Life unfolds as things happen so the paths we follow as we grow are rarely straight and inflexible. The maps that many of us do best with, reflect this. Ones that let us meander and sometimes fastrack, sometimes linger in the same territory shedding new light as we bring different aspects of our experience to them.
Whether at a class, a workshop, an intensive or a holiday retreat we are studying how to breathe with attention, listen to our bodies, find our emotions, reconnect with spirit and pause in our own stillness.
There are intrinsic progressions from one level to the next through the 5Rhythms, as well as the fundamental recognition that the levels form a spiral rather than a straight flight of stairs.
Some students move from one level to the next in succession, others more impulsively , as they feel moved.
All levels beyond Waves may require previous study as a prerequisite of participation. This will be detailed in the information for each workshop.
The courses we offer are in alignment with Gabrielle Roth’s maps and satisfy their requirements as prerequisites and credits towards entry into the 5Rhythms Teacher Training.
WAVES
This is the first map, where we learn the essential qualities of all five rhythms; Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness.
We study the movement vocabulary of each rhythm and how they naturally move through our bodies and in our relationship with every day life.
The Waves map reconnects us with our body; our physical energy, skin, bones, breath and roots.
HEARTBEAT
In Hearteat we explore emotion as something integral to being alive, living energy in our body, in all bodies. By investigating and differentiating the movement of everyday feelings we become more comfortable with them in ourselves and in others. We become more skilled at neither hanging on to them or denying them. In so doing we release vitality that may have been locked in our bodies for a long time, and stimulate the hearts’ intuitive intelligence.
CYCLES
Each of the five rhythms is associated with a particular developmental cycle of our lives, from birth to death. In Cycles work we look at our own history and relationship to these universal stages of growth and learning. In honouring what has been and may come to pass we become less small minded, more able to see the bigger picture and make wiser choices.
MIRRORS
The essence of the 5Rhythms is the practise of fluidity. Our daily lives stiffen and harden us mentally, emotionally and physically.
Over time we develop an armoury of personal defences, often more visible to others than to ourselves.
In Mirrors we create the conditions to safely explore the teritory of this habitual behaviour, so that we may become more mindful, more soulful, more authentic and more understanding. In this way we widen our awareness and develop the capacity to live with maturity and integrity.
Some of the courses we offer touch in on all maps of the 5Rhythms as well as including material from other disciplines. The purpose of these workshops is less on curriculum and more on following the spaciousness that opens up through dance, meditation and group focus. Particpants need a substantial familiarity with the basic maps in order to benefit the most from this level of work.