Physical
Intelligence
For me, movement has been the thread weaving through my life since I was three years old, first stepping into the dance studio.
What began as a love of dance grew into a lifelong exploration of how movement shapes our bodies, our minds, and our capacity to heal. From my years as a professional dancer and choreographer to my work today as a movement and expressive arts therapist, somatic practitioner, and mental health and well-being consultant for theatre, television, and film, I have witnessed the extraordinary power of movement to transform lives.
Movement is more than exercise or performance. It’s a language. One that helps us express what words can’t. It regulates the nervous system, restores resilience, and reconnects us to ourselves and to each other. I continue to believe that moving with awareness can create the conditions not just for performance but for healing, growth, and human flourishing.
“There is a wisdom beneath words, a language of movement, sensation, and presence. I believe when we learn to listen, we discover the way back to ourselves.”
Why movement?
We are conscious sentient beings, souls in human form, we are bodies & bodies are designed to move. Movement is evolution, if we don't move, we stop evolving, on all body levels, physical body, emotional body, mental body & soul body.
Movement develops the brain, regulates the nervous system, supports creativity, expanded mind, develops presence - aliveness, & living fully. Movement is more than action; it is the meeting place of body, mind, and imagination, where healing, meaning, and possibility emerge.
“When we listen deeply to the body’s intelligence, we discover pathways to healing, creativity, and authentic connection. That’s Physical Intelligence.”
I am currently in the process of deeply exploring the phenomena of what I conceptualise as ‘Physical Intelligence’. As part of my project ‘Y-Move’ I am writing and researching - The Art & Science of Physical Intelligence ©.
As part of my belief in physical intelligence in 2024 with a close colleague & friend, I co-founded the Fidget Project CIC; a non-profit organisation supporting SEND children and parents.
One of my initial roles, was facilitating movement in working with sensory processing differences and integrating primitive reflexes. I am no longer an active member of the team, however the organisation continues to do some important & brilliant work – visit - www.thefidgetproject.co.uk
Working in Nature
“Movement in Nature invites us into a living conversation with the body, the earth, and the rhythms that connect them.”
Rooted in my training with the pioneering artists Anna Halprin & Daria Halprin in California, Movement in Nature invites a return to the living relationship between body, creativity, community, and the natural world.
Through movement, witnessing, improvisation, and embodied inquiry, we listen deeply to the wisdom held within our bodies and the landscapes around us. The earth becomes a studio, a teacher, and a companion in the unfolding process of healing and discovery. These experiences offer space to slow down, awaken the senses, nourish creativity, and reconnect with the deeper currents of vitality, meaning, and belonging that sustain us.
“Nature becomes both witness and companion, offering space to soften, reconnect, and remember the wisdom that lives within us.”
I offer workshops & hold space for one-to-one sessions in nature. Facilitating Movement in Nature on the beautiful land of South Devon.
“Helen-Jane Ridgeway is an exemplary professional in her many capacities: trauma and somatic integration-informed psychotherapist, trainer and assessor of psychotherapists, co- founder of THE FIDGET PROJECT CIC and facilitator of support for families dealing with the social, psychological and emotional impact of neurodivergence and Sensory Processing Differences. Helen-Jane is an unusually gifted individual, generous -hearted and endlessly available for new learning. I have no hesitation in recommending her to you.”
- Lynne Tarrab-Snooks, M.Sc Int Psych. B.Ed. (Hons)
Director, The Fidget Project CIC
Co-founder, co-creator and lead author of The Thrive Approach