Body As Medicine: An embodied journey to explore the multifaceted nature of our being through dance. 

Do you desire to move through life with more flexibility and freedom?

Do you sense there is an untapped potential within you that is ready to be expressed? 

Are you ready to step into a safer and more loving relationship with yourself, the body that houses you, and the world? 

Being a human being on this planet, we inevitably encounter experiences that create pain and suffering. If we are unable to process these experiences or events due to a lack of safety and support, this pain and suffering can get lodged in our bodies, creating layers of density and stagnation. The accumulation of these layers in the body can lead to feelings of unsafety, anxiety, depression, mental, emotional, and physical rigidity, blocked creativity, and more. This invariably causes discomfort, leading us to want to escape from the present moment, and from being fully in our bodies and with the world around us. 

However, at the core of each one of us, there is an unshakeable essential nature that can never be broken. This essential nature is open-hearted, creative, vital, intuitive... When we address the layers that cloud these innate qualities, we can create the possibility to live from this core place. 

In this workshop, we work with the medicine of movement to explore and meet the places of density and holding, opening somatic pathways to release these layers to create space to live life more fully. In our experience we have found that movement, held within a safe container and community, is an effective way to move towards and through these dense places of holding and armouring. Through intentionally guided, free-form movement, we have the opportunity to observe, unlearn, and rewire these protective patterns that have built up throughout our lives. We will explore ways of softening these protective patterns, revealing what it is beneath them, accessing deep places for healing and stepping closer to our essential nature. 

Our hope is that you leave the workshop feeling more anchored in yourself, and from this place feel confident to relate to your body and engage with life with openness, creativity, trust, and clarity. 

“Gift yourself a movement medicine journey with Olivia. Truly! The space that Olivia holds is profound. She brings a safe, soft, strong container to guide our energy into motion. Getting the body moving is always fun and her musical soundtracks are so divine. In Olivia’s space, I find myself able to go deeper within myself… to journey with what rises to the surface, to clear or to simply notice what comes up… Deep gratitude for having experienced movement medicine with this wise, beautiful being.” 
        - Lauren

Do these questions resonate?

1. Do you often feel trapped in your body?
2. Do you feel disconnected from your body and your feelings?
3. Is it difficult to feel safe even when you cognitively know that you are?
4. Is anxiety, overwhelm, or apathy a familiar feeling?
5. Do the themes of personal power and self-expression evoke resistance?
6. Does creativity feel blocked in your life?
7. Do you cope by staying busy or numbing out to avoid the intensity of your inner and outer world?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, this workshop is for you.

Through body-based practices and community holding, you have the opportunity to remember and reconnect with your body and the medicine that it holds. When there is enough support and safety, the body’s innate wisdom has the space to arise, guiding each of us towards the healing and transformation that our hearts know are possible. 
 

What can you expect in this workshop?

• Guided free-form movement journey for embodied self-expression.
• Community witnessing, group sharing and being heard.
• Interoceptive awareness, containment, orienting, focusing, and somatic self-inquiry.

"Connecting with Francesca hasn't only been a deep dive into the healing of my eating disorder but also of the human experience, an exchange, and a learning from and with each other. The approach was personal and emotional, that was a safe space to explore, express and create. We didn't only work with the mind but also with the body and the soul which gave me a better understanding and acknowledgment of how both can be powerful resource. Francesca has emotional, intellectual and spiritual knowledge that she uses wonderfully to understand and heal."  
           - Loona

Who is this for?

This workshop is for anyone wishing to create more space and freedom in their bodies and lives by addressing layers of stagnancy that have built up over one’s life. So, basically, anyone with a body 😉

This workshop is fully inclusive and open to all genders, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, economic status, physical ability, and age. 

No previous experience needed with movement or dance. Everybody has a unique dance that is worthy to be expressed no matter what shape or form it takes. The workshop is held with a trauma-informed, somatic lens. 

Although this workshop can be therapeutic, it is not does replace therapy. If things surface from the workshop that require additional support, please take responsibility for your experience and self-care by reaching out to a professional. We are also available for further integration – please reach out if you require this extra support. 

This space is confidential. You are welcome to share about your experiences from the workshop but please refrain from sharing the experiences of the other participants. 
 

What do you need to bring?

• Water bottle
• Journal and pen/pencil
• Wear loose-fitting clothing suitable to dance in

Please arrive 10 mins early (6:50pm), so we can start promptly at 7pm.
 

Our facilitators

Francesca Rose

Through mindful movement, Francesca has discovered greater capacity to be with the up and down movements of life. As someone who has experienced disconnection and unsafety in her own body, she has found dance and movement to be a potent ally in restoring trust and safety with her body and as such with life. 

She is an embodied eating disorder recovery coach, intuitive movement facilitator, and psychedelic integration guide, offering 1:1 coaching, recovery support groups, and online movement programs. She supports individuals in reestablishing trust in their authentic embodiment and restoring fragmented parts of the self into integrated wholeness.

Visit own website 

www.instagram.com/francescaeatsroses 

Olivia Gardy

Olivia is a dreamer, a dancer, a healer, a global nomad and an inner voyager. Having trained as a teacher with the School of Movement Medicine, she works with its form as a solid ground to dance through the ebbs and flows of life. The modality is a powerful healing tool that guides people deeper into themselves, opening the possibility to meet the many layers of our human experience more intimately. In this way, writing new stories from the ashes of our suffering - coming into greater connection with ourselves, this life and the world around us.

Olivia focuses on working with survivors of sexual trauma and recovering addicts, weaving in somatic, trauma-informed modalities that she has learned through various studies as well as personal experience.

www.instagram.com/livgardy 

Originally from South Africa, Francesca and Olivia are traveling the world, sharing an appreciation for somatic-based healing modalities for individual and collective embodied transformation. 

Between us, our trainings include: Movement Medicine with Ya'Acov and Susannah Darling Khan, Integrative Somatic Trauma-Informed Therapy Certificate, certified by The Embody Lab, Addiction Recovery and Psychospiritual Integration Coaching, certified by Being True To You, Level 1 Embodied Eating Disorder Recovery, certified by The Embodied Recovery Institute, Smart Body Smart Mind nervous system rewiring training, with Irene Lyon, Conscious dance training with Dance Awake, various yoga teacher trainings (Synergy, Budokon, Calligraphy, Vinyasa, Hatha), massage therapy, and Alignment Therapy.

Our venue: Soma Home (Studio 4)

Address: 231 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 9HP

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. 

Our facilitators have agreed to our code of conduct. Learn about our procedure for raising concerns

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