Sarah Hyams is a Team Coach at Royal Roads University, somatic coach and movement teacher with a background in dance, embodied movement and applied arts. With 25 years of body-based practice, Sarah is passionate about what becomes possible when we let the moving body lead. Enjoying the glory of the moving body, her work allows a deeper layer to unfold, what becomes possible when we bring the moving body to the land. This exploration allows sensation, instinct and curiosity to awaken in refreshing and moving ways.
Root to Land, Feel the Body, Be Together
Drawing upon the work of Helen Poynor’s Non-Stylised Environmental Movement Practice, this is an experiential workshop where we wake up the animal-human body. Through movement and guided somatic practices, we’ll awaken sensory awareness, explore breath and peripheral vision so we can enter our practice in a three-dimensional, embodied way. Curiosity will play a leading role in how we connect with our bodies, places, spaces, and other moving bodies, allowing movement to arise from what we notice and feel.
As the practice moves outdoors, the land becomes our movement partner. We’ll explore what changes when we let our bodies respond to the textures, sounds, space and rhythms of the natural environment around us. What happens when we feel ourselves not simply on the land, but in relationship with it?
The outdoor practice involves a “score” – a loose structure that builds on what we explored indoors, from which we pay attention and move. Through solo exploration, stillness and group reflection, you might notice ease, resistance, belonging, unfamiliarity, playfulness or something you didn’t expect. The invitation is simply to stay curious and let the experience unfold.
PLEASE NOTE: This session includes an outdoor component, held regardless of weather. Please bring a journal and arrive in weather-ready attire, including waterproof pants and a jacket (no matter the weather), as they give us many more movement possibilities. This is an all bodies welcome workshop. It is wheelchair accessible and our practices can be used for all bodies and abilities., No prior experience needed. All movement practices will be non-physical contact with other movers for this particular session. If you have any questions about this please email Sarah.hyams@royalroads.ca