A new program for treatment centers—
Embody Wholeness Movement Workshop Groups teach recovering people somatic tools for mind-body integration. Clients are supported to embody their whole being in an enjoyable and safe environment.
This workshop can be offered in an indoor nurturing space or an outdoor adventure space. Breath and body awareness integrated with gentle movement begins the workshop. From a soft, quiet space, clients are led into moving with full bodied and expressive actions. In this workshop, there is no wrong way to move. Workshop groups are playful, supportive and life enhancing.
In an ongoing program, classes can include choreography in which the group works together to design a movement and/or theater piece about their recovery, cultivating trust, communication, personal responsibility and creativity.
Healthy self-care is absent in most addicts and the practices in the workshop are designed to give tools that are both practiced in group and taken into daily lives. It is well known that full-bodied movement and creative expression can lead to an enhanced mood and a more integrated Self.
With guided mindful movement and body/breath awareness exercises, clients learn how to quiet their own nervous system to reduce anxiety and find centeredness. As a client is more aware and present in their body, they can begin notice other patterns of thoughts and triggers. Each client can learn to manage uncomfortable sensations that help build the capacity to manage external and internal stressors outside and inside of themselves. Embodied movement can be a path to balance – in posture, in movement, and in mood, mind and spirit.
In ongoing groups, clients can learn to use these mind-body practices to support their recovery.