What It Is

Trusting in your own experience...

In this course you will be encouraged to explore  using your lived experience and felt sense rather than things you think you know. Of course knowing things is important too... but we'll get to that later... 

Through, movement, imagination and touch, we will move through 7 deep dive live Experiential Anatomy workshops and 5 pre-recorded Feldenkrais classes. We will discover ways of coming into relationship with parts of ourselves that we may not have imagined possible. 

We will share about what we encountered and then further support our learning with science. 

The primary focus of this course is to re-home our imagination, envisioning, felt sense and instinct in an integrated and earthed place within our experience of being embodied.   

Everyone who signs up receives the recordings of all sessions.

The idea behind it

'You didn't come into this world, you came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.'

Alan Watts

The Flow of The Course...

  • Being In a Body - Primary Experience

    Most of our time together will be devoted to themed somatic explorations... that means experiential, process based learning, for deepening our personal relationship with our anatomy & physiology. This will involve movement, imagination, visualisation and self touch.

  • Sharing Circles

    Some time in each live workshop, will be put aside for sharing - both in smaller groups and in the large group. What did you encounter in the exploration? There will also be a community page for continuing the sharing. This is an important part of deepening your experience and understanding.

  • Imaging & 3D maps

    After the experiential session, we will visit some relevant 3D anatomical maps for further context and ongoing research. I will also point you in the direction of relevant texts.

  • Feldenkrais Classes

    Interspersed with the workshops are 5 pre-recorded Feldenkrais classes, for you to do in your own time. These have been added to develop and enrich certain aspects of what we have been exploring in the previous workshops.

  • Recordings for life

    You will have access to the recordings of all the live workshops and all the Feldenkrais classes to keep for life. To do in your own time, or revisit as your ongoing enquiry deepens. The idea is that this becomes a living library.

  • Synthesis & Integration

    How do we put this all together and use this knowledge to enrich our experience of being alive? How might it be relevant to our work? We will explore real life applications.

Workshops & Course Curriculum

7 x 2.5hr Experiential Anatomy sessions with Feldenkrais, sharing circles, 3D anatomy & physiology maps and integration

  • 1

    Welcome to the Course!

    • Welcome to the course! A message from Rachel - some practical details

    • Intro to what to expect of the movement sessions - Somatic Movement v/s Feldenkrais

    • An Introduction to Feldenkrais for those new to it - what you'll need for your first Feldi class

    • Peer Groups - Please complete this form...
  • 2

    Workshop 1 - Starting From The Ground Up

    • Starting From The Ground, Up - Intro Video

    • The Gift and Challenge of Gravity & Weight Bearing

    • Starting from the Ground Up - Live Workshop Session - practical details

    • Recording of the Live workshop - 1

    • Anatomy Notes - Week 1 - The Feet!

    • Anatomy Notes - Week 1 - The Bones of the Pelvis

  • 3

    Workshop 2 - Looking Out - Seeing Reaching

    • Intro to Week 2 - Reaching, Looking, Desiring

    • Orienting, The Horizon and Moving Towards What We Desire

    • Looking Out - Seeing Reaching - Live Workshop Session

    • Recording of the Live Workshop - Week 2

    • Anatomy Notes Week 2 - The Hands

    • Anatomy Notes Week 2 - The Central Nervous System & Intro to Brain Functions

  • 4

    Week 3 - Feldenkrais Lesson 1 - The Feet and it's Toes

    • Week 3 - Feldenkrais Lesson - 1

    • Intro to the first Feldenkrais Class

    • Feldenkrais Class 1 - The Feet and It's Toes - Audio Only

    • Feldenkrais Class 1 - The Feet & It's Toes - Video

    • Reflection questions for your peer group
  • 5

    Week 4 - Feldenkrais Lesson 2 - The Dominant Hand

    • Feldenkrais Lesson (Week 4)

    • Week 4 - Intro to this week's Feldenkrais Class -

    • Week 4 - Feldenkrais Class - Work with the dominant hand

    • Week 4 - Feldenkrais Class - Work with the dominant hand - audio only

    • Reflection questions for your peer group
  • 6

    Workshop 3 - Rolling & Turning - Waves Spirals & Pulses

    • Week 5 - Intro to Waves, Pulses & Spirals

    • Tracking The Archetypal Shapes We (And All Nature) Are Made Of

    • Rolling and Turning - Waves, Spirals and Pulses - Live Workshop Session

    • Waves Spirals & Pulses - Embodied Metaphor Live Class Recording

    • Anatomy notes - Week 5 - The Female v/s Male Pelvis

    • Anatomy Notes - Week 5 - Orientation and Relationships in Space

    • Anatomy Notes - Week 5 - Peripheral, Autonomic and Parasympathetic Nervous System & how they relate to Poly Vagal Theory

  • 7

    Workshop 4 - Being Breathed

    • Intro to week 6 - The Breath, Breathing and Being Breathed

    • Biological v/s Cultural Breathing & Engaging The Diaphragms of the Body

    • Being Breathed - Live Workshop Session

    • Week 6 Being Breathed - Recording of the live workshop

    • Anatomy notes for Week 6 - Breathing and the Diaphragms

  • 8

    Week 7 - Feldenkrais Lesson 3 - The Biology of Turning & Spiralling

    • Feldenkrais Lesson (Week 7)

