Music credit: Clouderr; Downstairs
Somatic movement combines principles from Vipassana meditation and dance movement improvisation. It is a practice of cultivating an awareness of the felt-sense, or sensations in the skin and the body as a way to listen to the inner self. By applying these principles to a movement practice, we can both generate and enhance sensations in the body in order to allow the body to speak through the movement. Once we fine tune this deep listening through presence we can then explore moving from impulse, generating sequences and mark-making to materialise embodied knowledge.
Every practice is unique to the relationship and embodied subjectivity of the person I move with. Whilst the somatic, embodied, dance movement improvisation practices I draw from are the same, the application and configuration of the practices may vary according to the needs and particular situated entanglements of the person. I also regularly run group somatic movement workshops which offer a glimpse into this practice.
Three main elements we may work with in ongoing somatic movement therapeutic sessions are:
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- Embodying emotions using somatic and dance movement improvisation which may or may not include a movement sequence. We work with the felt-sense to facilitate a practice of tracing stories in the body.
- Communicating emotions through repetitive gesture, a movement sequence and/or working with rhythm. While I facilitate the process I may include witnessing exercises, mirroring or improvising with you.
- Articulating the somatic experiencing into words which may take the form of storytelling, creative writing or drawing and talking.
-Somatic movement may be combined with guided imagery as part of ongoing embodied theraputic arts journeys.
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- These sessions last 60 min, are available as one-to-one somatic experiencing and healing or in groups as part of wellbeing and creative workshops, in-person or online.
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Sometimes also referred to as guided meditation or visualisation. For these sessions I draw from storytelling and performative techniques and use my voice to facilitate individual relaxation sessions or as part of group wellbeing and creative workshops. I offer these sessions as follows:
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-1 hour guided imagery journey working with particular themes. Available for one-to-one sessions and groups in-person or online.
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-1 hour and a half combining themed journeys and creative movement. Available for one-to-one sessions and groups in-person or online.
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For individual sessions I offer 60 minute online free video consultations via video conferencing. During this time we will discuss any aspects of your history or current experience that you would like to explore in your journey with me and the different ways we may work together. My work suits best people:
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- Who want to feel an enhanced sense of embodiment.
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-Who are at cross-roads and want to make changes in their lives or careers.
-Who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
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-Who want to take an alternative therapeutic approach to body mind healing.
- Who are seeking to create flow experiences in their daily lives.
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-Who want to enhance their creative thinking or problem solving.
-Who are engaged with art-making practices.
-Who want to enhance their well-being.
-Who need to regenerate, recover from difficult experiences or burn out through creative process.
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