet to the floor and your buttocks to the chair, and from there lift your spine.

- If lying down in Supta Tadāsana, pull your heels forward, press your thighs to the floor, and extend your spine back and up. Soften your buttocks toward your heels.

- In all cases, extend your arms to the sides of your hips, opening the space between your fingers. Ensure your elbows are not bent.

- Vrksāsana (Tree Pose). If standing, bring your hands to your hips and shift your weight onto your left leg. Turn your right foot and leg outward, raising your right heel. Lift your right leg out to the side and, with the help of your right hand, bring your right heel to the inside of your left leg as close to the pubic bone as possible. Do not place your right heel on your left knee. If you cannot lift your leg, keep it on the floor.

If you lose your balance when lifting your leg, you can use your left hand to hold onto a wall for support. Finally, with or without a wall, raise your arms toward the ceiling and extend them, keeping your shoulders away from your ears. With your eyes open, focus your attention on a point. Inhale and exhale gently and steadily through your nose one to three times. While in the pose, press your left foot firmly into the floor. Ground yourself. Lift your left kneecap to your thigh and your thigh to your hip. Press the left edge of your hip toward the center and your right heel to your inner left thigh. Lower your buttocks to the floor and use your arms to lift your spine. Feel the tree pose from the roots through the trunk to the branches. To come out, slowly lower your right foot and return to the starting standing position, or Tadāsana (Mountain Pose). Repeat on your left side, following these instructions.

- If you are seated, gently lift the outer edge of your right leg with your hands and place your foot on your left knee. Position your right ankle on the outside of your left knee. If this is too intense for your hips, place more height under your buttocks. Soften your right thigh. Finally, raise your arms toward the ceiling and extend them, resisting the pull of your shoulders away from your ears. With your eyes open, focus your attention on a point. Inhale and exhale gently and steadily through your nose one to three times. While in the pose, press your left foot firmly into the floor. Ground yourself. Lower your buttocks to the floor and use your arms to lift your spine. Feel the tree pose from the roots through the trunk to the branches. To come out, slowly lower your right foot and return to the starting seated position. Repeat on your left side, following these instructions. Note: This is not the classic pose, but an adaptation.

- Supta Vrksāsana (Reclining Tree Pose). If you are lying down, turn your right foot and leg outward, lifting your right heel. Raise your right leg to the side and, with the help of your right hand, bring your right heel to the inside of your left leg as close to the pubic bone as possible. Do not place your right heel on your left knee. If you cannot lift your leg, keep it open to the right, lying flat on the ground as much as you can. Finally, raise your arms behind you, bringing the backs of your hands to the floor. If this is not possible, open your arms as needed so that the backs of your hands touch the floor, then extend your arms, resisting the pull of your shoulders away from your ears. With your eyes open, focus your attention on a point. Inhale and exhale gently and steadily through your nose one to three times. While in the pose, press your left heel forward and your left thigh firmly into the floor. Lift your left kneecap to your thigh and your thigh to your hip. Press the left edge of your hip toward the center and your right heel to your inner left thigh. Lower your buttocks to your left heel and use your arms to lift your spine. Root your entire back and left leg. Feel the tree pose from the roots through the trunk to the branches. To come out, slowly lower your right foot and return to the starting position lying down, or Supta Tadasana (Reclining Mountain Pose). Repeat on your left side, following these instructions.