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AE x Concordia｜By: Angela
如何用Body Mapping探索自我：身体与情绪的共鸣之旅
pinterest.com
一阵“哈哈哈哈哈“从上海协和国际学校(Concordia)高中部的五楼传了出去。走进每个教室，你就能发现十多个学生围绕着一张长纸画得不亦乐乎。这是在画什么呢？又有什么意义呢？欢迎来到能认识自我和认识他人最重要的活动之一Body Mapping。
01
What is Body Mapping: 画自己不是谁都会画吗？有什么意义？
reimaginary.com
核
解
心
释
Definition
- 艺术疗愈
- 直接地面对自我，探索自我
- 更加了解自己的独特性
- 缓解压力
亚里士多德说过：“身体是...超过其各部分的总和” ("A body is...more than the sum of its parts")。Body Mapping是一种表达艺术疗法，它利用身体作为生活经历叙述的主题。这种方法原本由Jane Solomon （2002;2007） 正式开启，并将其应用于感染 HIV/AIDS 的妇女和移民的工作，在个体中逐渐形成了悠久的传统。慢慢地，Body Mapping不仅将身体意象视为重要事件的历史记录，更视为一种探索自我效能、能力和复原力的躯体来源。
虽然Body Mapping是一个整合图像和故事的多层次过程，但它本质上是一种具体体验。绘制往往是身体映射方法的一部分，素描、油画、拼贴画或其他材料，都可以用来表达关于自己的故事以及特定的躯体体验或记忆。艺术表达还可能包括将实际的手和脚印以及颜色和符号绘制在身体轮廓上或周围，以回应有关一个人生活的事件、挑战和优势。
Dr. Cari Costanzo自己创作的Body Map
Dr. Cari Costanzo
老师这样说...
IN TEACHER'S WORDS
“Body Mapping活动为10年级的学生提供了一种引人入胜的互动方式，以有意义的视觉形式探索他们的身份并相互了解。通过允许学生创建自己或他们的小组的代表，该活动支持自我反思和鼓励学生思考是什么让他们与众不同，通过培养同理心和开放性，学生能够表达个人价值观、兴趣和经历。这项活动通过培养同学之间的同理心和开放性并建立一个联系更加紧密和支持性更强的社区，与十月份的vitrue of the month-“理解”完美契合。” -P老师
02
Why Body Mapping: 这不是小学生的活动吗？太浪费时间了吧！
并不是！虽然说幼儿园或者小学经常会遇到老师让我们画自画像，但是并不代表我们长大了之后做就毫无意义了。相反，正是因为小时候完成过一样的事情，过了十几年再创作才能发现区别。Body Mapping能让我们找到过去和现在的相同之处，经历了那一些成长，让我们深入内心，更加理解自己。
虽然表面略显幼稚，然而在斯坦福大学提供的“Body Mapping: Tracing the Embodied Experiences of Your Life” (“身体测绘：追踪你生活中的具体经历”)课程中，斯坦福的文化人类学家Dr. Cari Costanzo，将她作为民族志学者和学术总监的工作融为一体，设计了“Body Mapping”研讨会，将文化意识与艺术和沉思实践相结合，鼓励重新构建和回收具体经验，使人们能够反思并创造性地分享自己的生活故事。
斯坦福提供的Body Mapping课程
在她的演讲中，她说道：“…and what I like to tell students is to keep this imagery in mind when they think about creating their body maps. Creating your body map isn't just about trying to look perfect and appear that everything in your life is perfect. It's about finding ways to contend with some of the some of the wounds that we have and the brokenness that we feel.
