Saturday 15th April

Siobhan Davies Studio

10am – 4.30pm

When you have a broad repertoire of movement, all kinds of possibilities are available.

Movement can reflect spiritual and political beliefs, private mythologies, secret desires, a fascination with one’s own body, or the bodies of others, the past, present, or future. It can be grounded, expansive, weightless, insular, and deeply euphoric. It can come from a place of reverie or rebellion, it can be a form of propaganda or an idiosyncratic way of responding to the world. It can be done as a response to anything, and done anywhere, by anyone.

I have teamed up with two wonderful teachers – Kindall Payne https://themovementblog.co.uk/ and Zofia Hennelly https://www.instagram.com/yogawithzofia/ both with decades of experience in their fields to offer a positive perspective and highlight how different movement modalities are connected, open to ALL, and how the exploration of one opens doors to others, without elevating any one technique above another.

We have curated a full-day retreat incorporating three different modalities – Yoga, Gyrokinesis, and Embodied Flow to explore how they relate, contrast, enhance and complement each other

The retreat includes three 90-minute classes with breaks in between and concludes with a 30-minute Q&A session with all three of us where you can ask anything about your own body and practice.

Yoga with me will focus on the nuances behind alignment, initiating movement from the limbs, and integrating the pelvis and ribs for greater awareness of the breathing body.

Gyrokinsis with Kindall will incorporate more movement both standing and floor based. This method links naturally to the continuous anatomical spiraling of the body enhancing skeletal and muscular health.

Embodied Flow with Zofia – The final class of the day will connect all the dots. Moving towards spontaneity, through the lens of interpretation, rather than imitation. Utilising the nuance and detail from the previous classes to step out of a prescriptive model and into your own unique experience of a body in flow.

This retreat is open to everyone, regardless of level or experience.

It is not geared towards the improvement, embellishment or achievement of postures or sequences.

Online via Zoom

This course is open to anyone but is ideal for teachers, intermediate students looking to explore beyond shape and form, or anyone looking to find more purpose in their practice.

Thursday, 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd March 2023
6.30 – 8 pm
Online via Zoom
Live attendance is preferred but all sessions will be recorded 

£60
payment is via Paypal or Bank Transfer
Email shemovesme77@gmail.com for. a booking form.

Week One

Standing Postures and Balances

The feet have lines of connectivity from the inner heel to the big toe. Turning out from the hip to protect the knee and strengthen the ankle.Holding from the muscle of the outer hip and buttock as opposed to the groin and quadricep

Working the legs asymmetrically to find balance in the pelvis and sacrum

Week Two

Backbends and Twists

Lines of connectivity from the shoulder to the wrist. Integrating the lower ribs and lumbar to find more extension from the sternum to the throat. Lengthening the trapezius and inner shoulder by relaxing and centering the eyeballs

Week Three

Forwards Folds

Lines of connectivity from the buttock bones (ischial tuberosities) to the heel bones. Unlocking the knee to move the thigh bone back faster than the knee or calf. Spreading the back of the body and the back of the waist to integrate the lower abdomen.

Week four

Lines of connectivity in the face to ‘see; the back of the body in inversions

Reversing the flow of awareness but holding from the strength of the outer body in headstand, handstand, and forearm balance.

This four-week course is an ideal foundation for slowing down. Utilising longer holds, props, and explicitly detailed instruction as opportunities to study lines of connections within the postures to awaken the body’s intelligence as opposed to forcing it into a pre-conceived idea of a shape. 

Yoga begins as a study of a subject and an art form, but it has the potential; to be so much more if we remain curious and open. The postures are containers, not solutions, but there are opportunities to study ourselves, our tendencies, patterns, beliefs, and fixed ideas within them. If we want to bring about lasting change and transformation, we need to see clearly what is in front of us and behind us.

Each posture, from the most simple to the most advanced, can bring about a state of deep relaxation if we can integrate the body, mind, and breathing; this is where the notion of practice comes into play. Connecting, seeing, sensing, assessing the conditions on one’s own to understand what should be done, beyond considerations of comfort, pain/pleasure, or impulse.