The moving body 1

This chapter aims to examine the dynamics of the moving human body. Through the philosophical lenses of Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty the very notion of the human body is addressed with the conclusion of not necessarily excluding one perspective over the other but instead adding a dimension of an inevitable inseparableness between the human body and the social world. Bodily movements such as the continuous turn of the head, the devoted dancer or musician, the application of cosmetic crèmes and even migraine are in this chapter all examples of a personal story told by the moving body in interaction with the social world – and likewise. To understand these movements (and the potentials of the bodily activities) further, these examples and the combined emotional outcome are analyzed in relation to the semiotic skin theory (Nedergaard, 2016) and related to a metaphor of in- and exhaled experiences. The discussion is raised, whether the moving body is more than a moving body and the concluding notes suggest reconsidering the opportunities of the movements of the body to perhaps also include a healing, beneficial aspect.