Map Your Energy: The Ecomap Tool for Dancers
Understanding what gives you energy and what depletes it is the first step in managing it.
What Is an Ecomap?
An ecomap is a diagram that maps your relationships with significant “systems” in your life: family, friends, work, dance community, health, social media, community organizations, and anything else that plays a meaningful role in your day-to-day world. It was created by Ann Hartman, a social worker, in the early 1970s. She was influenced by Systems Theory, the idea that we can’t understand a person in isolation; we have to look at all the systems they’re part of (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). For our purposes, we are using it to create a visual representation of support and energy flow.
An example of an ecomap is the simple one in the image for this blog.
A few things to note:
-Sometimes I put people together in a category (like my dance troupe), and sometimes I separate them out (like my husband’s niece who we recently helped with college applications). I give or get a significant amount of energy from an individual, which is different from what I get from the group they belong to.
-You can search online for Ecomap examples. It is a tool therapists use with their clients, but it can also be beneficial as a solo activity.
How to Make Your Ecomap
Get something to write/draw with. I like to use color, but you don’t have to.
Draw a circle in the center of the page and write your name inside it.
Draw smaller circles around you for every significant person, group, or “system” in your life right now.
Examples of people or “systems” you might want to include are: family, close friends, work/career, troupe/dance community, health/body, spiritual/religious community, social media, and anything else important to you.
Draw a line connecting each outer circle to your center circle. Here are some ideas for how you can use the lines to describe more about your relationship:
Solid line = strong, supportive relationship
Dashed line = weak or distant connection
Zigzag line = stressful or conflictual relationship
Add arrows on the lines to show the direction of energy. An arrow pointing toward you means that person/system gives you energy; an arrow pointing away means you’re giving energy to it. If the energy exchange is mostly mutual, you can draw arrows in both directions.
Use color if you have it. One color for supportive lines, another for stressful ones. Color helps make the patterns immediately visible.
What You’re Looking For
Take a look at your finished map. What patterns do you notice?
Asking yourself these questions might help you see more patterns:
Are most of the arrows pointing toward you, or away?
Are there more zigzag lines than solid ones?
Do you have any circles without arrows (representing a relationship with no energy exchange)?
Is there an outer circle you’re giving a lot to but getting little back from? It is normal for mutual, healthy relationships to have periods when energy goes in one direction, but ideally, over time, it would even out.
Are you a helper who never asks for help?
Are there people or systems you can “bless and release” in terms of how much energy you extend?
Ecomap = Snapshot in Time
Your ecomap reflects where you are right now, not where you will always be. For example, a map full of outgoing arrows gives you important information about why you are exhausted all the time. The ecomap works because it helps you see meaningful patterns. If you want to take it a step further, decide on 2-4 “action items” to address any energy imbalance.
Once you work on your ecomap and let me know what you discovered! In the next post, we’ll begin rebuilding your energy in the physical dimension, starting with the most underrated energy management tool a dancer has: sleep.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development. Harvard University Press.
Hartman, A. (1975). Diagrammatic assessment of family relationships. Social Casework, 59(8), 465–476.
Ray, R. A., & Street, A. F. (2005). Ecomapping: An innovative research tool for nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50(5), 545–552.