The Body as House
June 15, 2018, Amsterdam
Every body has a story — our every bone has history and each muscle can be patterned in a unique way; our every breath is like a wind generated from our thoughts and emotions, distinct and emblematic. Our bodies hold an individuated interior that records and stores our time on earth, no two are the same and yet there is so much we have in common.
The body is the house from which our story is created and carried out — from birth to death. Our identity is not only composed and gathered within it, but actually shapes it – often eccentrically, sometimes painfully, and much of the time with no awareness that we have a choice in how it’s being shaped at all.
This workshop will introduce experiential embodiment practices that are intended to direct and connect awareness between the body and it’s heart/mind. Through practice and discovery, we will examine the subtle, unseen and interoceptive body and its direct correlation to the mind. With aimed awareness and intention, we can re-arrange, re-shape our body – internally and externally. With awareness we can choose what to hold onto and what to let go of – mentally and emotionally and therefore in many cases, physically as well.
The practices will include:
• Mindfulness of the body while seated, walking and lying down
• Visualization practices to reveal and stimulate understanding of the subtle body
• Breathing practices to enhance and encourage internal conscious awareness
• Practices of inquiry to impart the significant impact of thoughts and emotions on physical tissue
This workshop is intended for psychotherapists, health care practitioners, substance abuse counselors and anyone intrigued by interoception (inner awareness), self – regulation and self awareness techniques.