Awaken Through Movement and Sound

I have been contemplating the merits of embodiment. As a yoga teacher and somatic therapist, I am continually interested in discovering ways to facilitate living in my body. I have been engaged in awareness-building practices for well over a decade. I am fascinated by mindful movement and the gifts it offers.
 
As someone who has lived through trauma and who grapples with anxiety–a condition that amplifies thoughts–I am grateful for movement practices that plunge me into the wisdom and felt sense of my body. Yoga means union.  If we regularly practice harmonizing with ourselves, the Yoga Sutras, the philosophical writings of yoga, teach that this will help to still the fluctuations (the chitta vrittis) of the mind. 
 
It is interesting to reflect on our habits. Yoga helps shine a light on them. Yoga has been my habitual practice for years and while I love it, I also crave new ways of connecting to myself. I have been exploring the 5 Rhythms practice which invites practitioners to respond to music by allowing the body to move authentically in response to its natural impulses. This can be both delightfully liberating and sometimes scary. Structure and technique can be comforting. My intention is to practice what I share as a teacher. A new class I am offering is Embodied Presence and Sound Healing at Helix Healthcare Group. I co-facilitate with Philip Jacobs, a talented sound healer and practitioner of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.
 
 

Why Check This Class Out

You will experiment with tuning in to your body and moving it along with sound in a mindful way. Philip plays different musical instruments such as crystal bowls, drums, chimes and guitar. Sound will serve as a catalyst to move, in tandem with gentle guidance and direction from us. Each group is a different experience. It can be playful and fun and it can also be deep and profound. Getting out of your head and listening to your body is an amazing opportunity and one that I highly recommend. We tend to hold our emotions in our bodies and they can manifest as somatic issues if we don’t pay attention and move them through us. When I do movement practices such as this, I learn again, that I am much more than my thoughts. Only using intellectual approaches to initiate change now seems limiting to me. I have learned, and neuroscience supports that intelligence lies not solely in the brain but rather in the body as a whole.

 

How to Take Part

Anyone can participate; you don’t require prior movement experience, just a willingness to attune to your experience and the sounds in the environment. Come try something new with me. Register by phone (647-496-2569) for this one-hour group at Helix on Wednesdays at 4:00 pm.
 
 

Where Else to Find Me

 
December is a month that can be eaten up with busyness. This December, challenge yourself to be mindful; feel your own breath and body and discover pauses. Wishing you and your loved ones peace and joy this holiday season. 

Namaste,

     
    Kathryn Bowen