Let the body speak...
instead of just telling it to "calm down"
YES/NO & Letting Go - a somatic workshop to explore autonomy, choice, and boundaries
Hey friends! Our newest somatic workshop, called YES/NO & Letting Go, is happening for the 2nd time, on Saturday, February 28, 9:30-4:30, and you are invited to join us!
Dr. Michael Trexler of Peace of Mind Counseling & Wellness and I hosted this at the studio for the first time on a Saturday this past November and it went really well. We had a group of 8 participants, and the day held really meaningful teachings, conversations, exercises, and curiosity around how our body is involved in the sense of personal autonomy we carry with us through life, how we make choices in light of what our body is carrying and saying, and how we draw (or don’t draw) boundaries where needed.
The graphic/logo we developed for this workshop is based on a bookend I have here at the studio: a heavy black figurine that is leaning backwards to block something. He’s holding a boundary, in a way. But what’s interesting is how he’s doing it… He’s pushing in a very inefficient way, using his body to hold back the books in a way that would be extremely tiring and that doesn’t utilize his power/strength well. He is actually turned away from the things he’s attempting to stop/block; he’s not facing it, and so his energy is just as much being directed AWAY from the thing as it is TOWARD it.
We can all be like that when it comes to drawing boundaries in our personal lives. A lot of us hold fear around walking in our full authority / autonomy, because it threatens our perceived sense of self. “Who am I to….?” These patterns develop often out of survival, and are needed in order to get through certain situations. But when that pattern persists beyond its original purpose, it keeps us from living lives of authenticity, self-honesty, and ease. We can become, sort of like that black figurine bookend, “disfigured” in how we move through life and negotiate our yes’s and no’s, unaware of the possibility of more efficient, energy-saving ways that our body might actually be craving. Sometimes all it takes is awareness and curiosity for a new way to emerge.
Curious to join us in our next round? The early bird rate, which ends on Jan 31, is only $125. Learn more about it and sign up using the button below.
Do you need to “release and refresh”?
If so, you’re in luck! We have 2 classes coming up this weekend that provide safe, gentle, guided opportunities to do that. Friday night, 7:00-8:30pm with Allie, and Saturday morning, 9:00-10:30am with Callie, come as you are and be led through fascial stretching and somatic exercises to become more aware of how your body is holding and expressing states of fight/flight or freeze.
These Release & Refresh classes are unique in that they do not invite you to “calm down” — I personally have big issues around being asked to “calm down” and honestly find it disrespectful to what’s ACTUALLY happening in one’s nervous system. (Because whatever is happening is worth paying attention to; it holds key information for us about our fight/flight or freeze patterns. If we force ourselves to “calm down” then we’ll miss out on all that information.) I found this sign many years ago in a store and immediately purchased it:
It sits on a shelf in my home office, right next to me as I type this. In our Release & Refresh classes, you can safely connect in with what your body is telling you, and move through it via the stretches and exercises, so that the survival energy naturally discharges on its own… which may lead to more calm (among other things)—not because we had you override what was actually going on internally, but rather because we honored and listened to it.
Anyways, stepping off my soapbox 😆, my point is that you are welcome to join us for these drop-in classes this weekend if any of this resonates. Want to read more about what we do in the classes? You can do that here. Or, if you’re ready to sign up for a mere $24 (or $18 if you’re struggling financially and so decide to make use of our always-available coupon code HELP-ME-OUT for those that need assistance), click the button below. Come connect to your body, your heart, and your whole self with us. 🧡
Be well and take good care of yourself out there, friends. There are a lot of hard things happening right now for a lot of people. At Studio A we invite you to connect into your authentic self so that you are equipped with resilience, equanimity, and perseverance to face life and to overcome the internal/personal challenges that exist for you. 🫶
~Allie, for the Studio A team