Force and Flow

Category: Workshops

  • Dance Improvisation: Connecting to Source through Magical Arteries

    Dance Improvisation: Connecting to Source through Magical Arteries

    This weekend I’ll be teaching my first workshop in NYC of 2018,

    Connected to Source: Deep Listening & Freedom of Expression through Dance Improvisation.

    And for the first time in the three years since I moved away from NYC, I feel really excited and energized to be heading in to share my work in the city. As in, not secretly dreading or deliberately avoiding NYC (a la 2016 & 2017), but sincerely looking forward to working and playing there.

    Why? Because I know it won’t suck me dry.

    I know that even with all the crazy paced running around to get anywhere, the dulling sea of myopic gazes and the drowning noise of lights and sounds and advertisements, I’ll be shining on. That is to say, I don’t expect to be leaking too much energy.

    Not too much. Maybe just a little, because there’s no use wasting as much on the effort of guarding it in as I would on letting it out. Some energy out means space for energy in after all, and strict orthodoxy of any kind is a dangerous form of militarism in today’s world. But even with those little leaks, I’ll be motoring through the streets to teach my workshop, dropping in on favorite classes and jams and reconnecting with dear friends fueled by confidence that the energy balance is in my favor.

    It’s not my clairvoyance I’m relying on to know that, unlike the past, this time I’ll be coming home with more energy than I expended…

    Wasting clairvoyance on seeing into the future and holding on to a specific image of how things will be is a surefire way to cut yourself  off from your creative energy.

    I have no idea if things, and the workshop especially, will go well. People, the studio, and even material I’m sharing will be new, so lots of unknowns await. And I’m not relying on a game of low expectations to keep my balance and protect me from the drain of disappointment. I have a fair share of expectations, but they’re not really about outcome, they’re about what I’ll treat my life force to: surprise, stimulation, intimacy and perspective.

    In part, I can be sure that I’m in a very different place because I gave myself the time and space to fully integrate a deep transition.

    When I closed my beautiful Brooklyn studio 3 years ago and moved upstate to Newburgh, it felt like a free fall at times. But I was aching to be more fully invested in my art work, dance improvisation at its core, and walking my holistic talk was motivating me to find a more quiet and balanced life. Permission to do less and observe more helped facilitate a seismic shift in my inner world.

    Now that I’m easing back into doing more, the quality of my doing is very different.

    Still, my confidence in riding the energy of the city with mastery and grace is not so much about the past or the future. It’s about what I know I can do in the moment.

    This is what dance improvisation is all about, and this is what it’s taught me about myself:

    I know I can keep myself grounded. And balanced. I can find great pleasure in falling and satisfaction in resistance. I know I can soften in an instant to avoid a hard blow… or to welcome a warm embrace. That I can articulate what I feel with great clarity and bring a sharp focus to the small details splitting my attention. I’ve learned I can release a thought or a plan that’s weighing me down and catch inspiration from a random sideways glance. And that I can listen with patience and curiosity to the subtle shifts of my energy and take a pause when I need, or even pause just because.

    To pause in NYC! And just because, no less!

    If that’s not art, it’s sorcery. Or rather, Sourcery: because doing it on a whim comes from a deep connection to the inner flow of your impulse, blood and breath. It’s Artery too! Because cultivating your pathways to that deep connection is a matter of artful craftsmanship, fueled by passion and imagination and informed by patience and technique.

    Dance improvisation is the practice of cultivating arteries to your life force.

    It is a magical, powerful craft that teaches you to connect to the deepest sources of your energy. You can use it to create art if that’s your thing. You can use it to create more healthy resilience to your every day if that’s what you need…

    And once you’ve experienced the connection and know how to get there again and again, you have much more agency to actively and consciously choose how you use your energy. That in itself is an act of great resistance and activism in the demented political climate we’re living in. Add that to healthy resilience and creative flow and watch things change.

    There you have it: to be Connected to Source through the magic Arteries of Dance Improvisation – that’s our destination for this weekend’s workshop. Details and RSVP below – check it out and join us on the adventure!

    Here are the details:

    Connected to Source
    Deep Listening & Freedom of Expression through Dance Improvisation

    Sunday, March 18

    1 – 3 PM

    CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing)
    White Room
    124 4th Avenue, New York, New York 10003

    *A Fundraiser to Support The Dragon’s Egg Artist Retreat Center*
    $30 Suggested Donation (all proceeds go to The Dragon’s Egg)
    RSVP to attend forthedragonsegg@gmail.com

    Workshop led by Ophra Wolf from Force and Flow Integrated Bodywork

    Dance improvisation can be one of the most direct and profound ways to communicate with your soul and give expression to the subtle movements of your heart. When you’re able to drop down into a deep state of listening and connection with the very source of what moves you, you experience a sense of freedom and innate knowing that will fuel every aspect of your life.

    In this 2-hour introductory workshop we’ll explore pathways for entering this state of deep listening and embodied awareness, and draw on knowledge and techniques from the worlds of Qi Gong, bodywork, authentic movement, and Tuning Scores. Expect to move energy, find new possibilities for expression and discover thrilling satisfaction in free and mindful movement.

    Open to all levels and backgrounds – whether you’re a dancer, a creative from another field, or simply someone who’s ready to move more freely, there will be treasures waiting for you. Bring comfortable clothes to move in, water, and a notebook.