“我想告诉学生的是，当他们考虑创建自己的Body Map时，请牢记这些图像。创建你的Body Map不仅仅是为了让自己看起来很完美，让你生活中的一切看起来都很完美。而这是关于寻找方法来弥补我们所受的一些伤口和我们所感受到的创伤。”
斯坦福Body Mapping的课程的学生们的创作过程
Dr. Cari Costanzo
03
所以这一次，我们也来！
这一次，上海协和国际学校的10年级学生会代表们引用了Body Mapping这个概念来帮助大家在及其紧张且高压的一段时间里缓解自己的心态，并更加深入了解自我及他人，促进一个良好的学习环境。
在活动开始之前，代表们会给以下关键词来启发学生们：
- 选择一种身体姿势来代表自己
- 关注个人历史，包括“我从哪里来”和“我要去哪里”（例如目标或抱负）
- 在身体上描绘图像或符号，以代表已经克服或正在克服的挑战、事件或障碍（通常称为“韧性标记”）
- 包括作为力量来源的个人座右铭、名言或口号
- 象征着一直给予支持的人和实体（宠物、社区或更高的权力者）（由照片、符号或手印表示）
- 分享从生活经验中学到的信息或智慧
虽然时间和资源有限，但是最后的成果出乎意料得好。每张纸上都布满了大家画的独一无二的自己。通过这个简单的活动，能清楚地看到大家在把对自己重要的要素用视觉化的方式表达在了纸上的同时，也更加了解自己。
协和国际学校(Concordia)的学生们Body Mapping的创作过程和结果
作品分析
现在....让我们深入看看同学们每个人的画作吧！
^有趣的是，因为没有办法提供每人一张纸的条件，所以让全班同学都画在了同一张纸上。而汇聚在一起的画作也让学生们用自己画的自我形象跟别人画的自我形象进行互动，仿佛两个本来毫无关系的小人被一条线连在了一起，逐渐编织成了一张人与人之间的关系网络。
^这里可以很容易的看见这位同学画出了她所在的城市，自己的兴趣爱好-看书，音乐，和跳舞。这些都是一个个体的一些重要的要素，有可能是她生活中很重要的一部分，也是给她生活增添色彩的一部分，都被刻画的很成功。
^这一张虽然没有确切的按照body mapping的方式来创作，但是同学们也都把有关他们自己独特的特征画了出来，这样混合在了一起，也是一幅很独特的画作。因为协和国际学校(Concordia)是一所比较多元化的学校，所以同学们都来自很多不同的地方。这也可以在图中清晰的看到不仅有中国的国旗，也有加拿大和韩国的。虽然国籍并不是最独特的，但是看到不同国家的学生能聚集在一起做这个活动觉得特别神奇。下方也可以清楚的看到一位同学画了很多兴趣爱好-小提琴，钢琴，长笛，羽毛球等等，清楚的刻画了自己，让自己特别了起来。
老师这样说...
IN TEACHER'S WORDS
“每个班都对body mapping的活动采取了不同的方法，反映了我们年级水平的多样性和创造力。一些班级选择在更大的海报上创建个人代表，为每个学生提供表达自己的空间，并让同学们深入了解彼此的身份。其他班级在一个中心人物上进行合作，添加代表整个小组的细节。这种协作方法帮助学生看到定义他们社区的共同价值观和特征。总体而言，body mapping增强了群体凝聚力，促进了理解，并强调了集体中个性的重要性。” -P老师
学生反馈
“虽然Body Mapping一开始看起来没有特别吸引人，但是慢慢感受到了它的魅力所在。我很久没有这么静下来思考我自己到底是谁，是什么形成的我。虽然这个活动包含着很深奥的概念，但是我在这个过程中很开心，缓解了我自己近期的压力并且也和同学们积极互动，更加了解他们了。通过这个活动，我感受到了我们每个人的独特性和彼此的联系有多重要。”-A同学
“我认为Body Mapping活动不仅让我们与同学建立了更深的联系，也与老师们建立了联系。我发现自己与他人之间有许多共同的兴趣和意想不到的联系，因此，我相信这个活动是在我们的社区中培养归属感的有效方式。“-C同学
同学们的反馈也更加证实了这个活动的魅力。在这个快节奏的时代，我们很难有时间去停下来，
清楚的感受并了解自己的独特性和对自我独特性的认同感。
我就是我呀，毫无遮掩的我！
写在最后
相信如果你已经读到这里了，会发现其实body mapping不只是一个简简单单的游戏，而是一个艺术品，甚至可以说是一个有魔力的艺术品。这幅画作映射的不只是我们每个人的表面，而是我们每个人是谁，是什么构造了我们并且很简单的就能给到每个参与者一种放松感，让我们能真正沉浸到另外一个世界里，放空思想，只做自己。
所以...你还在等什么呢！记住：Dr. Castanzo说过的，body mapping是弥补我们生活难以避免的一些创伤的方法而并不是一个锁住我们真实性的活动。拿出你的纸和笔开始勇敢地创作吧！
Reference
感谢Dr. Cari Costanzo的讲解和照片
https://advising.stanford.edu/people/cari-costanzo
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/arts-and-health/202301/restorative-embodiment-and-the-art-of-body-mapping
总策划：Angela
校对：Chloe Healthy
审核：Susie
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AE x Concordia｜By: Angela
Let’s Body Map! ｜A Journey to Self-Discovery Through the Art of Connecting Body and Emotion
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A series of laughter spreaded out from the fifth floor of the high school building in Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS). As you walk into these classrooms, you will discover each of them are filled with students all crowding over a long paper, drawing happily. You may ask, what are they drawing? And what is the meaning of them? Welcome to one of the most important activities that encourages understanding of self and others-Body Mapping.
