Shape Flow as basic embodied communication

Abstract

In the Kestenberg Movement Profile – a movement analysis tool developed by Judith Kestenberg – the shape flow category provides information on a person’s well-being or discomfort. Through growing and shrinking of the body shape in three dimensions (horizontal, vertical, sagittal), the person expresses his or her state of being. This basic embodied form of communication must be adequately responded to in the early infant-caregiver relationship in order to develop trust in the world and in relationships. In a therapeutic setting, mirroring the shape flow is necessary to establish a trusting relationship.