Conscious interbeing: connecting through play, movement and touch

This workshop offers a fun, safe and supportive space to explore deeper connections through play, movement and touch. It uses principles from Action Theatre, contact improvisation, Amerta movement, Kashmir Shivaism, wheel of consent and Claire's outdoor movement art practice in relationship with non-human beings. 

Through a series of simple scores, solo, in pairs or as a whole group you’ll be invited to explore how to attune and nonverbally connect to yourself and others through play and movement. All exercises are simple, accessible and require no prior experience.

The workshop will take place in three distinctive stages to build up trust and confidence with oneself and with others. The process of connection is purposefully slowed down to explore nonverbal ways of communicating consent, boundaries and desires in a way that feels safe and self-aware. It will offer the space to check-in with yourself and your needs throughout the process.

First stage: Emphasis will be placed on self-attunement first and on better understanding what you need and desire before coming into connection with another. You will be guided to land into your body and to slowly come into dialogue with the physical space around you.

Second stage: Connection will be built through play, movement and attunement in a series of simple exercises done in pairs which don't require touch.

Third stage: We will explore touching without touching and taking our time to come into contact. We will further explore touch through a series of pair exercises focusing on attunement, deep listening and nonverbal ways of asserting one's boundaries. 

Music is purposely not used in this workshop to focus on listening and to learn to attune to our bodies as if they were musical instruments. Sounding however might happen as part of the movement.

What to expect: 

• Follow simple movement scores as a group or in pairs
• Move your body in dialogue with another exploring non-verbal ways of connecting with each other
• Exploring conscious and listening touch with another
• Practicing non-verbal ways of expressing consent
• Self-reflecting and sharing in pairs and in groups 
• Being held in a non-judgmental supportive learning space

Testimonial from Polly:

‘I felt really nourished by soft tender and deep human connection. My survival brain was safely sleeping and I could access a sweeter simpler and quieter depth of being with others. It left me feeling, relaxed, energised and connected. The movement touched on some edgier parts and places in myself, but it did so with such a kind, slow, clear and mindful holding from Claire that I was able to be with it and learn and embody new ways of being and moving. More please!’

Bio

Claire is a movement artist, somatic practitioner and teacher. She works with improvisation, unstylised movement and eco-somatics, that is to say spontaneous nonverbal dialogue with the environment, both natural and urban. She has trained with Suprapto Suryodarmo, Sandra Reeve, Ruth Zapoorah, Daniel Odier and regularly attends contact improv jams in London. Her movement art practice is strongly rooted in her relationship with non-human beings such as plants, fungi and the ecology of a landscape. She is the author of How to Be Feral: Movement Practices to Re-wild your Body, a philosophical movement book which challenges our human-centered perspective of the world and encourages us to think with our moving bodies and not just with our mind. She is also an insight herbalist, graduate from the School of Intuitive Herbalism where we learn directly from the plants.

@howtobeferal

www.movingmeditation.co.uk

www.claireloussouarn.com