01
What is Body Mapping: Why are we even doing this easy task?
reimaginary.com
F
U
O
R
Definition in Four Bullet Points
-A kind of art therapy
-Forces you to directly face and explore yourselves
-Enforces a better understanding of one’s uniqueness
-Relive Stress
Aristotle once said that "A body is...more than the sum of its parts".
Body mapping is a form of expressive arts therapy that capitalizes on the body as a theme for narratives of lived experiences. There is a long tradition of this approach with individuals who have experienced psychological trauma and life-threatening medical illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and organ transplantation. These strategies focus on body image as not only a historical record of significant events, but also as a somatic source for the exploration of self-efficacy, capacity, and resilience.
Jane Solomon (2002; 2007) is credited with formalizing a process called “body mapping,” applying it to work with women living with HIV/AIDS, and immigrants. Other practitioners and even artists have used it with individuals who have had medical procedures for life-threatening illnesses. With these individuals, the process serves as a way to explore illness, as a form of legacy, and for some, as preparation for death.
While body mapping is a multilayered process that integrates image and story, it is essentially an embodied experience. Drawing, painting, collage, or other materials are used to represent stories about oneself as well as specific somatic experiences or memories. Paint is traditionally provided as part of the body-mapping approach. Art expressions may also include actual hand and footprints and colors and symbols are painted on or around the body outline in response to specific questions about one’s life, including events, challenges, and strengths.
Dr. Cari Costanzo’s own Body Map example
Dr. Cari Costanzo
IN TEACHER'S WORDS...
“The Body Map activity offered Grade 10 students an engaging and interactive way to explore their identities and learn about one another in a meaningful, visual format. By allowing students to create representations of themselves or their advisory group, the activity supported self-reflection and encouraged students to think about what makes them unique. Through words, symbols, and images, students were able to express personal values, interests, and experiences. This activity aligned perfectly with October's Virtue of the Month—Understanding—by fostering empathy and openness among classmates and building a more connected and supportive community.” -Mr. P
02
Why Body Mapping: This seems so childish…such a waste of time!
Of course not! Even though it is a common thing that in kindergarten or elementary schools, teachers often tell students to draw themselves, but it doesn’t mean that it is meaningless to do the same thing when we are older. INSTEAD, just because we did the exact thing in the past, we can easily observe a huge difference in our way of thinking through body mapping after ten years. Body Mapping is also a way for us to find the similarities between the past and the present, the things that are still important for us and never have changed. As we experience challenges and growth throughout, body mapping leads us on an adventure deep down into our hearts and being able to understand ourselves better.
Although it seems rather childish at first, Stanford University interestingly provides the course of “Body Mapping: Tracing the Embodied Experiences of Your Life”. In this course, Dr. Cari Costanzo, a cultural anthropologist, designs Body Map workshops that combine cultural awareness with artistic and contemplative practices to encourage the reframing and reclaiming of embodied experiences, enabling the ability to both reflect upon and creatively share one's life story.
Stanford’s Body Mapping course
In her speech, she had said：“…and what I like to tell students is to keep this imagery in mind when they think about creating their body maps. Creating your body map isn't just about trying to look perfect and appear that everything in your life is perfect. It's about finding ways to contend with some of the some of the wounds that we have and the brokenness that we feel.
