“Martha Lask is a powerful and gifted facilitator of the Authentic Movement process. Her ability to articulate the essence of Authentic Movement to me was so clear and indicated to me how much this process is in her bones. I participated, feeling safe to express myself without any judgment and gained tremendous insight. I highly recommend this work to anyone who is interested in knowing themselves in a new way!”

Authentic Movement as an Innovative Practice

An example of how we use Innovative Practice is the use of Authentic Movement in our coaching and consulting practice. It is a structured form of movement that involves two roles:

MOVER: The mover simply notices and follows whatever impulses arise in his or her body to move or be still.

WITNESS: At the same time, the witness, sitting on the periphery of the space, watches the mover with careful, compassionate and precise attention.

Authentic Movement provides a safe place and a simple structure to explore issues, dilemmas, different perspectives or possibilities. (See Services: Authentic Movement).

We teach Authentic Movement to individual and groups with a distinct OD and coaching flavor. We are facilitators, not therapists, and we incorporate other organization development methods into our facilitation: aspects of Appreciative Inquiry, Theory U, and Polarity Management.

The “Witness Stance” develops leadership capacity…

Learning from the practice of Authentic Movement, we have developed the “Witness Stance” and have incorporated it into our approach to leadership development. The “witness stance” develops leadership capacity by providing a way to:

• Practice compassion
• Suspend judgment
• Be authentic in communication
• Make careful choices
• Be fully present
• Be open to new ideas
• Enact careful partnership

The “Witness Stance” develops coaching capacity…

We have also incorporated the “witness stance” into our coaching methodology. Coaching/witnessing, with an awareness of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – expands our view of the person.

Coaching from a witness stance strengthens our capability to support change in others, and helps us to maintain a highly attuned self awareness. If people are supported through a change process by a caring witness they increase the chances of sustaining that effort, because being seen and heard by another with compassion, without judgment, and with keen attention is highly validating. And the gift goes both ways. To suspend judgment of another as right or wrong allows us to recognize and appreciate the complexity of human reaction. That is the gift of the “Witness Stance.”

To see how we have incorporated Authentic Movement into our practice, click here:

See also an article called Integrating Organization Development and Authentic Movement: A Creative Journey.

• Coaching and Authentic Movement with a small business owner
• Using Authentic Movement to Help a Professional Consultant Explore Behavior Patterns
• Using Authentic Movement to Help Leaders and Consultants Enhance their Impact

To read about the “Witness Stance” click here