Soft Animal Body: Moving With Presence, Pleasure & Play
When we bring presence to meet the soft animal of our body and all that it loves, what will emerge?
Experience the possibility of letting your body lead the way in this somatic mindfulness workshop, as we explore how moving with presence and sensory awareness can shift your relationship to self. Through intuitive exercises and guided explorations, we’ll uncover the beauty of allowing the body to guide us, immersing ourselves in the fullness of the experience of our soft animal bodies.
Welcoming our experience of embodied pleasure and cultivating a spirit of playful discovery, we’ll reconnect with the natural rhythms and fluidity of our bodies and allow presence to emerge organically. This workshop encourages a deep, sensory engagement with sensation and movement, inviting you to revel in the simple delight of being.
In the western cultural context, we learn from a young age that we must suppress intuitive and pleasurable movements, and maintain this suppression consciously and unconsciously throughout our lives. Gathering online from the privacy of your own space, with the option to turn off your camera during the exercises, you’ll be guided to gently explore the edge of your comfort with allowing your body to move however it wants to, and welcoming whatever arises. Our bodies resonate deeply with the frequency of finding stillness, listening, and then allowing them to lead the way.
Join us as we explore the dance of presence, pleasure and play, fostering a rich connection with our bodies and our selves through mindful, embodied experience.
*Note: While this workshop will warmly welcome the sensuality of our experience, pleasure in a sexual context will not be explored.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
6:30 – 8:30pm PT
TEACHER
Ellen Zocher
LOCATION
COST
$40 – $65 (or $10 – $16/month)
- Sliding scale: Choose what’s right for you.
- Payment plan option: 4-months, no-interest.
- Scholarships available: No need to apply; just choose a scholarship tuition during registration.
“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves” – Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
Ellen Zocher
In the years following a severe vertebral fracture and spinal fusion surgery in her early 20s, Ellen took a class with Mindfulness Northwest, and found a passion. She is a certified Mindfulness Teacher, having graduated from Mindfulness Northwest’s 350-hour Mindfulness Teacher Training Program in 2022. Ellen’s teaching style flows from her experience of navigating queerness, neurodivergence, and complex injury with humor and self-compassion. A student of movement and somatic modalities including Feldenkrais, Yoga, Contact Improv and Ecstatic Dance, Ellen explores how the embodied experience at the intersections of presence, play, connection and creation brings us closer to our deepest knowing.
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