Movement as Restorative Contemplation

Saturday, January 6th, Siobhan Davies Studio

10.30am – 5.30pm

Booking link
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog.php?owner=12493285&action=addCart&clear=1&id=1652798

This workshop will also be accessible via Zoom at a reduced rate. Please contact if interested.

This time around we are combining our three disciplines in a different direction, focus, and order –

Focusing on the organic body – the unknown – to redefine our understanding of ourselves

Key Focuses –

• Inner Space
• Organs
• Breath
• Lymphatic system
• Rest

The Agenda –

1. Gyrokinesis
2. Short Break
3. Embodied Flow
4. Lunch
5. Restorative Yoga

The day will begin with the Gyrokinesis method to awaken the lymphatic, nervous, and organ systems into simple breathing patterns and rhythmical movements.

After a short break we will transition with Embodied Flow to continue initiating movement from the perspective of our organ system which changes how we experience and feel movement.

After a break for lunch, the day will end with a deeply restorative Yoga practice incorporating props to integrate all the layers of the physical, mental, and spiritual body.

When we move through space the skeletal- muscular system is our primary mover; bones align and muscle levers bone to shift us outward into the external world, grounding us to earth, resisting and absorbing the forces of gravity. Our bones and muscles are the scaffolding for the outward expression of organs occupying the inner space, which we could say represent both our living functions and emotional states

Our organs are deeply connected to our autonomic nervous system and thus impact greatly how we interact with our world. When our organ systems are not working efficiently and no disease is present, they may have lost their spring or elasticity (organs maintain tone through constant intrinsic movement), we may notice postural dysfunction, less ease in movement or emotional imbalances.

Our bodies work in concert, we cannot separate one system from another – working together in symphony each system influences the other. Working from the perspective of our inner world can help unlock the way we experience being in our body. While we can sense bone and muscle fairly easily in movement, it is our soft inner centres, supported by tissue and muscle deep within the body, which provide the internal integrity for our bony structure. As organs function involuntarily and they are housed deeply within we can’t actually move or “tone” them as we would with muscle, but we can effectively optimise their good health by exploring how to move in a more holistic way, attuning and sensing from the inside out.

Using imagery we will explore sequences of movement to help us explore, visualise and connect to our inner world as we experience moving into our outer environment.

This will be our last workshop for a while, as our beloved colleague Kindall is relocating back to Lisbon in February.

Saturday 14th October 11am – 1pm

Founders Studio, The Place, 17 Dukes Road, WC1H 9PY

A workshop targeting the complex psoas muscle – finding targeted release and how this relates to arm balances

Arm balancing brings up images of core and upper body strength. Transferring the weight from the feet to the hands is not just a case of shifting all of our weight from one place to another.

The psoas are the only muscles that connect the torso to the legs and are also our deepest core muscles. When they are tight, restricted, tense, or neglected the back and shoulders work overtime to compensate. This can contribute to back and shoulder pain, overactive quadriceps, and even relates to our breathing as they attach to the diaphragm via connective tissue.

The workshop will include targeted exercises to not only release the psoas but also strengthen and clarify the muscles in the base of the shoulder blades and glutes.

With greater freedom and release in the front of the body. and increased engagement of the back, arm balances become a full body experience that not only builds strength but also lightness, release, and freedom in body and breathing

A DAY RETREAT INCORPORATING YOGA, GYROKINESIS, AND EMBODIED FLOW TO EXPLORE HOW THEY CONNECT, CONTRAST AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER

SATURDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER

SIOBHAN DAVIES STUDIOS, SE1 6ER

12.30 – 6.30 PM

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog.php?owner=12493285&action=addCart&clear=1&id=1570334 

Our Workshop Focus:

The power of the connection and movement of the pelvis, spine, and head in circular, spiralling, and directional movement patterns. Also known as the head-tail connection in somatic movement originally coined by Bartenieff Fundamentals. With this focus, we will be able to find better alignment and fuller and more fluid movements. 

Who we are:

We are three teachers and friends with 15+ years of experience. We share a deep love for the art and intelligence of movement and dance. We are coming together to offer a positive perspective on how movement is connected, open to all, and how the exploration of one opens doors to others. 

Our philosophy:

Movement becomes a laboratory of many variables and learning of how to discover new possibilities. When you have a broad repertoire of movement, all kinds of possibilities are available to you.

The day will begin with a 90-minute yoga class incorporating a strap to stabilise, support, and clarify the connection of the arms to the shoulders, ribs, and upper back. This class will open up the chest and free the neck

Gyrokinesis with Kindall will incorporate more movement both seated on a chair, and floor based. This method links naturally to the continuous anatomical spiraling of the body enhancing skeletal and muscular health

In the final class of the day, Zofia will connect all the dots moving you towards spontaneity through the lens of interpretation, rather than imitation.

Testimonials from our previous workshops:

‘I found this workshop to be such a beautiful, cohesive blend of movement, awareness, and creativity that really allowed me to step into my body. Each class and instructor created such a safe and unique atmosphere that I felt held in opening myself up to new experiences and ways of creating movement. My only critique of the workshop is that it had to come to an end. It was a truly empowering experience’ Maidie

‘The yoga class with Nathalie was completely new to me. The focus on limb movement made me realise the extent to which I don’t appreciate how I move and where I place my limbs and why. Food for thought.

I had never heard of Gyrokinesis and was pleasantly surprised at the challenges that spiraling movement brings.

Finishing the day with a session of spontaneous movement was a pleasure. We were shown how the experiences from the previous classes fit with our movements’ – Ginette.

A day retreat exploring circles, spirals, and directionality in three modalities

Sunday 11th June

Siobhan Davies Studio

10.30 am – 6pm

£80

Building from the work of the previous retreat, this time we are going deeper and further into the nuances of the connections between these three long-standing, rich, and beautiful methods and how the smallest incremental details can be both impactful and profound 

Yoga with Me will utilise a single prop – a rolled blanket to explore the directionality of the skin in the ankles and knees and how this connects the abdomen to the legs.

These subtle actions connect the intersection of the pubic bone, coccyx, and groins and increase strength and awareness of the back of the legs and the base of the glutes. 

This class will be entirely floor based 

Gyrokinesis with Kindall Payne
@themov
The second class will move from the floor to seated on stools to explore spirals and twists. This method links naturally to the continuous anatomical spiraling of the body enhancing skeletal and muscular health 

The final class with Zofia will bring everything together in a full-movement exploration set to music. Utilising all the nuance and detail of the day to step out of fixed ideas into your own unique experience of a body in flow 

We remain committed to the integrity of what we teach and our original intention when we conceived this idea – that all movement is valid, connected, and open to ALL, and that the exploration of one opens doors to another without elevating any one technique above another 

Please feel free to come and explore this work with us. It is our great joy and privilege to share everything we have learned through our decades of exploring.

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.