    PHOTO CREDIT: CRAIG CHIN

  • October Breathe Deep Workshop in Brooklyn focuses on Stress Relief

    October Breathe Deep Workshop in Brooklyn focuses on Stress Relief

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    Breathe Deep

    Sunday, October 11
    The Grand Room at South Oxford Space, Brooklyn
    138 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
    6:30 – 8:30 PM
    $40
    Register Now

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    Breathe Deep is a workshop in ways you can use your breath to relax and release tension from your body quickly and effortlessly, so you can avoid stress build-up, stay out of pain and manage your energy levels with ease.

    This month’s Breathe Deep workshop is focused on [spacer height=”10px”] Stress Relief ~ Register Now [spacer height=”10px”]

    Learn to tune into and access your breath as an effective strategy for improving your comfort, energy and focus throughout the day.

    Your sharp focus on detailed tasks and bright screens invites shallow breath, and your days require so much focus it’s easy to miss that you’re hardly breathing at all. At the end of the day when your head hurts or your back and shoulders are killing you, it’s tempting to berate your body for failing you and look for a pill to fix the malfunction. Unfortunately this rarely works for actually feeling better.

    This workshop is here to offer you a far more effective strategy for actually feeling better, quickly and easily, and simple tools for easily applying it to your everyday life.

    Discover the secrets of full and connected breathing and catapult yourself to a new level of comfort and performance.

    The gentle movements and guided meditations of the Breathe Deep workshop make for some of the simplest, most practical and effective techniques for significantly improving and maintaining your health and wellness, not to mention your focus and stamina on a daily.

    For lovers of immediate gratification, come see just how quickly and pleasurably you can energize and relax your body, mind and spirit. And then do it again and again with the fancy skills you pick up.

    [spacer height=”10px”] Small Groups means there’s lots of space for your personal questions and feedback. [spacer height=”10px”]
    It also means Space is Extremely Limited! Register Now [spacer height=”10px”]

    All of which make this workshop by far one of the most valuable experiences you can give yourself.

    But what makes it over the top great is the the small group size and intimate setting that Ophra creates, making sure that every individual can benefit from her incredible store of knowledge and warm care in a personalized way.

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    Which means that SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED!!!
    If you can’t afford to miss this workshop, make sure to Register Now

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    Sunday, October 11
    The Grand Room at South Oxford Space, Brooklyn
    138 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
    6:30 – 8:30 PM
    $40
    Register Now

    Next Breathe Deep: Thursday, November 19
     

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    Enroll Now

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    [alert color=”white” background=”#FF7E00″ border_color=”#FF7E00″]Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:
    [paupay_cart id=”14816″ trans_type=”variable_purchase” pretext=”Enroll Now” text=”Select Payment”][/alert]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]POLICIES

    • Your spot in the workshop is not guaranteed until we’ve received your payment.
    • We will issue a full refund minus a $10 processing fee for all cancellations made within 7 days of the workshop.
    • We will issue a 50% refund for all cancellations made 2-6 days prior to the workshop.
    • Cancellations made 48 hours or less prior to the workshop are non-refundable.

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    [one_half_last][alert color=”white” background=”#7E9245″ border_color=”#7E9245″]WHAT TO BRING

    • Yoga Mat, if possible
    • Comfortable shoes and clothes to move in.
    • A bottle of water.
    • Optional: a notebook, drawing pad, camera… some kind of mneumonic aid.

    [/alert]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9254″ border_color=”#7E9254″]If you have questions or concerns, use the form below to leave us a note. Your spot is not reserved until we’ve received your payment.[pauf id=”workshop_registration” text=”Workshop Registration” width=”200px”][/alert]
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  • 3 Reasons Why Sharing Touch is Essential to Your Health

    3 Reasons Why Sharing Touch is Essential to Your Health

    With affordable health care at the center of so many debates these days, I’m always surprised at how little of what’s being discussed actually has to do with health, or for that matter, care.

    Actually it’s really no wonder that the cost of our health care is exorbitant, considering how many fancy technological gadgets and complex pharmaceuticals are essential to what we consider “health care”. Add the many middlemen and women of the health care industry to the equation and you have a recipe for a decidedly unaffordable and unsustainable approach to health.

    So here’s a proposal for an extremely affordable and easily sustained long-term health care plan with no middlemen involved:

    More Touch, More Often!

    And here are three reasons why sharing touch is so essential to your health:[spacer height=”10px”]

    1. Less Stress, More Pleasure

    Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and when its sensory receptors are stimulated, two essential hormones are directly affected.

    The hormone oxytocin, also known as the “Love Hormone” and largely associated with feelings of pleasure, is released, and cortisol, a steroid hormone that’s associated with stress, is reduced.

    Many studies have shown that increased levels of oxytocin will help you to reduce anxiety, but a fascinating study by Jason Yee of the University of Illinois at Chicago has shown that increased levels of oxytocin when coupled with social contact actually leads to a significantly faster recovery from stress. Yes, these days you can pop an oxytocin pill and I would never underemphasize the benefits of self-touch, but sharing touch with others is the apparently the most effective way to go.

    Cortisol is not so much an antagonist in this scenario as a victim of our abuse. It’s actually an important hormone for healthy functioning and is associated with stress because it’s secreted in higher levels when your body is experiencing a “fight or flight” response. In the right proportion it actually helps you respond to stress by giving you a quick burst of energy, temporarily heightening your memory functions or lowering your sensitivity to pain.