The composing process of Stanford Body Mapping course’s students
Dr. Cari Costanzo
03
Let’s do this together now!
This time, the sophomores representative of Concordia utilized the concept of body mapping to help the students release their stress under this extremely tense period and also parallels the theme of the month Concordia focuses on—understanding.
Before the activity, the representatives gave the students some keywords to help them get inspired：
-Choosing a body posture to represent oneself.
-Focusing on personal history including “where I come from” and “where I am going” (such as goals or aspirations).
-Depicting images or symbols on the body to represent challenges, events, or obstacles that have been overcome or are in the process of being overcome (often called “marks of resilience").
-Including personal mottos, quotes, or slogans and/or symbols that are sources of strength (resources).
-Symbolizing people and entities (pets, communities, or higher power) who have been supportive (represented by photos, symbols, or handprints).
-Sharing messages or wisdom learned through lived experiences.
Even though there was limited time and materials, the results were unexpectedly good. Every paper constitutes everyone’s unique self. Through this simple and quick activity, it can be easily seen that students have portrayed the elements important to them visually, fostering more inner empathy.
Process and outcome of Concordia students’ body maps
Artwork Analysis
Now…let us dive into some of the artworks!
^Interestingly, since there was no way to provide each student with a piece of paper, the whole class drew on the same piece of paper. The different figures drawn together allowed students to interact with the self-images drawn by others, as when two unrelated little people were connected by a line, gradually weaving a network of relationships between people.
^Here we can easily see that this student has drawn the city she lives in and her hobbies - reading, music, and dancing. These are some important elements of an individual, which may be a very important part of her life and also a part that adds color to her life, and they are all portrayed very successfully.
^Although this picture was not created exactly in the way of body mapping, the students drew out their own unique features, which are mixed together to form a very unique painting. Because Concordial is a relatively diverse school, the students all come from many different places. There are not only Chinese flags, but also Canadian and Korean flags on the drawing. Although nationality is not the most unique element one might think of, it is fascinating to see students from different countries gathering together to do this activity. We can also clearly see below that a student drew many hobbies-violin, piano, flute, badminton, etc., clearly portraying herself and making herself special.
IN TEACHER'S WORDS..
“Each advisory took a different approach to the Body Map activity, reflecting the diversity and creativity within our grade level. Some classes opted to create individual representations on a larger poster, providing space for each student to express who they are and allowing peers to gain insight into each other’s identities. Other classes collaborated on a central figure, adding details that represented their advisory group as a whole. This collaborative approach helped students see the shared values and characteristics that define their community. Overall, the Body Map activity enhanced group cohesion, promoted understanding, and emphasized the importance of individuality within a collective."-Mr. P
Student Feedback
"Although Body Mapping didn't seem particularly attractive at first, I gradually felt its charm. It has been a long time since I have stopped to really think about who I am and what makes me who I am. Although this activity contains very profound concepts, I am very happy in the process. It relieved my recent stress and also motivated me to actively interact with classmates and get to know them better. Through this activity, I felt the uniqueness of each of us and how important it is to connect with each other." - Student A
“I think the Body Mapping activity has allowed us to build deeper connections not only with our classmates, but also with our teachers. I have discovered many common interests and unexpected connections between myself and others, so I believe this activity is an effective way to foster a sense of belonging in our community.” - Student C
The feedback from the students further confirmed the charm of this activity. In this fast-paced era, it is difficult for us to have time to stop and clearly feel and understand our uniqueness and our sense of identity.
I am who I am, without any cover!
Author’s Note/To the readers…
If you have read this far, you definitely have already found that body mapping is not just a simple activity, but a work of art, or even a magical work of art. This artwork not only reflects the surface of each of us, but also who each of us is, what makes us who we are, and it can easily give each participant a sense of relaxation, so that we can truly immerse ourselves in another world, empty our minds, and just be ourselves.
So... What are you waiting for! Remember: Dr. Castanzo said that body mapping is a way to make up for some challenges in our lives, not an activity to lock our authenticity. Take out your paper and pen and start creating bravely!
Reference
Special thanks to Dr. Cari Costanzo’s information and pictures
https://advising.stanford.edu/people/cari-costanzo
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/arts-and-health/202301/restorative-embodiment-and-the-art-of-body-mapping
