One of the things I love about Dance Movement Psychotherapy is that we don’t always know where a session is going to take us.
A client may arrive with something they want to talk about, or simply with a feeling they can’t quite put into words. We can begin there, gently noticing what is happening in the body and allowing movement, sensation, images or words to become part of the exploration.
Sometimes I offer a suggestion or a guided movement practice. At other times, I follow the client’s lead, witnessing what emerges and becoming curious about it together. The process isn’t about finding the “right” interpretation. It is about making space for whatever the body, imagination and relationship bring into the room.
In this session, the client arrived carrying difficult emotions — some of their own and some connected to the experiences of others. As we slowed down and listened to what was happening in their body, an extraordinary inner landscape began to emerge.
There were pebbles, a dark tunnel, moss glowing in the light, and then a cave filled with rainbows. What began as a quiet embodied exploration became an experience of playfulness, wonder and joy.
The client later wrote this beautiful account of what they experienced.
These are their words, shared with permission.
Rainbow Cave
I find myself standing with my hands over what feel like two pebbles. Their surface feels slightly
pimply and they fit my palms perfectly. When I look, they are the palest grey and there is a space
between them that goes a long way down. The grey darkens as it goes down.
I step into the space between the pebbles and find myself at the start of a dark tunnel. As I leave
daylight behind, a small electric lightbulb appears above my head. It sheds a warm, gold light and I
can see water trickling down what look like slate walls. There is a slight iridescence where the walls
are wet. I walk deeper into the tunnel down a gentle slope. I notice vivid green patches appearing
on the walls. When I look closer, I see that they are clumps of moss, so bright they glow in the light
of the bulb above my head. They are covered in tiny stems capped by tiny seed pods – almost like
little cushions.
The tunnel broadens into what I think is a large cave. Rainbows appear on the floor. I am walking on
rainbows. More appear on the walls, lighting the moss patches even more brightly. Delight fills me
and I laugh. I play with the rainbows, jumping from one to another, trying not to touch the floor in
between. I am a child again. I run towards the walls to touch as many red colours as I can, then
yellows, then violets. The rainbows are so beautiful.
I play with the rainbows until it’s time to leave. Happy and immensely grateful, I say thank you to
the universe for this joyous experience. And I know that I will be able to return to my rainbow cave
whenever I need to.