These exercises are typically developed after an initial warm-up phase and need a facilitator, one person who leads the series of exercises and gives signals.
The participants are in a circle: the facilitator explains briefly what type of exercises they are going to do. They are then asked to start walking freely in the room, paying attention to how they put their feet on the ground and to the sensations this touch gives them.
After some minutes, the facilitator asks them to imagine that something is happening in the room. The participants follow and notice what happens to their bodies:
Some water is starting to enter the room: “The room is starting to have some water on the floor!”. The water is rising a little bit so they have to be really careful not to slip.
After some minutes, the water is becoming higher and higher: now it’s at the level of their ankles, then at the knee, then at the waist.
After a while, the water is at the level of their shoulders and then on their chin (at this point, a lot of participants will start to walk on tiptoes). At this moment, the facilitator asks them to “taste the water” and she says: “Oh!! It’s salty!! Then we are probably walking in the sea!”
The facilitator leads the participants, who are still walking in the room, to head towards the shore. The participants are then asked to explore the sensation of the sand under their feet: the sand can be fresh, warm, or really hot depending on the time of the day.
This walkthrough of imaginary scenarios can be repeated using different stimuli: grass, snow, and mountains are some examples.
At this point, the facilitator asks the participants to form a circle and to share their experiences. Lead questions can be:
The participants split into pairs and take place in the room: in each pair, one will be the “magician” and one will be the “follower”. The guide tells them to imagine that the magician can create a wire that can attach to parts of the body of the follower. With these wires, he/she can pull and make the other body move. They can keep just one wire at a time but they can change the point where this wire attaches to the other’s body as much as they want. The magician touches a body part of the follower with the tip of his/her fingers and the wire is created. They exercise in pulling and moving the body of the follower. They need to be reminded that the magician has the responsibility to keep the follower safe and comfortable.
They switch roles and the exercise is performed again. The exercise is repeated with different partners.
The last part of the exercise is then introduced to the participant: the follower puts his/her hand on the shoulder of the guide and closes his eyes. The guide will lead him/her across the room being particularly careful not to make him/her pump into obstacles. After some minutes, when the follower is more confident and trustful, the guide can introduce changes in speed, height, and movement.
The roles then switch and the game starts again.