    The problem is that we’re so addicted to stress in our culture, so dependent on the quick rushes that we get from increased cortisol, that your body’s relaxation response never has a chance to be activated long enough for your system to balance out and return to normal. And without the relaxation response to neutralize the negative effects of stress, you end up with the problems that high cortisol levels have been accused of causing – weight gain, adrenal fatigue, and a compromised immune system.

    It’s unlikely that you can completely avoid all stress, but you can definitely activate this relaxation response quickly and at absolutely no cost.  All you have to do is share a tender touch: a hug, a pat to the back, a kiss to the cheek, holding hands…

    Screen Shot 2015-01-30 at 5.50.38 PMAny touch will do, as long as it’s consensual, but of course the more expert the touch, the more effective it can be at lowering the stress and increasing the pleasure.

    If you’re in the NYC area and wanting to improve your tender touching skills, you can still claim one of a few remaining spots in my upcoming Art of Healing Touch: Couples Bodywork Workshopon Sunday, Feb 15.

    If you’re not in the neighborhood, check out this video I made for about.com by clicking here or on the pic above. [spacer height=”10px”]

    2. Better Immune System and Faster Recovery

    Because cortisol can act as an immune suppressant, reduced cortisol already translates into an improved immune system. But touch also helps to boost your immunity by improving circulation and increasing your white blood cell count, which translates into more resistance to viruses and other pathogens and less tendency for inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

    The touch in question doesn’t always have to be fancy, just caring – according to a 2004 study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all it took was 10 minutes of sharing a love seat with a partner for pre-menopausal women to have lowered blood pressure, and when they got lots of hugs on top of that, they also showed reduced heart rates.

    Next time you feel yourself starting to get under the weather, consider asking for a good cuddle before running to the pharmacy for a pill. [spacer height=”10px”]

    3. Better Relationships and a Longer, Happier Life

    In case the connection between healthy, happy relationships and a healthy, happy body isn’t immediately clear, consider that there are dozens of studies out there that show that not only do people with satisfying relationships tend to experience more health, they’re also happier and live longer.

    At least one of the reasons is that people in satisfying relationships experience more frequent tender touch, and not just from a primary partner – children, parents, friends, colleagues and pets are all excellent partners for sharing tender touch.

    For couples, making a point of touching each other more often has been shown to contribute to more happiness and better quality relationships. For example, a 2011 Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction study that polled more than 1,000 men and their female partners in five countries about the power of touch, found the more men hugged and kissed, the happier they considered their relationships.

    The many opportunities for contact that intimate relationships provide us tend to make us more trusting, empathetic and even charitable, and again, the boosting of oxytocin in the body that comes with contact is what scientists are pointing to as the reason. But whether this theory holds or future research will discover an array of other relevant factors, the main point remains that when you touch more, you access a whole other level of intelligence and connection that in the very least makes your life better, and potentially also longer. And isn’t a better, longer life what we long for when we long for health?

    Touch, like diet and exercise, is a long-term health strategy – not something you do once in a while and hope to see a quick improvement, but a practice that you integrate into your lifestyle and make a priority on a daily basis.

    My February 15 Art of Healing Touch: Couples Bodywork Workshop focuses on couples because your partner is your most readily available source of healthy touch! It’s also that time of year when we’re reminded to celebrate our relationship via a little holiday called Valentines Day, but what if every day could be a little holiday and celebration of the goodness you share with each other?
  • When’s the last time you took a deep breath?

    When’s the last time you took a deep breath?

    [spacer height=”10px”]Breathe Deep

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    The pain in your neck, the strain in your back, the static in your mind and the fatigue in your eyes…

    What if all these could be remedied with one simple, free and universally accessible treatment?

    [spacer height=”10px”]Transform tension, pressure and rigidity into support, ease and spaciousness by experiencing your breath more fully.

    Step into winter with the tools to feel limber and light and start the holiday season off right with secrets for relaxing and releasing tension from your body quickly and effortlessly.

    You can look forward to an evening as packed with pleasure as it is with useful tools and information – an introduction and a foundation to discovering how meditative, refreshing and energizing being in your body can be.
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    Space is Limited! Register Now

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    Learning to tune into and access your breath is the most effective strategy for improving your comfort, energy and focus throughout the day!

    Your sharp focus on detailed tasks and bright screens often invites shallow breath, and your days require so much focus it’s easy to miss that you’re hardly breathing at all. At the end of the day when your head hurts or your back and shoulders are killing you, it’s tempting to berate your body for failing you and look for a pill to fix the malfunction.  Unfortunately this rarely works for actually feeling better.

    This workshop is here to offer you a far more effective strategy for actually feeling better, quickly and easily, and simple tools for easily applying it to your everyday life.

    Discover the secrets of full and connected breathing and catapult yourself to a new level of comfort and performance.

    The gentle movements and guided meditations of the Breathe Deep workshop make for some of the simplest, most practical and effective techniques for significantly improving and maintaining your health and wellness, not to mention your focus and stamina on a daily.

    For lovers of immediate gratification, come see just how quickly and pleasurably you can energize and relax your body, mind and spirit. And then do it again and again with the fancy skills you pick up.

    All of which make this workshop by far one of the most valuable experiences you can give yourself this holiday season…

    But what makes it over the top valuable is the the small group size and intimate setting that Ophra creates, making sure that every individual can benefit from her incredible store of knowledge and warm care in a personalized way.

