MOVE AND BE MOVED
- move with freedom and spontaneity?
- explore your creativity?
- connect and support others in a heartfelt way?
Queen Charlotte Workshop: CANCELLED
Date(s): November 19
Day(s): Sunday
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Sun Studio, Queen Charlotte
Age(s): Suitable for all physical fitness levels and those 16 years and older
Cost: $40.00
Additional Notes: Bring a lunch, water bottle, and wear comfortable clothes for easy movement.
Please Note: We need a minimum of 8 participants registered and paid in full by Saturday, November 18th to make this program sustainable. Space is limited, so tell your friends and family and register today!
Masset Workshop:
Date(s): November 26
Day(s): Sunday
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Yoga Pit, Masset
Age(s): Suitable for all physical fitness levels and those 16 years and older
Cost: $40.00
Additional Notes: Bring a lunch, water bottle, and wear comfortable clothes for easy movement.
Please Note: We need a minimum of 6 participants registered and paid in full by Saturday, November 25th to make this program sustainable. Space is limited, so tell your friends and family and register today!
Move, Be Moved
We are standing, sitting or lying down, usually with eyes closed. Waiting to be moved; staying open to what is there, with no expectations for what should happen. Maybe it starts with a twitch of the pinky finger. Then maybe it spreads to stretching all five fingers straight out, and they then want to flap like a bird’s wing. And then, maybe the whole arm wants to move in large circles above the head. Or not.
We just stay curious, accepting what wants to be expressed in that moment. This is the practice of Authentic Movement- simple, unprogrammed time in our bodies. We respond to impulses that come from the imagination, the unconscious, and our heart. No one is giving instructions on how to move, or when. But there is always someone who supports us- a witness- watching us with respect and acceptance.
Even a short time of moving authentically feels like a meditation that can leave you relaxed, refreshed, and grounded in your body in that delicious way you feel after a deep massage.
Authentic Movement started out many years ago as a creative and inspiring practice for dancers, singers and artists. Now the practice is used by people in all walks of life and at any physical fitness level. In August, thanks to the generous financial support of the Elizabeth Inkster Memorial Music and Arts Award, I attended an Authentic Movement training workshop on Salt Spring Island. Participants included a sales rep, a therapist, a nurse, a school administrator, a university student, and others. What were we hoping to experience there? For some, it was a time out from an overly scheduled life. Others talked about wanting to get back into their body and the present moment but in an unstructured way. Several people wanted to open up their creativity for art-making. A common underlying theme that emerged over the weekend was how do we live a meaningful, creative life?
Psychologist Rollo May addressed this yearning in his book, “The Courage to Create.” He wrote, “If you don’t express your original ideas, if you don’t listen to your own Being, you will have betrayed yourself. Also, you will have betrayed your community in failing to make your contribution to the whole.” It sounds heavy, but somehow we know this to be true. May admits it takes courage, but a “…courage that requires a centeredness within our own being…We need to develop the capacity to listen with the body. It will mean valuing the body as a means of empathy with others and as an expression of the self as a thing of beauty…”
So, are you curious to learn more about listening with the body? Do you like the idea of connecting with people in a new way? Are you feeling excited about accessing your creativity? Wouldn’t it be fun to experience that childlike, spontaneous, joyful way of being that you knew when you were young? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may be ready to move and be moved!
Do you know the saying, “We all yearn to be seen, but are terrified of really being seen!”
