Many things can be said about the effects of COVID-19. It has a great impact on many aspects of our lives, but as usual, I would like to put the focus on the body.

For several years I have been preaching to anyone who have studied with me, that more important than how you train body, is how you live with your body. This has become very obvious for me, after living for 3 weeks in self quarantine.

As we (my wife and myself) have decided to practice social solidarity, we try to minimise our contact with others completely, and to stay at home as much as possible.

As a person who considers himself ‘connected to the body’, I have learnt to see the price of this statement. Another way to phrase it ‘addicted to certain physical stimulus’…

Several aspects I have noticed:

Big part of my training is with other people. I do a lot of BJJ, contact improvisation and other partner work. My ability to enjoy my body through kinetic expressions is very compromised at for the moment.

I am very used to move in big open spaces. My living room is around 12 m2, which is relatively large but most of my training are in big dance studios or BJJ gyms.

These compromises force me to ask again what kind of a relationship I have with my body?

Does living an embodied life is confined to certain activities? Or is it a certain filter to perceive life itself?

One thing became even more certain for me, is that staying at home emphasises the relationship between architecture/internal design and movement.

What kind of ‘flow’ my home offers to me? How much can I actually move at home? And with whom?

If you are truly interested in movement and your body, you will find yourself connecting to other people as well. And this is maybe the strongest reflection of the situation.

Who are my partners for life?

Who is the community around me?

What kind of contact do we have now?

Many questions are spiralling around, I don’t try to answer anything for the moment…

Grateful for my family that is surrounding me with love, joy and playfulness.

Stay safe,

Matan