Recent decades have seen huge progress in the scientific understanding of the relationship between mind and body. The dualistic view of human personhood, which viewed the mind as the driving force and the body as a passive vehicle, at times even obstructive to mental aspiration and achievement, is giving way to a much more integrated view of human personhood. This new understanding reveals a complex inter-relationship between thinking, feeling, acting and being.
It turns out that our mind is informed by both body and brain working together and communicating at many different levels to maintain wellbeing. These new insights invite us to experience our body as a source of wisdom capable of resonating with the sacred. The problem is that, for various reasons, we tend to ignore the bodily dimension. As a result our lives can become out of balance leading to chronic stress, burn-out and illness. We may also miss out on a rich, life-giving source of wisdom and insight.
The good news is that we can learn to re-connect with our body in simple and accessible ways that support our wellbeing, nourish our spiritual life and resource our ministry and service to others. The following workshops (designed for Continued Ministerial Education) provide a safe, non-judgemental context for people involved in ministry (lay or ordained) to creatively explore embodied practice underpinned by a Christian worldview:
Embodying Self Care
Embodied Listening
See information below:
Embodying Self Care
The workshop begins with an outline of the scientific basis for embodied practice in the service of emotional and mental wellbeing and includes some or all of the following:
Mindful body awareness for grounding in the here and now
Simple body-based techniques for stabilisation, stress release and the embodiment of self-compassion
Gentle movement with scripture
Guided movement improvisation as a resource for self-awareness and creative renewal
Experiencing community through shared movement
Reflection and sharing to process experiential learning
Time to rest and receive
This workshop is offered either as a half day (2.5 – 3 hours) or whole day (4 -5 hours).
Fee negotiable (maximum 20 participants: optimum group size depends on the size of the room).
To enquire or book email: embodiedperspective@gmail.com
Embodied Listening
The workshop begins with a reflection on the growing cultural trend towards embodiment and includes some or all of the following:
Part 1 -
Grounding ourselves in divine compassion through mindful body awareness
Embodying life in the Spirit through creative movement
Deepening awareness and exploring the inner life through guided improvisation
Attuning to the wisdom of the body through the felt sense
Reflection and sharing to process experiential learning
Part 2
Listening to others and reflecting back through posture, gesture and movement
Discussion to apply workshop experience to ministry contexts (such as spiritual direction and pastoral care)
This workshop is offered either as a half day (2.5 – 3 hours) or whole day (4 -5 hours)
Half day workshops will only include Part 1. Whole day workshops will include Parts 1 and 2
Fee negotiable (maximum 20 participants: optimum group size depends on the size of the room)
To enquire or book email: embodiedperspective@gmail.com
Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash
Header section photo by Youssef Naddam on Unsplash