    [spacer height=”20px”]

    Which also means that SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED!!!
    If you can’t afford to miss this workshop, make sure to Register Now

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    Monday, December 8

    @ Shen Tao Studio
    303 Park Ave South, Suite 312 (@ 23rd Street)

    7:00 – 8:15 PM

    $25 Before 12/4
    $35 until 12/7
    $50 at the door
    Space is Limited!
    Register Now

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    Learn powerful and effective techniques for using walking to:

    [list icon=”star”]

    [list_item]Release Stress Throughout the Day[/list_item]
    [list_item]Increase Your Focus & Stamina[/list_item]
    [list_item]Relax Your Mind & Increase Your Awareness[/list_item]
    [list_item]Improve Immune Function & Breath Capacity[/list_item]
    [list_item]Replenish Your Energy[/list_item]
    [list_item]Improve Your Alignment[/list_item]
    [list_item]Reduce Chronic Pain & Avoid Injury[/list_item][/list]

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    Your Guide

    OphraOphra Wolf is a mind-body educator, healer and mover extraordinaire. She’s bringing together an incredible array of knowledge – from the mechanics and anatomy of dance, yoga, and pilates, to the energetics of qi gong and mindfulness of meditation and movement improvisation – to deliver a workshop packed with practical and tangible information to help improve your everyday life.[/one_half_last]

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    Enroll Now

    [spacer height=”15px”]
    [one_half]
    [alert color=”white” background=”#FF7E00″ border_color=”#FF7E00″]Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:
    [paupay_cart id=”14816″ trans_type=”variable_purchase” pretext=”Enroll Now” text=”Select Payment”][/alert]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9254″ border_color=”#7E9254″]If you have questions or concerns, use the form below to leave us a note. Your spot is not reserved until we’ve received your payment.[pauf id=”workshop_registration” text=”Workshop Registration” width=”200px”][/alert]
    [/one_half]
    [one_half_last]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]POLICIES

    • Your spot in the workshop is not guaranteed until we’ve received your payment.
    • We will issue a full refund minus a $10 processing fee for all cancellations made within 7 days of the workshop.
    • We will issue a 50% refund for all cancellations made 2-6 days prior to the workshop.
    • Cancellations made 48 hours or less prior to the workshop are non-refundable.

    [/alert]
    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9245″ border_color=”#7E9245″]WHAT TO BRING

    • Comfortable shoes and clothes to move in.
    • A bottle of water.
    • Optional: a notebook, drawing pad, camera… some kind of mneumonic aid.

    [/alert]
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  • Need some playful release? Get in on some Partner Stretching!

    Need some playful release? Get in on some Partner Stretching!

    [spacer height=”10px”]Partner Stretching

    [divider style=”medium”] [spacer height=”20px”]This holiday season, instead of new toys, invest in new ways to play…

    Learn how to partner with another body to push, pull and shake your tensions out and bring the good feelings in.

    In this two-hour workshop you’ll learn how to stretch, release tension, and encourage relaxation in your partner and yourself simultaneously.

    You can look forward to an invigorating and playful evening packed with pleasure and practical tools for releasing tension and improving your strength and alignment.

    Space is Limited! Register Now

    [spacer height=”10px”]Get the moves to keep your juices flowing

    Now that your days are getting short and cold, you need some good moves to ward off the inevitable winter stiffness and lethargy, and this workshop is here to give you just that. Come learn secrets to staying limber, toned and relaxed while hanging out on the floor at home… you may never even miss the great outdoors!

    [spacer height=”10px”]Feed your body and spirit a sweet dose of playful partnering and deep listening

    There’s nothing like the awareness that comes when you work in partnership with another body – you’ll learn to feel subtle pushes and pulls, resistance and release, and the dynamics of sharing your weight with another – all skills that are sure to make you an even more masterful communicator in every part of your life. And there’s no play quite as pleasurable and rewarding as using your own weight for resisting, sharing, and supporting another.

    Best of all, while you play with using your weight to resist, support and share, you’re also on the fast track to finding more balance, flexibility, strength, and most of all, *pleasure* in your own body. And with all that in your bag, you’re on your way to a winter full of healthy fun and vitality.

    [spacer height=”10px”]Come alone or with a partner – this is a gift to yourself and someone you love playing with that will keep giving.

    Space is very limited because this is a hands on and individualized workshop – if you’re tired of having generic moves thrown at you that you’re expected to perform no matter what your body actually feels good doing, make sure to reserve your spot lickety split. I’ll be treating every individual as just that and giving you both the attention and the expertise you need to make the most of every move and moment that we share.
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    Save Your Spots! Register Now

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    Wednesday, December 10
    7PM – 9PM

    SOLD OUT
    use the form below to request info about upcoming dates

    $75 before Dec 3 – use coupon EARLY BIRD @ checkout
    After 12/3: $99 for one/$177 for two
    $125 at the Door
    Register Now

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    [toggle open=”true” title=”The Take Away”]

    Learn powerful and effective techniques for using walking to:

    [list icon=”star”]

    [list_item]Relax & Revitalize[/list_item]
    [list_item]Listen & Connect Deeply[/list_item]
    [list_item]Reduce Stress[/list_item]
    [list_item]Release Pain & Tension[/list_item]
    [list_item]Replenish Energy[/list_item]
    [list_item]Improve Alignment & Flexibility[/list_item]
    [list_item]Support Injuries[/list_item]
    [list_item]Reduce Chronic Pain[/list_item][/list]

    [/toggle][/one_half]

    [one_half_last]

    Your Guide

    OphraOphra Wolf is a mind-body educator, healer and mover extraordinaire. She’s bringing together an incredible array of knowledge – from the mechanics and anatomy of dance, yoga, and pilates, to the energetics of qi gong and mindfulness of meditation and movement improvisation – to deliver a workshop packed with practical and accessible information to help improve your everyday life.

