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Reflections on Stanley Keleman

By Irene Kummer, PhD

Stanley Keleman is a researcher through and through – not only where his
work is concerned but even more so in his basic attitude to life. From the very
start Stanley has worked with visual means be it as a metal sculptor, sketch
artist, or making videos for his workshops. In the last ten years he has put an
enormous effort into the conception of a DVD for his seminal text, Emotional
Anatomy, in order to vivify the complex dynamic of the somatic process.

The richly illustrated book, poetic representation of the soma’s can be voluntarily elicited and used to
Emotional Anatomy, is meant to be voluntary and involuntary develop, that is to ‘form’, an
looked at just as much as read. Its morphogenesis. The narrative speaks individual life of personal meaning,
graphic somatic quality makes it so of our shared genetic history of optimism and satisfaction.
memorable; the vigorous portrayal at developmental shapes and of the
once opens up general dimensions possibility for each person to This current work can best be
and focuses so precisely. The pictures organize their personal anatomic and understood from a background of
representing the layering of the emotional forming in the drama of Keleman’s own development. More
organism, the body plan, the stress human evolution.” than forty years ago, Stanley began
continuum and the somatypes imprint laying the foundations for his
themselves on the reader’s mind and It is significant that the pr inciples Formative concepts by means of his
serve as a frame of reference for of Formative Psychology articulated early publications. His pioneering
Keleman’s current somatic work. in the DVD move the focus from an Formative vision have been
orientation of pathology to an consistent over the years when he
The idea for Emotional Anatomy orientation of self-forming: How the departed not only from the causal-
began from a collection of Keleman’s soma’s ability for epigenesis, which deterministic point of view, but also
original sketches; and now for the is the ability to change from within from the model of body-mind-spirit
companion DVD he has organized the body itself, becomes the primary as separate entities. His Formative
another visual collection to illustrate resource for educating oneself. The concept has its roots in biology and
the next steps of his visionary key to understanding and changing views the human being as an
journey. His intent in organizing a behavior and feeling is, as always for animate, forming process of
visual story for Emotional Anatomy Keleman, in the body and its actions. anatomical metamorphosis and
the DVD is—as he himself puts it— The DVD illustrates how the body’s morphogenesis. Over the years he
to shape “an experiential, visual and innate, anatomical forming patterns has continued to develop his

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Formative philosophy and, enhanced images of real people constitute our occidental tradition.
accordingly, its anatomical and working further illustrate the
anthropological foundation, as well Formative concepts. Watching, The word body for instance, refers
as refine a practical methodology viewers partake of the vision to the material dimension as opposed
which he has named Formative Keleman created and embodies, and to the mental and spiritual. In the
Psychology®. His enthusiasm is how he translates images and Formative understanding, however, it
contagious, from year to year he imagination into a living process of has a holistic or embracing meaning
applies current scientific research concrete, practical somatic and does not merely denote the
with experiential practice as he experience. Experiencing the video is physical, but rather encompasses the
continues to deepen and differentiate intended to be user-friendly. There living process that we are. This is
his Formative teachings. are chapter points so a person can why Stanley often talks about soma,
stop, review, and participate by about the somatic-emotional
Keleman’s Formative concept is imitating the postures and thus have dimension. He uses the term
not just an idea it is also a their own experience of pulsatory embodying experience. However, this
philosophy, a vision and a practical assembling and disassembling. is not to be understood in the sense
methodology for making a personal that there is an “I” distinct from the
embodied life based on voluntary A New Somatic Language body, a separate entity that expresses
choice. In his work, he combines an something ‘in the body’, but rather
intense personal and teaching The artistic-formative aspect of the that we are a bodied process
presence with theoretical elaborations DVD also manifests itself on the organizing ourselves as a dialogue
and experiential tutorials. He is a level of language creation, which between all the different somatic
teaching researcher and a researching gives the Formative teachings layers and between body and it’s
teacher, conveying that both research precision and clarity. The departure brain. Therefore he often talks of
and teaching are enjoyable. from conventional philosophical and bodying, to body forth. Time and
psychological categories, the again he grapples to find adequate
In the years in which he cr eated transcendence of the traditional words. In relation to the four stages
the DVD, a certain order of model of separation that divides of pulsation for example, he initially
succession emerged: the first part of body, psyche and mind, challenged used the words swollen, collapsed,
the video was formed as poetic myth Stanley to create a language that rigid and dense, and later replaced
and dream and included images of serves as an appropriate vehicle for the first two with motile and porous
pulsation and pre-personal processes. the Formative tenet. This is not an in order to avoid a negative or
Later sections give motion to easy task, for our language has been pathological connotation. He uses the
illustrations from the book, while molded by and infused with basic term somatic soul in order to describe
clips from workshop videos and philosophical assumptions that the depth dimension of the soma.

