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When we think of flexibility in regards to facilitation, we tend to think of the need to maintain flexible thinking. Facilitators need to be able to "follow the chi (energy) of the group," to think on our feet, and to suggest interventions spurred by unexpected dynamics. We don't usually think of any sort of connection between joint, muscle, or body flexibility and their relationship to effective group facilitation. (In fact, I am well aware that this concept sounds pretty "out there.")

Well, I'd like to go out on a limb and share some insights. While admittedly still somewhat half-baked, these ideas may have more relevance to your facilitation skills than you think!

I do GYROTONIC® exercise every couple of weeks. Gyrotonic is a cool set of exercises that one does, with an instructor's guidance, on a machine that looks a little like a medieval torture device. Here is my attempt at a definition, compiled from a couple of Google searches:

"Gyrotonic simultaneously stretches and strengthens the body, while increasing range of motion and developing coordination. Using principles of dance, swimming, gymnastics, and yoga, muscle groups are worked in an integrated manor. Gyrotonic exercises the muscles while mobilizing and articulating the joints, simultaneously stretching and strengthening the body with minimal effort."

(That definition itself may be enough to send some of you looking for a great Gyrotonic instructor to help you with your New Year's resolutions!)

Recently, while my instructor led me through exercises, images of group facilitation kept butting into my head. I started thinking of any group as a body, with its own "hurt" areas, its unique sensitivities, definite strengths, and dynamic interplay between parts. Isn't a facilitator's role with a group similar to that of a movement instructor, encouraging the "body" to explore its range of motion, to act in a more coordinated way, and to expand its boundaries?

A facilitator’s core role, after all, it to “make it easier” for the group to grow stronger, healthier, and more productive, with minimal effort. An effective facilitator helps the group achieve flexibility and a full range of motion.

I started thinking about other physical therapies. Many therapies focus on releasing muscle tension that has sometimes been stored for years. Many therapists believe that bodily tension can come not only from exertion, but also from holding onto memories or old beliefs. Often, release occurs through work with the fascia, the sheet of fibrous connective tissue that separates or binds together muscles and organs. (The term "fascist" comes from the word "fascia.")

When fascia becomes rigidified, it pulls on, and distorts, other bodily tissue. When parts of us, whether beliefs or behaviors, become rigidified, we tend to act more harshly both to ourselves and to others in our lives. We become stiffer, more judgmental, less fluid. The same goes for the organizations within which we work: rigid fixations to internal politics, norms, or processes can reduce the flow of creativity.

One aspect of the facilitator's role, then, is to help the group identify organizational fascia and the role it plays. What “parts” of an organization does it hold together? Where has it become hardened or rigidified? Would a potentially painful release restore flexibility and resilience?

Great facilitators work as "flexibility coaches" for their clients, helping them work through hard issues like these.

A great facilitator is more like an undulating fish than a heavy-footed creature based on land. Because water is 800 times denser than air, fish move by undulating as they pierce that wall of water.

Think of the types of "walls" in organizations! The good work of a facilitator can help participants create a whole set of new navigational tools to get through those walls. And, like a fish, a good facilitator leaves behind no individual mark or trail.

Undulation takes flexibility. Because there is such a connection between how we function on the mental, physical and emotional planes, it makes sense that great facilitators must increase not only their mental and emotional flexibility, but also pump up their physical fluidity.

I offer you this quickie exercise, and a suggestion, to enhance your own physical flexibility. (Note: the exercise is meant to be done on your own. I am not suggesting that you do it with a group you are facilitating…unless you are even more "out there" than I am!)

Get on the floor on all fours—knees and palms to the floor, with your spine neutral. As you breathe in, begin slowly to curl your tailbone up. Continue extending your entire spine, all the way up through your neck to your head. (Your face should be pointing forward at the end of your inhale.) Do not over-arch your lower back or your neck. Try to feel the delicious stretch in your upper back.

Now exhale slowly as you go the opposite direction. Starting by curling your tailbone downward, curl your spine UP like a cat until your entire back is rounded. The top of your head should point toward the floor at this point, with your neck hanging in a relaxed way. Again, feel the nice "aliveness" in the entire length of your spine.

Get ye to a deep-water exercise class in which the teacher encourages full range of motion! Think of the exercise not only as being great for you aerobically (as well as being fun,) but also as a fantastic way to loosen up your muscles and increase your flexibility.

If no such class is offered in your area, go to the local pool (the shallow end is fine, but not when it's full of kids) and just "play around." Stand up straight and move your arms around like seaweed. Do jumping-jacks (not very fishlike!) Lie on your back and trust the water to hold you up.

This exercise and this suggestion will take you a little further into the realm of fluidity. Remember, a fluid facilitator is a fine facilitator!

Note: Much appreciation goes to my teacher, Barbara Dick, who is a Seattle-based GYROTONIC®, Pilates, and aqua-jog instructor par excellence. She has helped me build a "foundation for flexibility" in my own life over the past few years. Thank you, Barbara!

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Recommended Reading: Facilitation Skills

Fluidity and Facilitation: The Facilitator as "Flexibility Coach"