The Body Knows: 6 Week Intensive

“If your body could speak, what would it say?” 

- Daria Halprin

Dive into your embodied wholeness - using movement, meditation, nature connection & playful enquiry to connect you to yourself, the natural world around you and each other. 

This advanced course will benefit those who have participated in The Body Knows 4 week course or who have an existing self-care practice and wish to journey further into the wisdom of their body.

“Fantastic course! I got so much more out of it than I had imagined. It allowed me to get in touch with parts of myself that had long been in the shadows. It was funny, challenging, ecstatic, exhilarating, painful and emotional.. Truly a wild ride.”

The intention of this work is to support you in cultivating a deep and powerful relationship with yourself and the natural world, so that you may live and act from a place of truth and courage. Each week I will share practical and easy tools for deep exploration & release. 

Through verbal, non verbal, somatic and physical embodiment practices you will tap into your body's natural urges, desires, fears and creativity to increase sensitivity, emotional awareness and confidence.

“I couldn't have imagined that I was showing up for something quite so special…”

As your listening skills develop you will get to know yourself in new ways, and have a better understanding of who you are and what you need.

What we are being faced with collectively gives us the opportunity to slow down, and tune into the subtle language of the body.  

Overview: 

• Each week you will receive PDF notes with video recaps of the practices we covered from each theme. You will have the opportunity to share in smaller groups to form deeper connections & group support
• There will be a private group for you to deepen your embodied research with other participants, share resources & to create accountability for each others learning journey 
• There will be a mixture of embodied practices, such as movement and meditation, theatre games as well as sharing circles and rituals.
• It’s encouraged to have a movement journal to document your practice. This can be written, drawn, recorded via voice notes or video or a mixture of all these mediums. 
• Participants will also be supported by a weekly 15 minute individual check in with Dani 

Practices & theories we will be drawing inspiration from:

• Lecoq: The Moving Body.
• Bodyfulness by Christine Caldwell.
• Radical Wholeness by Philip Shepherd
• Yin Yoga.
• Dance: Contemporary, Somatic & Ecstatic.
• Meditation & Mindfulness.
• Embodied Leadership.
• Voice Exploration & Experimental Articulation. 
• Active Listening & Journalling.

This course may be of benefit if you are:

• Feeling disconnected from your mindbody and nature.
• Wanting to explore playful self enquiry 
• Seeking new ways to reconnect with your body's natural rhythm.
• Seeking new ways to unlock creative or emotional blockages that are holding you back and want to create more space for self development.
• You are feeling called to learn the core of embodiment: how to listen to and be in dialogue with your body.
• Wanting to relieve anxiety and stress.
• Knowing it's time to give your body some self love and attention, to feel fitter and healthier whilst having fun too!
• A parent, teacher, educator.
• A yoga teacher or minfulness coach.
• A Psychologist or Therapist.
• Any individual wanting to deeply connect with your inner landscape of your body and move with heightened awareness.
• Interested in incorporating somatic & playful methods into your practice or teaching.

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Structure:

I am greatly inspired by cyclical living, and have created this structure to follow the cycle of the seasons, so that we may explore the different energies and opportunities that each one brings. 

WEEK 1 -  WELCOME | Tuning in  

Our first week is an important (& exciting!) one; connecting with our fellow explorers for the first time and an overview on whats to come. You will be invited to set intentions for the course and for the new year. A time for us to build our mini community, sew the seeds of support & kinship

Keywords: Landing, checking in, overview, intention setting, community, kinship. Setting intentions for the course and 2021 

WEEK 2 - SPRING | Sensing

Springtime traditionally symbolises new beginnings and for this reason we start our journey here. Spring invites life back into your being; channelling rebirth and renewal.  Week 2 will be focusing on our senses; vision, sound, touch, smell, taste & our ‘sixth sense’. We will tune into the delicacy and nuance of what each sense brings when we are fully present with these parts of ourselves. Introducing somatic movement practices & meditation you will begin to gently bloom into your wholeness.

Key words: New beginning, seeing the world with new eyes, observation, tender discovery, growing, creating space. 

WEEK 3 - SUMMER | Wild Play

One of the most important parts of the human condition; play. This week will explore the inspiration of Summer to bring forth our inner wildness! Around June 21st for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere its the time of Summer Solstice otherwise known as Litha, this is a time when the sun lingers the longest of any other day. Litha brings intensity, renewal, and great potential. The energy of this expressive season will invite us to fully embrace our bright shining light for all to see! We will be calling in on our own divine uniqueness, delving into the power of free - play, clown, improvisation & ecstatic release. We will also feel into the softer sides of play and how both of these textures are medicine for your soul and true expression.

Keywords: Playful expression, child like, expansive, unblock, ‘the inner fool’, impulsive, bold, shape shift,  take space, empowerment.