    [/one_half_last]

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    [spacer height=”20px”]

    Enroll Now

    [spacer height=”15px”]
    [one_half]
    [alert color=”white” background=”#FF7E00″ border_color=”#FF7E00″]Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:
    [paupay_cart id=”14889″ trans_type=”variable_purchase” pretext=”Buy Now” text=”Buy Now”]To use the EARLY BIRD coupon code (until Nov 30), Select ‘One Spot’ and press the Edit button in the payment panel to enter your coupon code.[/alert]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9254″ border_color=”#7E9254″]If you have questions or concerns, use the form below to leave us a note. Your spot is not reserved until we’ve received your payment.[pauf id=”workshop_registration” text=”Workshop Registration” width=”200px”][/alert]
    [/one_half]
    [one_half_last]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]POLICIES

    • Your spot in the workshop is not guaranteed until we’ve received your payment.
    • We will issue a full refund minus a $10 processing fee for all cancellations made within 7 days of the workshop.
    • We will issue a 50% refund for all cancellations made 2-6 days prior to the workshop.
    • Cancellations made 48 hours or less prior to the workshop are non-refundable.

    [/alert]
    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9245″ border_color=”#7E9245″]WHAT TO BRING

    • Comfortable shoes and clothes to move in.
    • A bottle of water.
    • Optional: a notebook, drawing pad, camera… some kind of mneumonic aid.

    [/alert]
    [/one_half_last]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]To pay by check or cash, submit the form  above and leave a note in the message field indicating your payment option, then mail your payment to Force and Flow, 1102 Dean St. #4, Brooklyn 11216.[/alert]

     

  • Is stress ruining your holiday season?

    Is stress ruining your holiday season?

    [spacer height=”15px”]DIY Stress Relief

    [divider style=”medium”][spacer height=”15px”]Feeling pushed and pulled by life?

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    Learn how to push, pull and vibrate the stress and tension out of your body.

    Come to this two-hour workshop cum holiday party for your body, and learn potent and effective techniques that you can use from day to day and year to year to help relive stress and tension.

    We’ll be getting loose and relaxed with self-massage and acupressure, breathing and toning, and release techniques to make your body, mind and spirit say ahhhhh.

    [spacer height=”10px”]Space is Limited! Register Now

    [spacer height=”10px”]Have you been a good friend and lover to your body this year?

    If you think there’s a better way to nurture your closest relationships than running around in search of pre-fab products and pretty packaging, you’re right. This holiday season, spend time nurturing the closest relationship you have – with your own body – and give both yourself and someone you love the greatest gift of all, the gift of self-care.

    Among the things that only you can give yourself, a healthy lifestyle is golden, and all the green drinks in the world won’t keep you healthy if your body is in constant stress mode. So take your health in your hands – literally – and learn how to move through stress and move stress through your body so that you can experience the kind of relaxation and relief that make you want to live a long, healthy life in the first place!

    [spacer height=”10px”]Give your body what it needs to let loose and find relief the natural way…

    …and avoid the crash into fatigue and pain that wears you down and sends you running for cover of meds and beds.

    The self-massage, release and acupressure techniques that you’ll learn in this very special evening workshop will serve you for life, and also give you immediate relief and pleasure.

    This is the perfect time to pick up and sharpen your tools for feeling limber and light as you step into winter and the New Year, and to discover some potent secrets for relaxing and releasing tension from your body quickly and effortlessly.

    [spacer height=”10px”]And if that’s not enough, this year there’s a special bonus – something to sing and shout about!

    Use your voice to vibrate the stress out of your entire body with a special toning circle:

    Katie Down, musican, music therapist and the leader of our long-running Sound Bath series will be joining us for part of the evening with her magical Sruti box to lead a toning circle where you’ll get a chance to discover how powerful using your voice can be for releasing the pent up stress and tension in your entire being.

    [spacer height=”10px”]You’re already crazy busy, so don’t waste any more time being slowed down by stress

    You may be overwhelmed with things to do before the end of the year, in which case this workshop is likely the most efficient, and not to mention pleasurable, two hours that you spend this December. Things never go fast or easy when we’re stressed out, and sometimes just a little bit of time taken to relieve the stress can save you an exponential amount of time and energy.

    Come get what you need, with all of Ophra’s expertise and individualized guidance at your service! Don’t miss this opportunity to unwind with 2 delicious hours of mindful pleasure and relaxation for your body, mind and spirit at the gorgeous Actors Fund space on Hoyt St. in Brooklyn.

    [spacer height=”10px”]Space is Limited! Register Now[spacer height=”10px”]

    Who wouldn’t want to sign up for an evening as packed with pleasure as it is with useful tools and information? Save you spot quick, and one for a friend too – it’s even more affordable if you come together!

