Archetypal Movements
Archetypal Movements
This is a therapy session developed by Assistant Professor Dr. Rahmi Oruç Güvenç and Clinical Psychologist Gerhard Kadir Tuçek (director of the Austrian School of Eastern Music Therapy) and practiced in many hospitals and treatment centers across Europe.
The main idea behind this practice is to reawaken forgotten emotions, transform a person’s current state by generating new emotions, and facilitate their adaptation to a healthy lifestyle. To this end, the session—which can be described as an activity aimed at achieving continuous harmony and balance through appropriate movements in an undisturbed natural setting—is conducted with the accompaniment of natural, authentic instruments performing a repertoire of pentatonic, semi-pentatonic, and authentic Turkish music. This session can provide positive therapeutic effects—both in terms of emotional change and the development of motor skills through exercise—for individuals who are autistic, neurotic, passive, fearful, shy, or distressed, as well as for those with spasticity or disabilities.
Conducting the Session
Establishing a balance between the hand, the eye, and the heart, and getting to know the hands (Most of the neurons in the brain are dedicated to the hands and language).
It involves moving the arms in a circular motion from the outside to the inside; the practice consists of turning away from external influences and stimuli and turning toward the true values bestowed upon us and our own essence. Inner concentration for health and to achieve a sense of unity and wholeness.
A movement in which the arms trace a wide arc from the outside to the inside, parallel to the ground. Resonance exercises using natural movements such as coming together, traveling a path and covering distance, reaching, swimming, flying, and running.
An exercise that works the shoulders, back, chest muscles, and bones—areas known as centers of stress and physical-energy blockages. The movement focuses on moving both shoulders forward, backward, and side-to-side while keeping the hands steady at the waist. (Example: Baksı dance)
This exercise involves moving the head forward, backward, and to the sides, with the hands resting on the hips. It is described as a strengthening and mobilizing exercise, particularly for the muscles of the nape and neck, as well as the nerves and blood vessels leading to the brain. (Example: Baksı dance)
The movements learned during the session are performed in a way that allows them to arise naturally from within—without forcing—and to be felt deeply, taking into account the harmony and balance found in natural movements (such as the flight of a bird, the gallop of a horse, the flow of water, the blowing of the wind, etc.). At the end of this session, participants stand up and move their entire bodies; the session concludes as the movements gradually become heavier.
06.06.2026
