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 more than 25 years of body-based practice, Sarah is passionate about what becomes possible when we let the moving body lead – allowing sensation, instinct and curiosity to guide us into a different way of experiencing ourselves and our connection with the land.
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 give permission for our body to lead. Through movement and guided somatic practices, we’ll awaken sensory awareness, explore breath and peripheral vision – we’ll develop a curious relationship with sensation, 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.