Maya Lila Foundation Course in Somatic Studies
In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Joan Davis is offering a Foundation Course in Somatic Studies. This Foundation Course will take place over eighteen weekends from September 2008 until June 2010 and will consist of four modules. Except for Module Four, each Module can be taken separately. All prospective new students will be expected to undertake a one hour interview with the facilitator prior to commencing in order to ensure this is the right course for them. All the groups are closed once a Module commences. Note that two more modules have been added to the Foundation Course in Somatic Studies, making a total of four modules.
MODULE ONE, DEVELOPMENTAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS, would be of particular interest to Trauma Therapists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Yoga , Alexander, Feldenkrais or Pilates teachers, Dancers, Actors, Artists and any Body Workers who wish to deepen their existing practice by incorporating the body more fully into it. It would also be very good for people interested in exploring the origins of their movements and ways of being in the world. Numbers for this Module are strictly limited to twelve people.
DEVELOPMENTAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS, also known as Basic Neurological Patterns or BNP, teach us about the origins of our movement and our ways of being in the world. We revisit actions such as rolling, creeping, crawling and walking, and explore locomotive forces such as yielding, pushing, reaching, holding and pulling. We learn how our patterned movements inform us about being in relationship and how to nurture new patterns that better serve us. The Developmental Movement Patterns reinforce a strong and stable sense of our bodies and invite support for our everyday actions, perceptions and ways of relating in the world. They offer basic movement awareness skills that are not technique oriented. They are natural to every human being.
The development of these patterns in humans parallels the evolutionary development of movement through the animal kingdom. The Developmental Movement Patterns are the words of our movement. They are the building blocks for the phrases and sentences of our activities. They also establish a base for our perceptual relationships (including body image and spatial orientation) and for our learning and communication.
These six weekends (which are scheduled to alternate with Module Two) will offer an education and experience of Developmental Movement Patterns.
MODULE TWO, AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT AS EMBODIED SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, is for those people who have some basic body and movement awareness and who wish to learn the process of compassionate witnessing and explore an embodied Spiritual Practice. Module Two will offer ongoing mindfulness skills, development of compassionate witnessing, restoration and nourishment for the practitioner. Numbers for this Module are strictly limited to fourteen people.
AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT is the practice of moving from the most authentic place within ourselves. We follow our own movement impulses and truth in the moment of that truth arising. Authentic Movement is always practiced in the presence of a witness. The mover usually moves with their eyes closed and learns to follow their own experience from within. The witness witness's with their eyes open and although the witness is not in movement, they learn to follow their own experience from within whilst in the presence of the mover. Afterwards there is exchange between mover and witness. Witnessing is the ability to follow and welcome your own inner experience whilst you are in movement or indeed engaged in any activity or at rest. We cultivate the attitude of loving presence, welcoming, curiosity, encouragement and playfulness in the witnessing of ourselves and others.
MODULE THREE, BODY-MIND CENTERING®, will commence in September 2008 and will run concurrently with Modules One and Two. Module Three will comprise of six weekends in Body Mind Centering. This module would be of interest to a wide spectrum of people involved in the therapeutic, movement and bodywork fields. Numbers for this Module are strictly limited to fourteen people.
Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is an integrated approach to transformative experience through movement re-education and hands-on re-patterning. Developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. This study leads to an understanding of how the mind is expressed through the body and the body through the mind.
BMC invites us to experience our own tissues and cells and to find the support for our everyday movements through embodying the different body systems - for example, our bones, muscles, nervous systems, our ligaments, fluids, endocrine and organ systems. The practice of BMC invites us to experience our bodies from within.
Module Three can be taken on its own. Numbers are limited and priority will be given to those people who have completed Module One or Two of the Foundation Course
Body-Mind Centering® is a registered service mark of Bonnie Bainbridge
Cohen. Please note, this module does not authorize people to be Body-Mind Centering practitioners but can state that they have studied the Body-Mind Centering approach with Joan Davis and their work is influenced by this approach.
MODULE FOUR, ARTS PRACTICE will commence in March 2009 and will comprise of three, four day weekends in ARTS PRACTICE. Module Four is specifically designed for anybody engaged and or interested in the arts, such as dancers, writers, poets, visual artists and performers and is open to people who have completed Modules One, Two and Three. It is also open to anyone who may have worked on the Maya Lila Trainings in previous years or has a strong grounding in Authentic Movement and Body Mind Centering. In Module Four, we will deepen our experience of presence in Authentic Movement and bring in the use of voice, musicality, objects and storytelling. Numbers for this Module are strictly limited to ten people.
To receive a Certificate of Completion for the Foundation Course in Somatics, 85% of the weekends must be fully attended and each participant will be required to keep a journal of their process throughout the course and to attend small group peer learning meetings. A Certificate of Attendance is offered to people selecting an individual module. The certificate of attendance is based on the above criteria except that all six weekends of the selected module must be attended.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JOAN DAVIS AT 01 2876986 OR EMAIL jd at gorsehill dot net. Website www.gorsehill.net
Facilitator
Joan Davis has been exploring the nature of creativity most particularly from a body based perspective for over 30 years. She pioneered Contemporary Dance in Ireland in the 70's & 80's and has consistently experimented with collaborative art as a professional artist and therapist.
Joan is a Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner, has studied Authentic Movement with Janet Adler, and Voice Work with Chloe Goodchild and Rajeswar Bhattacharya.
She has extensively studied Process Oriented Psychology (Mindell) and is a Hakomi Sensorimotor Trauma Psychotherapist.
VENUE For all Modules: Gorse Hill, Cliff Road , Windgates, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Phone: 01 2876986 or email: jd at gorsehill dot net. Website http://www.gorsehill.net
The weekends run from 9.30am [9am arrival and register] on Saturday and finish at 4pm on Sunday. On Saturday, we usually end around 7pm and begin again on Sunday morning at 9 am. Module Four will commence on the Friday morning at the above time and end on the following Monday at 4pm. It is preferable, though not necessary, for participants to be residential.
Please bring food to share for the lunches, evening meal and breakfast [if residential].
Suggested Donations for Foundation Course in Somatic Studies:
€ 220 per weekend includes accommodation for 1 night. Early Bird registration offer for all four modules if paid before 30 June 2008 €4,800. Early Bird registration offer for Module One, Two, or Three if paid before 30 June 2008 €1,200. Early Bird for Module Four if paid before 10 January 2009 €1,200. If paying as you go, a non-refundable booking deposit of 25% by June 30th is required and a minimum of €150 brought to each weekend. Totality of fees should be paid by the second to last weekend of your chosen module(s). There may be some opportunity for bursaries depending on your circumstances and the numbers in any particular Module.
Please send donations to: Joan Davis, Gorse Hill, Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co Wicklow.
IN THE SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY, PLEASE PASS ON THIS INFORMATION.
Thank You
Contact Joan Davis at jd at gorsehill dot net for schedule and further information on the modules.
Contact Joan Davis at jd at gorsehill dot net for schedule and further information on the modules.
Contact Joan Davis at jd at gorsehill dot net for schedule and further information on the modules.