WEEK 4 -  AUTUMN | Transition

Autumn is a dynamic time of transition. The changes that develop during this phase of nature can be beautiful and also challenging. It’s kind of an unpredictable time and us human creatures can learn a lot from autumn. This week we research how malleable we can actually be & how things like self limiting beliefs or negative self-talk literally shapes us. Using practices from acting methodology (Jacques Lecoq) dance & meditation you will learn how to rewire your body language. With easy to follow tools & with practice you can re shape and prune habits that no longer serve you. You will dig deeper into your embodied wisdom to let go, shift and make space for your intuitive self to emerge.

Keywords: Connection, harvesting, prune, take stock, letting go, awareness, shift, release, grounding

WEEK 5 - WINTER | Restore

This is a time of symbolic death and solemn slumber. The earth sleeps. Her creatures retreat. Winter is a time to unplug, regroup, and get back to the roots of what is most important to us. It is time for rest because when the next season comes, winter gives us the time we need to prepare for the next change. This week we will surrender to what it means to rest. We will be dreaming and deeply listening to what our body truly needs moment to moment. Gentle and tender somatic movement, self massage and deep meditative states. 

Keywords: Self love, gentle, slow, soft, deep listening, breath, rest,  inward, stillness, somatic, yin, surrender 

WEEK 6 - CLOSING | Integration

Our final week together  to reflect and begin to pause for integration.  It is a ripe place to feel into the delicate tendrils of realisation, understand how to metabolize epiphanies and connect the dots between subtle insights. We will weave together your needs for this time and structure what you will put in place to support your integration.

 Note; It is advised to book the following day off so that you can fully drop into your integration process

Keywords: Sharing discoveries and learnings, journaling, ritual, reflection, closing circle

About Your Facilitator:

Dani is an embodiment practitioner, performer, activist and workshop facilitator. She has a playful and sensitive approach, combining a range of disciplines including acting/clowning, dance, ritual, meditation and somatic movement.

Dani is the founder of  Wild Play Lab; curating workshops, retreats and facilitating the unfolding of play as a tool for self transformation and wellbeing. 

Wild Play Lab has formed collaborations across the UK with Mind Over Monkey, The Psychedelic Society,  The Collective, House of Togetherness, Noisily Festival, Antidote, Poetry Cafe, Shine Charity, Beat Charity and Bootstrap Charity.

Dani has worked as an international performer, director and workshop facilitator for over 12 years. She has worked extensively in film, theatre, radio and TV, and has toured internationally with self devised shows.

Organisations she has worked with include:

The BBC, The British Youth Filming Academy, Contact Youth Actors Company at Contact Theatre (Manchester), The Royal Exchange Youth Company (Manchester), CYAC (Contact Young Actors Company) and Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company.

Dani is currently signed with acting agent ‘The Narrow Road Company.’

Education & Training:

Alexander Technique

Contact Improvisation

East 15 Acting School (BA Acting)

Embodied Activism by Rae Johnson

Jon Davis Clowning School

Teatr Pieśń Kozła / Song of the Goat Theatre : Musicality of the body

Tough Cookie Mental Resilience Training 

The British Youth Filming Academy

Testimonials:

“It felt like a really natural way of being, of playing, allowing the child self that always sits inside the freedom to unfold without judgment. Dani's sensitivity to the whole, and the way she guided us and nudged us softly in different directions felt really natural and balanced." - Asher Sai B’Hahn

"Dani was very receptive to the groups needs. The workshop was fast paced, which kept it dynamic and allowed us to stay in the playful uninhibited state, away from the rational brain." - Genevieve

"Dani's facilitating was magical. I felt like I was softly guided into the world of play without even realising that she was taking me there, and then she held me there so gently and unobtrusively that a whole world could develop around me that was beautifully expansive, but also completely safe!" - Maddy Li

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Investment

I offer three payment options to support people on a lower wage. If you consider yourself to be a high earner then paying to supporter option helps to subsidise places for people on lower incomes. We really appreciate your support.

If you feel strongly called to come but cannot afford the low income option, or to set up a payment plan please get in touch.

Low income - £180

Standard - £ 200

Supporter - £240

EVENT DETAILS

You’ll need to create a free zoom account which you can set up here: zoom.us

DATES: Six consecutive Tuesdays starting 12 Jan. Each session is 7-9:15pm

TICKET PRICES: £180-240 

DOORS OPEN: 18: 45

NO ENTRY AFTER: 19:00 To avoid disruption to the event, latecomers may not be admitted.

ENQUIRIES: wildplaylab@gmail.com

REFUNDS POLICY: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

ACCESS:  We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of health circumstances. If you have access requirements please email the event organiser directly to discuss. Many facilitators are able to offer reduced ticket prices for those truly unable to afford the ticket price. If this applies to you, do please get in touch with the event organiser.

For PSYCHEDELIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES please check out the Psychedelic Society website. 

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