Abstract: The relevance of the research is due to the ignoring of the topic of physicality in design propaedeutics, which makes it impossible to rethink and develop the avant-garde theory of composition in accordance with the requirements of the time. The authors of the article note that the linear logic of composition construction, accepted as a standard in Russian propaedeutics, is rightly criticized today by foreign researchers for reductionism. According to the authors, if the West is dominated by interest in the nonlinear logic of constructing a composition based on the iterative mathematics of fractals, then Eastern designers are looking for their competitive advantage in the international arena, turning to the subtle differentiation of experience and using the rhythm of empty and filled instead of geometric connections of forms. From the point of view of the authors of the study, the "oriental approach" is productive for the development of the designer's bodily sensitivity to form as a result of compositional shaping, and, consequently, in one form or another it can be applied in domestic propaedeutic courses. The purpose of the study is to use the example of specific composition exercises to show the current direction of development of "body-oriented" propaedeutics in design, according to the authors. As tools for developing the designer's bodily sensitivity, the authors consider composing poems containing pauses, since these pauses, on the one hand, give the listener time to perceive the poem with his whole body, and on the other hand, allow him to feel a one–body connection with the world: to feel the connection between things, between people, between things and people. The visual embodiment of pauses is the "excessive" ("dense") empty space between image elements or between material objects, therefore, as propaedeutic exercises, the authors propose to create compositions in which the emphasis is placed on the "movement" of empty space. At the end of the article, the authors turn to the structural basis of the composition, which allows us to consider it as a "force-form", since the composition connects elements with each other using empty space, which allows the viewer to feel the "lines of force" that transform the composition into a single organism. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the importance of "body-oriented" propaedeutics, which allows the designer to rely on a stable foundation without going into reductionism, as well as to see non–obvious relationships between different elements of reality and anticipate the development of emerging situations.