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    Tuesday, December 9
    7:00 – 9:30 PM

    @ The Actors Fund Arts Center
    160 Schermerhorn Street @ Hoyt St., Brooklyn

    $75 before Dec 3
    (coupon = EARLY BIRD @ checkout)
    $99 After, $177 for Two
    $125 at the Door

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    Learn powerful and effective techniques to:

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    [list_item]Release Stress Throughout the Day[/list_item]
    [list_item]Relieve Pain & Stiffness from your Neck, Shoulders, Wrists, Hips, Low Back and Feet[/list_item]
    [list_item]Loosen Tight Joints and Free-up the Breath[/list_item]
    [list_item]Relax Your Mind & Increase Your Awareness[/list_item]
    [list_item]Improve Tone & Circulation[/list_item]
    [list_item]Revitalize Your Focus & Replenish Your Energy[/list_item]
    [list_item]Reduce Chronic Pain & Avoid Injury[/list_item][/list]

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    [spacer height=”20px”]Your Guide

    OphraOphra Wolf is a mind-body educator, healer and mover extraordinaire. She’s bringing together an incredible array of knowledge – from the mechanics and anatomy of dance, yoga, and pilates, to the energetics of qi gong and mindfulness of meditation and movement improvisation – to deliver a workshop packed with practical and accessible information to help improve your everyday life.
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    Enroll Now

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    [alert color=”white” background=”#FF7E00″ border_color=”#FF7E00″]Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:
    [paupay_cart id=”14882″ trans_type=”variable_purchase” pretext=”Buy Now” text=”Buy Now”]To use the EARLY BIRD coupon code (until Nov 30), Select ‘One Spot’ and press the Edit button in the payment panel to enter your coupon code.[/alert]

    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9254″ border_color=”#7E9254″]If you have questions or concerns, use the form below to leave us a note. Your spot is not reserved until we’ve received your payment.[pauf id=”workshop_registration” text=”Workshop Registration” width=”200px”][/alert]
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    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]POLICIES

    • Your spot in the workshop is not guaranteed until we’ve received your payment.
    • We will issue a full refund minus a $10 processing fee for all cancellations made within 7 days of the workshop.
    • We will issue a 50% refund for all cancellations made 2-6 days prior to the workshop.
    • Cancellations made 48 hours or less prior to the workshop are non-refundable.

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    [alert color=”white” background=”#7E9245″ border_color=”#7E9245″]WHAT TO BRING

    • Comfortable shoes and clothes to move in.
    • A bottle of water.
    • Optional: a notebook, drawing pad, camera… some kind of mneumonic aid.

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    [alert color=”white” background=”#3A1A45″ border_color=”#3A1A45″]To pay by check or cash, submit the form above and leave a note in the message field indicating your payment option, then mail your payment to Force and Flow, 1102 Dean St. #4, Brooklyn 11216.[/alert]

     

  • Shopping For Health and Vitality?

    Sound Baths at Force & Flow[spacer height=”15px”]Hello High Flier, have you taken time to ground and replenish your energies recently?

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    You’re invited to turn off your high speed hustle for a couple of delicious hours, and tune in to a transmission of practical information to help you slow down, release tension, and experience pleasure in your body and spirit.

    The cold days have arrived but you’re still in high heat gear, spinning your wheels at top speed to finish projects and fulfill obligations.

    Maybe you’ll be done in time so you can be present for the holiday merriment, but how present can you really be and how much pleasure can you really take in if your body is tight and heavy and your spirit is fatigued?

    Not nearly as much as you could if you were truly relaxed, breathing the moments in deeply and feeling grounded and centered within yourself and in your constellation of friends and family.

    Which is why it’s time to Breathe Deep, to invest in some quality DIY Stress Relief time, and learn how to get pleasure and relief from Partnering…

    So that you can actually celebrate all that you’ve accomplished this year without feeling guilty about what you’re not doing! And so you can set your goals and intentions for the New Year from a place of renewed vitality and relaxed focus.

    All this can happen very easily and organically, if you only you take a little bit of quality time to tune into your body.

    And these workshops are here to help you do just that!

    To offer you a sure fire sign that it’s TIME to take care of yourself, and give you a clear map to getting off the road to a winter of frustration and fatigue and on to the path of health and vitality…

    On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, Dec 8, 9, & 10, Force and Flow is offering three opportunities – Breathe Deep, DIY Stress Relief, and Partner Stretching – to not only relieve you’re the stress and pain you’re carrying now, but to learn the skills for staying loose and limber for months and years to come.

    They’re all taught by Ophra Wolf, the spark behind Force & Flow and a five star teacher and healer – which means you get the expertise, care and attention to meet you at your most brilliant self and take you higher.

    Space is extremely limited at this point, and the Early Bird Discount ends SOON, so get in on the good times NOW.

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    Register ASAP to save your spot… and one for a friend who needs it as much as you!

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    photo by AlexaRazma.com
    Breathe Deep, 12/8

    Breathe Deep –

    December 8

    • Step into Winter with the tools to feel limber and light and start the holiday season off right with secrets for relaxing and releasing tension from your body quickly and effortlessly.
    • Transform tension, pressure and rigidity into support, ease and spaciousness by experiencing your breath more fully.
    • Location Shen Tao Studio, 303 Park Ave South, Suite 312 (@ 23rd Street)
    • 7:00 – 8:15pm
    • Register Now

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    Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:

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    photo by AlexaRazma.com
    DIY Stress Relief, 12/9

    DIY Stress Relief –

    December 9

    • Join us for this two-hour workshop cum holiday party for your body, and learn potent and effective techniques that you can use from day to day and year to year to help relive stress and tension.
    • Location The Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn Street @ Hoyt St., Brooklyn
    • 7:00 – 9:30pm
    • Register Now

