Do You Keep Your Farts Secret?

Does anyone else have a problem with farting in workshops?

You might laugh, but I am a vegetarian and I sometimes eat beans. You get the drift?

The point is – tighten up, hold it in or…

Be free? But others might not be!

What is ethical and, well, consistent with what I teach?

Can it be right that I am tightening and holding stuff in, while asking them to expand and open up?

They say in England – ‘even the Queen farts’ – so on the other side I think – just let it out. Make a noise. Mostly my farts don’t small bad, so it’s the noise that really gets people distracted. Can I handle that level of disclosure?

(BTW: When they’re really smelly – it happens - I’m pretty clear: Hold. It. In.)

My other method is to find an excuse to walk away from my student. When I was an actor, one of the exercises we practised was “Justifying a move”. You were told – walk there, and then you had to quickly justify why.

Very handy when you want to fart.

I might say…

“Now when you walk over here….

(then quickly move to an open door or window and fart)

“… you must have a reason – look out the window, or see who’s behind the door…”

(if the door is closed – good excuse to go outside and fart)

Once on the other side of the room, I do my business, then stand there a bit, pat my behind (if I can without being caught), then move back into teaching as though nothing could be more natural than to behave this way.

WHICH ALL GOES TO PROVE MY POINT.

Keeping anything secret – even a fart – involves more tension than necessary.