offerings
2024 events
breathing room
october 18-20, 2024 munich germany an in-person workshop with michael
to cultivate our capacity to receive and release, to offer and allow, to care for self and to share yourself….a breathing room. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the hands soften, fingers loosening their firm grasp on things outside of my control. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the feet relax. soles widening their stance, accepting that there is always a place for you called here. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the heart unwind, the emotional hope chest quieting, dancing with the creative tensions of tenderness and tenacity, grief and exultation. our ongoing prayer is this; may this next breath bring you not one step closer to death, but rather more fully into your life. that you live out loud, practice aliveness in each moment and sing into the silence which is always opening for you…..BREATHING ROOM
grow
november 15-17, 2024 Burlington Vermont an in-person workshop in michael
in life we are faced with many obstacles and opportunities that can be catalysts on this heart-breaking and heart-opening path of being human; beauty and terror, grief and grace, hope and despair, belonging and banishment. can each of these circumstances be compost for the fuel that enables our growth? do you and i have a choice in how we meet each moment, receiving and releasing the wonders and wounds of our dancing journey? using the practice of soul motion as our ground, let’s repair our roots through the rituals of movement and pause, extend our reach through witnessing and being seen, rest in repose through sound and silence, including the excluded parts of ourselves and this community that comes together to GROW.
tending the threshold
december 5-9, 2024 online immersion with michael & susan harper
in tending a threshold, we dwell in a liminal space that is womb and tomb. we engage the alchemy of love, dissolving what is no longer needed, and allowing for the emergence of something utterly new to take place. we honor the seen and unseen, accept what is, and consider that which is not yet. in this 5-day online retreat, we participate in a multi-faceted movement range where we dance wildly and tenderly, fiercely and freely, deepen through ritual, and explore intrinsic movement. we use the movement practices of Soul Motion, Open Floor and Continuum Inquiry. michael and susan, midwives of movement and ritual, will invite you to listen and linger on the potent cusp of your soul’s journey. in this pregnant pause no-thing needs to happen and every-thing is possible. join us as we move through and into the threshold mysteries and conundrums that all of life presents.
2025 events
breathing room
February 7-9, 2025 chicago an in-person workshop with michael
to cultivate our capacity to receive and release, to offer and allow, to care for self and to share yourself….a breathing room. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the hands soften, fingers loosening their firm grasp on things outside of my control. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the feet relax. soles widening their stance, accepting that there is always a place for you called here. the art of breathing, to draw in a conscious breath and let the heart unwind, the emotional hope chest quieting, dancing with the creative tensions of tenderness and tenacity, grief and exultation. our ongoing prayer is this; may this next breath bring you not one step closer to death, but rather more fully into your life. that you live out loud, practice aliveness in each moment and sing into the silence which is always opening for you…..BREATHING ROOM
expanding our hearts
march 14-16, 2025 freiburg, germany an in-person workshop with michael
If our bodies are the vessels we use to move through the currents of our lives, then the heart is the rudder, our moral compass, for navigating the cruelties and the crises in the world with compassion and grace. Like the sun, the heart gives its greatest light and warmth when it burns through the clouds of dread and despair to radiate its rays of hope and encouragement. To reveal rather than conceal our hearts is to risk our vulnerability and invites a flowering of the human condition. In this retreat you are being called to crack the chrysalis in the center of your chest and cradle the critic that cripples your creativity. Let’s create a sanctuary where your longings and desires may root, roam, reach, and rise. Using the lens of curiosity, wonder and awe, we surrender ourselves through movement, poetry, art, witnessing and ritual to dare our dreams and sing our souls. If you feel pulled, please join our circle to be held in this sacred gathering of the potent exposing and expanding of our hearts.
meeting at the edge
march 22, 2025 alicante, spain an in-person 1 day workshop with michael
meeting at the edge is an invitation and exploration to dance on the threshold of the known into the mystery of our unchartered territory. while attending to the somatic anchors of ground and center we will be encouraged to consider and risk our growing edge.
as winter rotates into spring, nature is inviting us to come into balance: the equinox. the days and nights have come into a glorious symmetry between light and dark, and if we listen deeply perhaps we can hear her whispering to us to seek equilibrium in our own lives.
in this workshop, using the platforms of soul motion and the centering/balancing vibration of the equinox, we will plant our feet in the fertile ground of the moment and tend to our vulnerable growing edge. we will dare to be seen in our vulnerability, to give voice to uncomfortable truths and show up for ourselves, another, the community and spirit.
grow
march 28-30, 2025 devon, england an in-person workshop with michael
in life we are faced with many obstacles and opportunities that can be catalysts on this heart-breaking and heart-opening path of being human; beauty and terror, grief and grace, hope and despair, belonging and banishment. can each of these circumstances be compost for the fuel that enables our growth? do you and i have a choice in how we meet each moment, receiving and releasing the wonders and wounds of our dancing journey? using the practice of soul motion as our ground, let’s repair our roots through the rituals of movement and pause, extend our reach through witnessing and being seen, rest in repose through sound and silence, including the excluded parts of ourselves and this community that comes together to GROW.
coming home
april 4-6, 2025 edinburgh, scotland an in-person workshop with michael
What if HOME was not a destination or a place, but rather a quality of being and a presence to the vitality living in each moment. To be at HOME in the intimacy and solitude of being alone is to openly receive and release the simplicity of each breath, to honor our wounds and celebrate our gifts. To be at HOME in the connection and communion with another is to be rooted in our own beating heart, while risking to share our heart with another. To be at HOME in the community and belonging of others is to be willing to take a stand and claim our place, while at the same time making space for the diversity and beauty of others. To be at HOME in the infinite mystery of spirit is to surrender to the teachings of faith, trust, curiosity and wonder to guide us in our every day dance of life. Through movement and pause, silence and sound, witnessing and being seen, we will dance our dreams and sing through our souls. The journey has begun, the long walk of COMING HOME.