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    Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:

    (To use the EARLY BIRD coupon code (exp 11/30) – Select ‘One Spot’ and press the Edit button in the payment panel to enter your coupon code.)
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    Partner Stretching
    Partner Stretching, 12/10

    Partner Stretching

    – December 10

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    Register and pay using a credit card or paypal account:

    (To use the EARLY BIRD coupon code (exp 11/30) – Select ‘One Spot’ and press the Edit button in the payment panel to enter your coupon code.)
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    [two_third_last][paupay_cart id=”14889″ trans_type=”variable_purchase” pretext=”Buy Now” text=”Buy Now”]
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  • 5 Reasons NOT to Straighten Your Spine

    5 Reasons NOT to Straighten Your Spine

    [spacer height=”20px”] If the end of summer is inspiring thoughts in you of “straightening up” and getting your act together, these tips are here to lighten the load and make the process more relaxed and easefull… 

    photo by AlexaRazma.com
    photo by AlexaRazma.com

    [spacer height=”20px”]More than two-thirds of the folks who come to see me about chronic back pain share these two characteristics:

    • They claim to have bad posture, and therefore
    • They try to straighten themselves up throughout the day

    The straightening up doesn’t seem to improve their alignment in the long run, and it certainly doesn’t do much for easing their pain. And yet it also doesn’t always occur to them that trying to “fix” their posture by “straightening up” is actually contributing to the discomfort and making it a “fixture” of their lives.

    Here are five good reasons NOT to straighten your spine, especially if you’re looking to improve your alignment and find more ease and release in your body.

     

    1. Your Spine is Curved to Begin With

    Your spine is curved, not straight, and that’s a very good thing. The four curves of your spine – sacral, lumbar, thoracic and cervical – are precisely what makes it so strong and able to support your weight in an upright position.

    If you’ve ever been to any kind of fitness class, chances are the teacher has used an image at some point to help you visualize the movement you’re going for. That’s because your body responds well to images, especially when they’re relevant and tangible to its experience.

    But since the image of a straight spine has nothing to do with the reality of your structure and isn’t a tangible or even desirable goal by any stretch, you’re better off without it.

    Your time and effort are much better spent getting to know the particular curves of your spine. This means cultivating mindfulness of your own body, and accessing imagery that is true to your experience in the moment. This kind of imagery is much more effective when it comes to helping you sense the placement and possibilities of your alignment.

    And if you’re looking for realistic solutions, keep this in mind:

    Alignment and support aren’t actually about position – they’re about relationship.

    This is as true for your body as it is for your heart. And mind.

    When it comes to your spine, as you begin to literally “see” your curves, you also begin to learn how to adjust the relationship of one curve to another so that your weight is better supported.

     

    2. Straighten Up? What about Down?

    Our Western culture has a fixation with reaching up – we don’t even realize the extent to which this spiritual concept ends up infiltrating the way we move and carry ourselves throughout the day.

    But anyone with any understanding of physics – scientists, building contractors and dancers alike – will assure you that there is no such thing as “up” without “down”.

    You can reach up all you want, but getting more length in your spine requires grounding.

    Unfortunately, when we command ourselves to straighten up we tend to completely forget about reaching down. And so the musculature of your upper body – i.e. your neck and shoulders – ends up having to carry much more mass over long periods of time than it’s really built for.

    No wonder your neck and shoulders are sore – they’ve literally been “weight lifting” all day!

    Next time you feel the urge to straighten up, just take a quick moment to see if there’s space for your hips to relax down and if you can feel the weight of your body dropping through your feet. Taking that extra weight and sending it down with gravity where it belongs will do at least half the work of releasing your spine and giving it more space to lengthen.

     

    3. You Move in Circles and Spirals, Not Lines

    Here’s another misleading image that’s constantly being thrown at you.

    As with trying to “straighten” your spine, you’re told reach your arms out and extend your legs as if they were linear masses on linear tracks, and the more you force the alignment, the more aware you become of how tight you are.

    When in fact your movement relies on round joints! And the way to release your joints, especially the joints of your spine, is NOT to lock them in a straight line, but to make sure they have plenty of space for round, juicy movement.

    What’s more is that there isn’t a single bone in your body that resembles straight. In fact, if you look at the bony structure of both your lower arms and lower legs, you’ll notice that the bones – radius and ulna in your arms and tibia and fibula in your legs – have a spiral-like movement around each other.

    The way you walk is also a spiral action, a double helix resembling the very structure of your DNA. Notice when you’re walking that as your right leg strides forward it’s your left arm that’s swinging forward – this is one simple way to tune in to the spiral movement that your spine conducts throughout the day.

    Yoga, Qi Gong and other ancient movement modalities have a lot to say on this subject, but it’s enough to observe your walking to begin to sense it for yourself.

     

    4. Fixating Leads to Pain

    Another great reason NOT to fix your alignment by straightening up is that alignment is never fixed. You live in a moving universe, on a moving planet, in a body that’s made up of trillions of moving particles. Good luck fixing anything into place, ever.

    Fixing and fixating (on posture or anything else for that matter) are bound to lead to pain because they involve holding, which requires an immense amount of energy.

    The joints of your spine are built for an incredible amount of movement. We’ve already talked about up and down, but sliding your right arm down your right leg will quickly reveal your capacity for movement from side to side, craning to look up or leaning forward to pick something from the floor will give you a taste of forward and back, and turning to look at someone behind you is a great way to experience movement around your central axis.

