For Emma Marshall, movement is the best medicine, and it could work wonders for your wellbeing, too
We all know the power of a good boogie, the restorative sense of a brisk walk in nature and the gratifying feeling of a long stretch, but for Emma Marshall, movement has become a bedrock for her wellbeing. After being hospitalised, unable to walk due to extreme trauma and stress, Emma created Movement is Medicine (movementismedicine. uk), a movement method that is said to help unblock stress, anxiety, depression and trauma, and help to ease symptoms of burnout that are being held in the body.
“Movement is Medicine works by using various different methods including touch, massage, tapping, breath work, Qi Gong, primal shaking and ecstatic dance, soundtracked to music that creates rhythm and feeling,” says Emma. “It uses everything from reggae and drum and bass to tribal house so that we understand how to tune in and move with the flow of the body.”
A typical session starts with a somatic meditation practice. “It’s a guided seated practice that uses various somatic techniques and usually lasts about 20 minutes,” Emma explains. “With every method we use, I explain what they are and why we are doing them during the meditation so people can use these tools in day-to-day life.” The release segment of the class uses primal shake, Qi Gong and hip release.
“This is where I start to play various electronic music genres such as tribal house, Afro-house and drum and bass. The body doesn’t lie, so once we remove ourselves from our ego-mind and its stories, we can find release through this method without having to relive trauma. When we do this, it creates new neural pathways that allow us to change the way our mind and body react and deal with stress and difficult emotions.” The free-flow ecstatic dance part of the class is where participants are encouraged to ‘dance like no one is watching’ and let their body come into free movement.
“The mind-body connection in exercise is vital. Our nervous system connects the mind and the body, so when we are moving we are showing our mind that we are in the present moment,” Emma says. “When we are in the present moment we come back into a state of nervous system regulation where we feel grounded and present. It’s where we also access joy. Doing exercises that are low intensity doesn’t have an impact on the adrenaline or cortisol production experienced in HIIT, so this is why it can be extremely beneficial for stress release because we are lessening the production of stress hormones, yet we are still participatin