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“Anatomy is behavior and behavior is anatomical
structure; all human functions, cognitive and
emotional expressions, are pulsatory bodily
acts.”

These are only a few examples that speak to us through their rhythm and stages of life. He redefined the
illustrate the genesis of a new their visual quality. Such passages— therapeutic relationship not as
terminology to express a new aphorisms, poems, myths and recovery from the past but as a
concept that had no verbal language dreams—are to be found in all of his Formative relationship: How to use
to refer to. works. past experience and make it part of
forming a present and a future, in his
In other words, he not only had to A Brief Introduction words “to form something rather
create new terms but a new way of to the Pioneer then be formed by it”.
conceiving psychological categories
to be sure to avoid references to Stanley Keleman may be Anatomy is Behavior
traditional thinking and phrasing. For numbered among the pioneers who
example, he chose stages of love for are reshaping the scientific domain Stanley developed a theor y and
what is generally called of psychology and positioning it method, which is consistently based
developmental stages in other onto a new base – onto the somatic on biology. He emphasizes behavior
schools. This is more than just a base, which he has elaborated on in is structure and reminds us that we
difference of words, it is the the last forty plus years. By means of are all a sub-organization of the
expression of another understanding his concepts and methodology he has larger biosphere and as such share
of human life. In order to make introduced a revolutionary vision with other animate organisms the
particular qualities visible, he also and method into somatic urge to make structural form, a
had to find words with which to psychological work. He was one of process that extends into the cellular
denote phenomena that had never the pioneers of the Human Potential and tissue layers. The structures and
before been captured in this way. Movement and went on to create his layers of human anatomy are formed
First in Emotional Anatomy the book own Formative Philosophy and along a pulsatory continuum and
and then again in Emotional Psychology. The body of his work, follow the metamorphosis and
Anatomy the DVD he has created Somatic-Emotional Education, morphogenesis of an evolutionary
original images that convey the allows us to take charge of our own process. Time and again he has
dynamic, pulsing anatomical life, to make it personal. In this taught this, and he founded his How
movement of the body as well as the context, he has revolutionized method on this basis. In his own
soma’s emotional expression. various fields. He rebelled against words, “anatomy is behavior and
the idea of therapy as correcting behavior is anatomical structure; all
This process of coining a new what has been damaged; choosing human functions, cognitive and
language is not merely about new instead to take a Formative approach emotional expressions, are pulsatory
notions and concepts, it is also about whereby people can learn to use bodily acts.”
capturing the body’s subjective themselves in ways they may not
interiority, for which another have had the opportunity to learn. According to the core of For mative
dimension of expression was needed. Psychology, behavioral action is the
In the book Emotional A natomy for His biologically based somatic basis of experience and intent.
instance, we find wording of somatic typology is the basis for his somatic Whereas Descartes claimed, “I think
processes in an idiosyncratic yet education and he also applied the and therefore I am.” Stanley
precise biological language. Certain same Formative principles to stress maintains: “I am an anatomical
passages, however, despite their management and dream work. He organization, and therefore I am.”
level of precision, exhibit a poetic has put couple and family therapy on This also implies: “I act and
quality – such as the summary of the a new basis and developed an therefore I am.” Thus, all human
various types of soma. These entirely new and well-founded functions such as thoughts or
passages transcend their content and somatic concept for the different emotional expressions, ought to be

