5 Developmental Movements
Foundational movements that can influence our boundaries, relationships, self-esteem, and our ability to emotionally regulate.
In my Sensorimotor Training, we learn about what are called the 5 Developmental Movements - basic movements we explored as babies that helps us grow and become a person physically and emotionally.
Our relationship to these movements can show up in adulthood through our boundaries, relationships, self-esteem, and our ability to emotionally regulate. Exploring them can not only bring awareness to experiences that may have been missed, but can also provide an opportunity for emotional healing.
Yield
Yield is an experiece of physical support when the body feels safe and can surrender to gravity. It’s the 1st of the 5 developmental movements we explore as babies, and requires a felt sense of trust, safety, and capacity to receive the support.
Yield is different from collapse, which is disengaging, defeat, or shut down.
Struggling with yield in adulthood might look like an inability to receive support, baseline tension in the body, or an inability to relax.
Ways to practice Yield:
allowing a deep exhale
noticing your back leaning into the couch/chair
feeling the pull of gravity as you lay on the floor
unclenching your jaw
letting your belly expand
laying in a hammock
Push
The 2nd developmental movement; exploring push is moving something away or against gravity. Physically, a baby might push themselves up to crawl or to lift their head. It establishes a sense of where the body starts and stops.
Emotionally, it’s an act of a boundary, an expression of preference, a saying no, or creating a separation between self and other. Push creates a sense of confidence & autonomy.
Ways to practice Push:
holding one or both hands up, as if to make a “stop” signal
pushing on a table/desk while sitting
while standing, push into a wall - notice emotions that might come with different pressures
Reach
The 3rd developmental movement; reach is an expression of curiosity and a desire to connect & interact with the world. An extension of the arm/s with a goal of connection with someone or something; it’s a willingness to explore something new & grow, or an ask for help/comfort.
Exploring Reach:
find an object you want closer; reach an arm toward it and pay attention to how you feel the desire in your body. What let you know you wanted that thing?
toward a trusted person or a pet, reach arms toward them and pause in that experience. What comes up?
Grasp
The 4th developmental movement; grasp is a sensory exploration and an experience of connection. It’s the act of claiming something as your own, a holding or releasing, a “yes” and a “no”, and a sense of agency.
Emotionally, grasp builds our discernment of what we want/don’t want, builds trust in our ability to choose in relationships, nourishment, and with coping tools
Exploring Grasp:
holding an object you want, explore what you felt right before the grasp and right after the grasp
if hugging someone, notice how your body knew it wanted to grasp, and how/when it chooses to let go
Pull
The 5th & final developmental movement; pull is an act of bringing something/someone closer for connection, examination, and/or to receive care/nourishment.
Over-pulling can result in an over-reliance on outside sources of regulation, clinging, addiction, or lack of boundaries. Struggling with pull can result in an inability to receive care or nourishment, hyper-independence, or blocks with intimacy.
Exploring Pull:
imagine pulling a trusted person closer; slow down and notice what happens emotionally & physically. Is there an ease, or an urgency, or a tensing/bracing?
after reaching for/grasping a glass of water, really slowly pull it toward you and examine that experience of the water getting closer
Of course, none of this should be taken as diagnostic, but instead with curiosity and an opportunity for exploration. Our relationships to these movements begins developing before we have language, and can shine a light on possible attachment experiences and/or trauma. Further, everyone’s experience in their own body is different, and SO nuanced. If any of this speaks to you, exploring more deeply with a somatic therapist may be helpful. 💛
5 Developmental Movements
Yield, Push, Reach, Grasp, Pull
