When Flow replaces one of the other motion factors, it changes everything. Yet it is not only what is added, but also what is lost, that is transformative in the chemistry of effort.
If we consider the Passion Drive, it is not only the addition of Flow, it is also the loss of Space effort that turns a practical action into an expression of emotion.
Laban believed that the motion factor of Space related to paying attention, orienting one’s actions in the environment, and, more broadly, to thinking. The motion factor of Flow he believed related to feeling, to ascertaining if something or someone is pleasant or unpleasant, to attraction and repulsion.
When one is engaged in practical tasks, how one feels is probably less important than just getting the job done effectively. This requires staying focused, grounded, and in-the-moment.
But when one flies into a passion, staying focused and being reasonable no longer matter. So the eight Passion Drive moods range from swooning with pleasure, to delighted surprise, to rage, to agony, to many other shades of feeling that resonate in the body-mind.
Explore these movement moods more deeply in the upcoming Movement Harmony Project, Part 2: Effort Harmonies.