Organised by Riverside Education
With Sybille Feint
Friday, 2nd August, 4pm - 6pm
At Riverside Centre (Rangimarie Hall)
$10/adult - $5/youth - All Welcome!
Please register with Tanja: education@riverside.org.nz
In this workshop we will explore what activates us, what gets us going and what settles us, supports us to find a pause to rest in:
- 'Activate': this is the ability to connect with an impulse to move, allow the movement to gather momentum, energy and intensity, and allow our physical, cognitive and emotional systems to reach states of intense arousal. To activate is literally to excite and ignite ourselves, to take action for ourselves, in a relationship or in the world. To learn the skills of activation is to build, tolerate and benefit from powerful movement both inside and out.
- 'Settle': The ability to calm our physical, cognitive and emotional systems, to stabilise our breathe, slow down the pulse, find our ground and centre, and come to rest. Without the skills to settle ourselves, we can get lost or injured in our wild dance. Without the skills to settle in life we may loose presence under fire, or find ourselves unable to rest peacefully between waves of activity.
What is Open Floor?
OpenFloor is a modern blend between conscious movement, mindfulness and artistry. IT is a lively meditation practice that builds muscular and emotional intelligence. It is a dance floor discovery zone where we move and include: good days and tough ones, passion, hesitance, joy, sorrow, births, deaths and everything in between. There are no steps to learn and no way to do it wrong.
First timers...
- Guideline : There are no steps to follow.
- Guideline 2: On the Open Floor we shift from speaking with words to speaking with movement. It makes for very creative conversations.
- Guideline 3: If you have no idea what to do, try something below:
- Stay: As with any meditation practice, distractions happen – expect them. Just gently bring your attention back to movement.
- Pace yourself: No matter what the rest of the room is doing, listen to your body. If you relax in the beat, like a swimmer treading water, you’ll refuel.
- Stretch yourself: If you always keep to yourself, include someone else in your dance. If you prefer dancing with a partner, try going solo. Slow down. Speed up. Experiment. Break a habit. Imitate somebody and see how it feels. Create your own remix of others' moves.
- It’s not about the music: The teacher uses music to catalyse movement. Love it or hate it, how you respond is up to you. Use everything as fuel for your dance.
- Don't give up: We all hit patches of fatigue, boredom, shyness, frustration, or discomfort. Even if you can only wiggle a finger or nod your head to the beat, stay with it until something changes. Most often, it will.
- Enjoy yourself: Excessive seriousness will slow you down.
About the facilitator:
Sybille Feint is a dedicated edge-worker and movement lover, passionate about the power of group work. She weaves her skills into Open Floor movement workshops and retreats to create transformational medicine, helping people to grow physically and emotionally within a community.
This event is proudly sponsored by Riverside Community Trust Board.