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defined as organized bodily acts. The How exercise is a way to pausing after each singular step.
Thereby he puts the essential recognize what we are doing and Accordingly, repeating again and
questions of traditional philosophy most importantly to have voluntary again, the process to disorganize and
onto a new basis, that is to say, onto influence of our own innate or reorganize step-by-step is the means
the basis of living anatomy. The socially habituated behavior. Here to create layers in an innate pattern
Formative work not only provides a Stanley makes a key-difference and that introduces personal choice - the
different way of thinking by not puts it in the following definition: freedom to choose how to act. This
repeating traditional concepts it, in “The ability to alter programmed is what is meant by self-
fact, generates a change in paradigm. behavior is the basis of developing management. In the pause phase
The starting point in the Formative voluntary self-management and of (step 4 of the 5 steps) new
theory is not what we think or feel, creating alternate behaviors to those possibilities of behavior emerge and
but what we do, and especially how which are inherited; this ability of we can give them more body by
we do it bodily. cortex and muscle to create novel organizing and integrating them in
behavior, experiences that have not our everyday lives.
The Body’s Forming Process and existed before, is the difference
Self-Regulation between having a bodied life and I would like to offer you a per sonal
forming a personal embodied life example. If I say for instance, “I feel
Management of one’s self is an (Forming an Embodied Life, 2012 insecure,” Stanley will ask: “How do
important key word in Stanley’s workshop paper). you organize this muscularly?”
concept. The regulation of one’s self which enables me to identify and
is, first of all, an innate and thus The central concern to which all influence what I am doing. I can
involuntary function, the body other matters are subordinated is to make my posture, then slow down
follows a developmental plan and cultivate a personal embodied life. the speed of my action and at the
regulates itself in the process. This But how can we exert voluntary same time, muscularly intensify it. In
genetically given body is the pre- personal influence? We cannot exert the book, Embodying Experience,
personal body, as well as inherited influence by only focusing on Keleman (1987) has exercises to
constitutional behavioral patterns, by insights, on causal connections or on teach how we can differentiate our
which we are lived. As social beings questions of the why and whence, or behavior and how we can create
we also internalize cultural attitudes by questioning our feelings – the key layers, which become available
and give them body expression, as a issue is anatomical motor experience through repetition and practice, and
post-personal body. At the same as the basis of behavior and learning which we can then apply in our daily
time, by means of voluntary, voluntary muscular effort to lives. As we learn to form new layers
muscular-cortical effort, another influence it. In this respect and choices for behaving, we
keyword, we may develop a personal Formative Psychology differs from establish something like a behavioral
body and way of living based on the majority of psychological ‘library’ in which dialogues between
individual freedom to choose. To concepts. our body and its brain are
understand and influence these represented. By differentiating an act
different functions Stanley refers to The How refers to our motor we create new behavioral layers that
the how-to-method, consisting of five behavior. By slowing a pattern of are, in fact, new tissue
steps: movement we learn to experience configurations that become
gradations in a trajectory of stabilized and established as
Step one: Organize a body posture of behavior. Reflex, instinctual and anatomical memory structures.
a behavior habituated behavioral patterns are These memories can be recalled, by
often carried out so quickly and so “organizing a pattern of behavior”
Step two: Intensify the muscular automatically that they are difficult and then elaborated on by using the
tension of the posture. to influence. Here the how-to- How exercise. In this way we
method sets in. Only by slowing achieve a voluntary, personal way of
Step three: Slowly, step-by-step undo down the action pattern can we begin governing ourselves. The Formative
the muscular intensity. to influence it. method shows what it means to
become a unique and personal
Step four: Pause. Wait for new Beginning with doing an action we human being, empowered to regulate
possibilities. can find out how it is organized. This and form him/herself. This implies a
means differentiating an action very process of evolution, which stands
Step five: How do I use what I have slowly, step-by-step, with voluntary for a lifelong commitment, both in
learned? muscular-cortical effort, and by one’s private and professional life.

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Somatic Practice Exercises Stanley based his concept and par excellence. During this
methodology on biology, and he adventure, we may become our own
Keleman has developed an or iginal continually integrates the latest unique work of art, that is to say, a
practice protocol - somatic practice results of neurobiological research in self-poem, as Stanley puts it in one of
exercises - to help people experience his own process of deepening the his unedited papers. In his
their inherited and habituated Formative method. understanding, we are more than our
behaviors and to learn to influence inherited body we are also the creator
themselves in an individual way. Voluntary effort gener ates of a personal self, by differentiating
There is no performance expectation emotional and feeling responses that inherited patterns through voluntary
or rote way of practice. The aim is to can be differentiated and voluntarily muscular–cortical effort we make
learn about one’s own individual influenced. Practicing the style of them personal.
behavior and way of organizing. somatic exercise creates a personal
There is no right or wrong, the repertoire of behavior patterns, As human beings we ther eby have
purpose is to explore and form your which become richer in time. We the choice whether we want to be
way; personal behaviors which for learn for example how to differentiate lived by our instinctual body, by the
you are meaningful and satisfying. reaching out, clinging to, giving and demands of society or by personal
The DVD shows this process visually receiving, or emotional patterns such choice. Choosing to live Formatively
and viewers can participate. as waiting, insecurity, shame, is a learned skill and a life long
anxiety, worry, humiliation or endeavor. At every stage of life,
The methodological aspects of the generosity. As we internalize and young adult, fully formed adult,
How practice and of other somatic habituate the protocol of these mature and older adult and even in
exercises are based on the exercises we can continue, for the the late stages of aging the relevant
neurobiological function that the rest of our lives, the process of Formative question is: W hich new
differentiation of behavior organizes forming ourselves. This somatic- structure/behavior wants to be
new synaptic connections, which in emotional education should not only formed and bodied into the world,
turn – by means of repetition – be considered a process of healing and how can I support this new
become available as new or modified but also the human adventure of personal layer in my Formative
behaviors. From the very beginning metamorphosis and morphogenesis process?