    • Feldenkrais Lesson Intro - The biology of Turning & Spiralling in the Human Organism

    • Week 7 - Feldenkrais lesson 3 - Recording of the class - Turning and Spiralling

    • Week 7 Feldenkrais class recording - Turning and Spiralling AUDIO ONLY

  • 9

    Week 8 - Feldenkrais Lesson 4 - The Biological Experience of Breathing

    • Feldenkrais Lesson (Week 8)

    • Feldenkrais Lesson Intro - the Biological Experience of Breathing in Humans

    • Week 8 - Feldenkrais Breathing Lessons

    • Week 8 - Feldenkrais Breathing Lesson 1

    • Week 8 - Feldenkrais Breathing Lesson 2

  • 10

    Workshop 5 - Looking In: Visiting the Heart and the Microverse

    • Interoception - Navigating Internal Maps via Our Felt Sense, Movement & the Imaginal

    • Visiting the Heart and the Microverse - Live Workshop Session

    • Intro To Week 9 - Live Workshop intro

    • Week 9 - Live class recording - Visiting The Chambers of the Heart.

    • Anatomy notes for the Heart
  • 11

    Workshop 6 - Sensing in to Sense out: This Whole Body as Micro-verse within Larger Living Systems

    • Fractals and Resonances - Mapping the Interior with its Counterpoint in the Field & the Cosmos

    • Week 10 Workshop Intro

    • Sensing In to Sense Out: This Whole Body as Microverse within Larger Living Systems - Live Workshop Session

    • EA - Week 2 - Recording of the live session - Microverse and Macroverse

    • Anatomy Notes for the Microverse

  • 12

    Week 11 - Feldenkrais Lesson - Freeing the Legs

    • Feldenkrais Lesson (Week 11)

    • Intro to the Week 11 - Feldenkrais class - freeing the legs

    • Week 11 - 5th Feldenkrais lesson

  • 13

    Workshop 7 - Closing Circle - Moving Forwards

    • Week 12 intro - Final week!

    • Closing Circle - moving forwards

    • Closing Circle - Moving Forwards - Live Workshop Session

    • Week 12 - Recording of the Final Session

Time Commitment

To get the most out of this course live, allow for an average minimum of 2.5 - 3 hrs on the workshop weeks and 1 - 1.5 hrs on the Feldenkrais weeks.

If you'd like to go a little deeper, you can plan to spend an additional hour each week following up / revisiting / researching / buddy and group sharing.

If you are a somanaut junkie like me, you could happily spend many many hours a day exploring down the many possible delicious somatic and anatomical wormholes!... ;-).

Similarly, if your time is very taxed, you can do the sessions in your own time and spread the learning over a year if you want. You'll have access to the lesson plans on the course hub for a year from sign up. And you'll own the recordings for life.

How Do I know If This Is For Me?

This course will be useful for anyone who wants a deeper understanding and more intrinsic knowledge about how being in a body works. It might be that you are working with bodies in some way - movement, dance, sport, body work, fitness. Or maybe you just want to get to know your home for this life time a bit better. Any level of experience is welcome and the only prerequisite is being in a body.

About Your Host

Rachel Blackman

Rachel is a somatic educator with over 20 years experience. She has worked both clinically (hands on) and remotely, in classrooms, in groups, one to one and in training programs locally and internationally.

She is fiercely passionate about supporting us to re-home our whole selves in our embodied experience and grow a more sustainable way of being.

For 8 years she worked as a guest trainer and then co-lead trainer at The Embodied Facilitator Course. Now she trains coaches to work with the body at The Somatic School. Her specialisms are touch, play, imagination and expression.

She is also a trained actor, Feldenkrais practitioner, theatre maker, improvisor, somatic coach, creativity consultant and mentor.

Rachel grew up on unceded Bungalung and Eora lands in what is now NSW Australia. Most of her people are still there. She lives in Brighton UK with her husband and bonus son.

To read more about Rachel or read what people say about working with her, click the button below...
More About Rachel

Pricing

Pricing is worked out on a sliding scale:

REGULAR price is - £299

If you are ok for money money please choose this price. (for example you have a car and have no  trouble paying your rent / mortgage & / or you own property.) This amount works out at £24.90 per week.

CONCESSION price is - £249

If money is a little less easy -  this price works out at £20.85 pw  - (for example you mostly have no trouble paying your rent / mortgage and meeting your basic living costs and usually get by ok.)  

BUDGET price is £199

This price works out at £16.60 p/w - (for example you may struggle with basic living costs. Please only select this price if you really need it.)

SPONSORSHIP price is  - £499 -  

Pay for yourself and for someone who can't afford it - or sponsor 2 places! 

If you are good for money and want to share the love with someone who couldn't otherwise afford it. This covers you and one other person. Or two other people. You can either nominate someone or let us know the discounted ticket(s) is / are available and we'll find a match for it! This option works out at £41.60 pw.

If money is even tighter, but you are keen to join, there are further options available upon agreement.

Sign Up to Waitlist

To sign up to be notified when the next iteration of this course is running, please enter your details below:

Experiential Anatomy - Waitlist Sign Up

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