Soma and Soul
Why those words and what is this work that I’m doing?
The words…
I could have called it Body and Psyche, Body and Soul, Body and Heart, Movement and Depth Work, Tangible and Intangible, Seen and Unseen, Body and Creativity.
You get the idea. It’s a testament to and representation of all these aspects of being human and how they relate to each other.
When I use the word soma, I am also holding the words/ideas of: the body, sensation, embodiment, movement, the body of the earth, the ocean, the light, the weather, nature itself, how I move through the world, how my body experiences the world around me and inside of me, what it is like to make contact with my body, impulses from my body (what it wants to do and what it needs).
When I use the word soul, I am also holding the idea of: the deep, the unconscious, the unconscious speaking to the conscious, dreams, the essence of me within me, the interconnected, the rich tapestry of feeling, emotion, knowing, sensing within me, the flow, the unexplained.
The work…
It’s an ongoing quest to find and create ways to bring together these aspects of myself and to be able to offer that experience to others.
It’s a place/space/way of weaving together my deep interests, my training, and my experiences into workshops and offerings for others.
Soma and the soul provide the priming for the ideas that are inside of me as I create themes, practices and opportunities to come into connection with ourselves and our creative energy. They may show up in different ways during a workshop – listening to poetry, dancing to music, exploring what our body perceives and knows, writing from our deepest longings and wonderings, writing into inviting questions and more genuine answers. What is offered will continue to change and evolve over time and I welcome you most warmly to join in the exploration and give yourself the time and space of deep care and acknowledgment.
I have been lucky enough to participate in many practices and workshops and events that have included the exploration of and communing with body, heart, soul, and creativity. Not only have I been left changed and imprinted upon by the experiences I’ve had and witnessed, but I have also been left with an immense gratitude for the teachers and lineages over the years that have created places and opportunities where these experiences can happen. My offerings are also a way that I can give back to and continue what I have learned from so many wonderful bodies and souls.
To name a few…
From the early years on. (this list is not exhaustive)
My original dance teachers – Miss Irene and Miss Wanda, two sisters who lived and breathed dance. For over ten years, my feet found a home on their floor.
The theatre directors and choreographers in my high school years, who took seriously the artistry of our young souls – Colleen Durkin-Lapowsky, Joey DiMarco, Leslie Madison, Ken Williams.
My college acting teacher and mentor, John Jamiel, who demanded a depth of craft that opened my world and my heart and taught me what it means to be embodied and present.
My college theatre director, Alan Souza, who inspired me (in words and in living it himself) to be fearless in doing the deep inner exploration and in bringing to the surface what I found.
My social work grad school teacher and mentor, Jim Kreider, who brought a level of integrity and integration to my understanding of what it means to be a spiritual and embodied human, and the courage to not shy away from the bigness of who we are.
The woman who reintroduced me to the dance in my soul, to the dance that is mine, to the dance that is not about performing but about being, my first 5Rhythms teacher and mentor, Laura Martin-Eagle.
The many somatic practitioners who gave me new language for what was happening in my body and in my experiences and helped me to befriend the wisdom of my own system – Joshua Sylvae, Cindy Perkiss, Cheryl Sanders, Kathy Kain. And the somatic practitioners who brought the integral piece of race, social location, connection to non-human life into my somatic awareness – Resmaa Menakem, Prentis Hemphill, Karine Bell.
The woman who reconnected me to my creative self, my writing self, the voice of my soul, Marlene Schiwy and her Body Soul Writing program. She also reintroduced me to the work of Marion Woodman, who had wandered through my years of study, but until I experienced the practices inspired by Body Soul Rhythm with Marlene had not imprinted themselves so emphatically on my body soul. They are forever there from Marlene and Marion, whispering to me from the depths, to not be afraid of the dark or the light.
And finally to the therapists I have had over the last 25 years, who have accompanied me through descents and transformations that continue to reverberate every day in my body and my psyche, and infuse all of my work and offerings.
Whenever I sit in myself to create and offer these explorations, all these people and lineages are present. I would not be here without them, and their generosity, love and wisdom continue to hold me and move through me.
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