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The How exercise is valid and The Stress Continuum
applicable in the clinical area, as well
as in the field of personal The Stress Continuum speaks to how
development, in private as well as in the soma meets a threat or challenge.
public life, and it is accessible for The book and the DVD illustrate
people from different social levels. vividly the shapes and stages of the
The most important message is to go body ranging from mild interest to
on practicing the method of the five despair and resignation. Whether a
steps and staying involved with the challenge or threat originates from
Formative process. “A n attitude, an inside the body itself or from the
organization, a motor pattern has outside environment the soma has
intent and how that intent is formed similar responses. Which shapes
and governed is a voluntary act: it is dominate depends on the body’s
not just wanting an outcome it is instinctual response and on the
wanting to form an outcome. severity and frequency of the
Sometimes it may not be so much challenge/threat. Beginning with
about influencing your life but rather startle we see the pattern of alert,
governing your life. It becomes more which is focused attention. If the
and more urgent, when you get older, challenge is perceived as a threat the
how do you govern your changing response pattern is fight or flight. If
age, how do you govern yourself the threat is even more severe the
when the body begins to speak about body responds with confusion and
how you have used it, about helplessness. An overwhelming
changing your life style. So voluntary threat or demand produces the shapes
muscular effort is more than a of defeat or collapse. The emergency
reorganizing event it is a governing reflex is innate and is only meant for
event” (Somatic Practice Retreat, momentary usage. However, when in
2012 workshop). danger, perceived or real, we may not
be able to govern our response and
Practical Application instinct prevails. If the stressor is not
major, the response dissipates when
It is of importance to gain access to the danger is over. But if the intensity
Stanley’s work by means of of the threatening situation is
experiencing the How exercises since overwhelming, or if it lasts for a long
all aspects of his concepts lead to time or is repeated again and again,
these. His methodology rests upon a the reflex turns into habituated stress
multilayered concept about the patterns; and can even become a way
somatic reality of the human being of life. The soma’s responses to
and his books describe what ought to stress and ways for self-influence and
be understood by a bodied and self- management are made visual in
embodied life. They demonstrate the DVD and are further explained in
how we can regulate, differentiate Keleman’s book in Patterns of
our behavior, and how we can Distress (1989)
organize and connect the three layers
of our self: The pre-personal or The foundation of ever ything that
instinctual self, the post-personal or is alive is pulsation. Thus, pulsation
social self, as well as the personally is basic to how Keleman
formed self. Also, this concept is not conceptualizes the different body
static. Forming oneself is an elastic structures and patterns of behavior
continuum of changing shapes. To which among all the comparable
illustrate this Stanley uses the image typologies must be considered the
of an accordion to show stages of most biologically grounded.
pulsing in and pulsing out.

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Moreover, there ar e no bor r owings of psychodynamic
concepts as is the case with Reich’s or Lowen’s
typologies. Stanley’s typology begins from the four
phases of the pulsatory continuum: Motile, porous, rigid,
dense. The key question when working with oneself or
with another is: Where in this continuum of shape/
behavior does a person find themselves in need of
reorganizing or self governing? Again the DVD makes
the pulsatory continuum visible as behavior and feeling.
Learning how to influence our behavior comes from both
seeing and experiencing.

Life challenges can cause distur bances in pulsation.


The organism may accommodate by seeking to stabilize
itself by limiting its range of pulsation. This limiting of
the pulse pattern results in structural and behavior
inhibitions which can become habituated. For example, a
dense compressed pattern of self-protection results in the
muting of pulsation which limits the range of expression.
However, one could be in a compressed pattern and at the
same time be in a motile pattern expressed as an over
excited brain and quickened heartbeat. If a person does
not know voluntary self-influence, he/she may have a
desire to be more contactful with others and not know
how. A person with a porous pattern may find themselves
unable to contain their excitement and need other people
to give them boundaries. There may be desire to hold
their ground and he/she does not know how. Because
pulsation can change its pattern and location we are
dealing with very dynamic concepts, ones best learned
through experience.

