TIAMAT Tier 1 - LONDON

Do you have a colleague who meditates and seems to be at peace, but can't handle real-life problems when they arise? Or a yogi friend who can't stop talking about chakra alignment, constantly oblivious to the vibe of the room? Or perhaps you've got that relative who's always "speaking their truth," by saying things that lead to awkward silences?

Is it all just bullshit?

No meditation practice is going to lead to enlightenment overnight, just like no yoga pose will make you a guru. Different practices nurture different faculties of our body and mind. Relying too heavily on one can create an awkward imbalance. Practices work best when used together, addressing their limitations and harmonizing our overall well-being like a well-tuned musical instrument.

This principle is at the heart of TIAMAT.  

Join us for London's first TIAMAT workshop, led by its founder Ethan Hsieh. Use this bank holiday weekend to explore, deepen, and finesse your relationship to mind, body, self, and other. 
Spaces are limited!

What is TIAMAT?

TIAMAT (The Integrative Approach and Methodology of Active Transformation) is a synergistic set of practices aimed at developing skilful connection between mind-and-body and self-and-group.

Why is it different? 

It's "self-development" that aims to overcome the common pitfalls that have given self-development its bad name – giving you tools to live skilfully and poetically without falling into self-obsession, self-tyranny, or guru-worship. Its a no-nonsense framework that integrates theater, Eastern traditions, and modern cognitive science.

Who is this for?

This event is open and accessible to performers and non-performers alike. It’s for anyone curious about their relationship to their mind, to their body, and to other people. TIAMAT will train those muscles-for-graceful-living that help you shift perspectives, know what you’re feeling, communicate effectively, listen deeply, and generate insight into knotty-problems. 

You will need to be 18 or older to join.

What will we do?

Over three days, we will train through a series of exercises involving movement, somatic awareness, improvisation, dialogue, and attentional frame-games to train the fundamental skills required to continue the practices independantly.

• Meditation and contemplation exercises that draw from Buddhist and Yoga traditions to develop awareness of our experience and cognitive processes.
• Dialogical exercises that draw from the Authentic Relating and Circling relational practices to share our experiences more skillfully with others.
• Embodiment exercises that draw from Tai Chi, Yoga, and Animal Flow movements to increase strength, flexibility, and fluency in expressing thoughts and feelings through movement.
• Voice and breath exercises that draw from the Linklater Voice actor training method and Western and Eastern wisdom traditions to embody perspective shifts.

At the end of the workshop, you’ll be offered a workbook with resources and further guidance to continue independent practice. An integration call after the workshop for follow-up and aftercare, as well as a certificate of completion, are also included.

History

Ethan Hsieh developed TIAMAT through practice-as-research, working cross-culturally with actors and non-actors, in conversation with the latest cognitive science. Ethan has run TIAMAT workshops in Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, France, Czechia, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

When & where?

This workshop will take place in Hampstead Heath over the bank holiday weekend: Saturday the 25th of May, Sunday the 26th of May, and Monday the 27th of May. Each day will run from 9am till 6pm. Participants will be informed of the meeting point by email.

Come join us in the Heath to explore, deepen, finesse your relationship to mind, body, self, and other!

Ethan Hsieh is Artistic Director of 5toMidnight International and Director of Community Development and Partnerships at the Vervaeke Foundation. He holds an MA in Professional Practice: Theatre and Drama Facilitation from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

If you want to find out more about TIAMAT before you join, you can check out this interview with John Vervaeke:

 Theatre-ritual-movement ecology of practices 

Or this podcast with Brain We Are:

 Practicing TIAMAT and Meaning 

TIAMAT testimonials

It’s hard to describe in words what happened at the Meaningful Camp…
During those two days, Ethan presented us with the tools to better integrate body, mind and soul. It was a huge dose of useful information and practices that I intended to incorporate into my life when I returned from camp. However, I had no idea that the change would start happening so quickly. All of these exercises we did together opened something in me, something I had not been able to notice before.
When I returned to my space after the camp, emotions bubbled to the surface. I realized that a mirror had been placed in front of me during those two days so that I could take a deeper look at what I had buried deep inside myself many years ago and had lost access to that part. All of the techniques I learned, and all of the conversations I was participating in during the weekend, allowed me to take a closer look at the deep-rooted pain within me and release a part of it. It was such a cleansing experience. That was not easy at all, but truly transformational.
I went to the camp without any specific expectations… I gained better access to my emotions, the opportunity to share stories and meaningful time with like-minded people, and oh my god, the start of a beautiful friendship with one of the participants. I feel like I won a lottery ticket. Thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart, for creating a space to experience such a valuable moment! 
– Monika, participant of a TIAMAT Tier 1 camp.

In speaking about my subjective experiences from an objective point of view, a safe distance is created for myself to heal, to rest, to plan and execute life. It is fruitful to practice objectifying the subjective senses to come to a sense of potential truth and then communicating that to a present group. […] By listening to these objectified thoughts and feelings we are able to latch on to them subjectively and are once again freed to emote, react and respond to the individuals on a subjective level, creating a space for empathy and authentic connection in a group.
[Physical activities] framed with an ethos of interrelationality/intersubjectivity and the insights to inter-dependence cultivated via the mindfulness and loving-kindness practices, brings the awareness of the emergent dynamics with others and myself into relationship.
– Jireh, arts educator, participant of a TIAMAT Tier 1 camp

Other upcoming TIAMAT workshops

Chalupa Podhora, Czech Republic 19th-26th of April (with Brain We Are)

Cologne, Germany 3rd-5th of May

Plot 9 Maze Hill, London, UK 12th of May, 2pm-6pm (taster session)