Somatic insults at any stage of life can become par t of


the somatic-emotional structure of the person. In his book
Love (1984) Stanley shows how structural inhibition can
also be linked with the stages of love: to care for – to care
about – to have interest in– to cooperate with another.
These stages of love are behavioral patterns so in any of
the four stages the organism may become motile
(swollen), porous (collapsed), rigid(compartmentalized), modify a rigid structure. What is of overriding
or dense (compacted). These somatype categories importance, however, is the differentiation of a pattern of
represent a guideline for the understanding of the human action within an already existing structure, which can be
dynamic, but the somatic reality of every living human is influenced by learning voluntary muscular-cortical
always complex and multilayered. Thus, a person may be influence.
outwardly rigid, inwardly porous, in the upper part of the
body dense, in the lower part of the body motile, and so During the development of his For mative concepts,
on. Consequently, each body is a layered, gestalt of Stanley referred to the constitutional types, described by
combined or mixed somatypes. William Sheldon: endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph,
originating from the three embryonic germinal layers. He
Inherited traits ar e gener ally impossible to ‘get r id of’, adapted Sheldon’s categories to behavioral/structural
but they can be reorganized and modified by means of the patterns which are also grounded in embryology and are
method of the five steps and somatic practice exercises. closer to the reality of human experience and behavior.
One may learn, for instance, to give oneself more Whereas the slow, steady assimilating endomorphic pulse
containment and organize firmer boundaries within a of the viscera is dominant for one human being; the
porous structure, or to melt and to become softer to linear, firm, goal-oriented, mesomorphic pulse of the

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muscle and skeletal layers may be Keleman continues to be a pioneer in
dominant for another; and for yet his field, focusing on a dynamic Irene Kummer, PhD, studied
another, it is the fast, flickering view of the human being as a literature and psychology in Zurich,
ectomorphic pulse of the neural and Formative process, pointing out that Ottawa, and Freiberg. She is an
dermal layers. In every person the we are essentially a dialogue individual psychotherapy and supervisor.
Since 1976, she has studied Formative
quality of one of the layers is between different layers of our
Psychology with Stanley Keleman. In
dominant while the others exist in universal and individual existence: addition to maintaining a private
supporting roles. the pre-personal, our inherited body, psychotherapy practice, she has taught
the post-personal, our social literature studies at Tech University,
However, our dominant inher ited learning, and the personal, the self psychology at the University of Applied
constitution is not a static given formed through voluntary effort. Psychology, and the Alfred Adler
either. We may learn, as a Institute in Zurich. Since 1990, she has
mesomorphic human being, for Emotional Anatomy DVD vividly been a director at the Center for Form
instance, to regulate and differentiate expresses his pioneering vision of the and Development where she also
our instinctual impulse for powerful, human being’s somatic-emotional teaches. She is the author of various
quick, muscular response by books and articles on psychology and
and psychological development. The
literature. She can be reached at
organizing layers within our DVD offers visual access to the irenekummer@bluewin.ch
constitutionally given behavior. We soma’s internal processes and,
may also learn how we pass from perhaps most importantly, it offers a References
one constitutional layer into the next way to participate in the forming of
one and how we may handle our oneself. Working along by imitating Keleman, S. (1987). Embodying Experience:
constitutional dilemmas. The most the behavioral actions in the DVD is Forming a Personal Life. Berkeley, CA:
Center Press
important message is that even a great help in understanding the
though our constitution is genetically dynamic and multi-layered concept Keleman, S. (1985). Emotional Anatomy:
given, we can learn to influence it, of Formative Psychology as it brings The Structure of Experience. Berkeley, CA:
and in this way to have some say in readers up to date with Keleman’s Center Press.
our destiny latest research and practice. Stanley Keleman, S. (2014). Emotional Anatomy
has again produced a great [DVD]. Berkeley, CA: Center Press.
Modern tendencies in the pioneering effort giving vision and
psychological field are giving up voice to support voluntary self- Keleman, S. (1984). Love: A Somatic View,
static definitions of development, forming and self-governing as a Berkeley, CA: Center Press
character and lifespan in favor of a lifelong endeavor of meaning and Keleman, S. (1987). Patterns of Distress;
more dynamic concept. Stanley satisfaction. Emotional Insults and Human Form,

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