    The way to less pain and more ease in your spine is more movement.

    Instead of trying to hold yourself upright or in any other position, be greedy for movement. If you feel yourself slouching or getting tight, get up and walk around. Follow stretches and exercises you’ve learned or invent movements yourself which open up your awareness to all the possibilities of movement you haven’t been exploring while sitting at a desk and walking down straight, narrow hallways.

    If you’re not sure what stretches and exercises to do and don’t feel like inventing them on your own, consider coming to work with someone like me. I help people create personalized toolkits to serve both their everyday and long-term needs, and my upcoming Semi-Private Group Session – RELAXED Strength & POWERFUL Alignment – is all about learning how to strengthen, lengthen and release your spine.

     

    5. Your Breath – Not Your Muscles or Your Mind – is What Holds You Aloft

    Your breathing is the underlying movement that keeps you going: it’s happening all the time (though maybe not as fully and elastically as it could be if you’ve been in front of a screen or sitting at a table for hours) and giving it a little bit of attention is likely to give you a lot more reach and relief than sucking-in in order to straighten up.

    Since we’ve already established that more movement is more better and that your breath is at the root of your movement, it naturally follows that more breath is best of all.

    Unfortunately we spend large parts of our day breathing very little. And being out of practice, we’re surprised (and maybe even put upon) at the suggestion that this is a part of our lives that requires diligent focus and intention. It’s not until we’re exasperated with pain and forced to do nothing but breathe that we begin to truly appreciate the importance of constant practice and awareness.

    For a technical understanding of why open and plentiful breath is so important to your back, consider that your primary muscle of inhalation – the diaphragm – is located right in the middle of your torso, spanning your upper lumbar vertebrae to your mid-thoracic. If your diaphragm isn’t doing a lot of moving, neither is your spine and pain is likely to follow.

    With the movement of the diaphragm and the filling and emptying of your lungs come changes of pressure in your torso in general and spine in particular. It’s these changes in pressure that are keeping you aloft.

    As pressure builds on an inhale, you expand and create a lightening of the load. And every exhale presents an opportunity to release pent up pressure as well as weight, and experience the amazing support of gravity and the ground below you.

    If the movement of your vertebrae and muscles are the mechanics of alignment, the breath is the energetics behind it. Which is why if you want an alignment that supports plentiful and vital energy tuning into your breath is the key.

     

    Interested in learning more about the mechanics and energetics of a strong and supple spine?

    Then make sure to check out the upcoming 90-Day Semi-Private Group Session:

    RELAXED Strength & POWERFUL Alignment

    Photo by AlexaRazma.com
    Photo by AlexaRazma.com

    You’ll spend 13 consecutive weeks in a small, intimate group of five or less learning how to access more strength and alignment by understanding how you mobilize, stabilize and release the spine.

    There are only 2 spots remaining, so act quickly!

    If you prefer to create your own personal toolkit of exercises, make sure to schedule a complimentary consultation. I only have space for 3 of these a week, so book now.

    Use the form below to contact me ASAP!

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    Do you want to use this article on your ezine/blog/site?
    You’re welcome to share this article, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

    “This is an article from Ophra Wolf, Embodied Wellness Coach and owner of Force & Flow Integrated Bodywork, where she helps high-performers and brilliant visionaries making significant shifts and contributions to their personal, professional and global environments to align with their highest potential. You can subscribe to her fr.ee newsletter and learn more about her unique approach at www.forceandflow.com”

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  • Coming Out of the Closet

    I sent this (love) letter to my mailing list the other day and I’m sharing it with my blog readers now – I haven’t been doing much blogging lately and this will reveal a little of the “why”. The tide is turning and there are lots of blog posts coming up, but if you want to get the best of my insights and tips, make sure sure to subscribe to the newsletter – use the form above or to your left!

     

    Coming out of the closet is much harder than I imagined…

    Performing with Evan Hugh Worldwind & Kevin Nathaniel (AKA The Peace Department) at The Healing Arts Garden Event in Philly, 8/23/14
    Performing with Evan Hugh Worldwind & Kevin Nathaniel (AKA The Peace Department) at The Healing Arts Garden Event in Philly, 8/23/14

    When I was a little girl living in Israel, I used to wake up early in the morning and hide in the closet and play make-believe for hours on end. In the dark closet, while my brother and parents were sleeping, I could be anyone and do anything I dreamed. I was powerful and beautiful, gracious and brilliant – all at once!

    I’ve held on to so many of my dreams – my business and art are my testament. But I’ve often lived my life as if my powers and passions were safer in the closet. Fear of being seen has frequently terrorized me, which is strange considering the extraordinary lengths I’ve gone to embody my potential and uncover the brilliance within.

    Strange but not unusual.

    What is unusual is how much freedom and privilege I’ve had to follow my dreams and give voice to my truth. Especially unusual considering that I’m a woman. A Jewish woman. Israeli born. Of North African descent.

    And a dancer, a woman dancer who’s chosen to live fully in her body in a world that still behaves as if intelligence belongs solely in the cognitive functions of the brain and treats the body as territory to be conquered. And an improviser at that, who’s chosen participation in the mysteries of the moment over the stature of recognized knowledge and forms.

    A healer, too.

    Believe it or not, naming that is the scariest part of coming out of the closet!

    See, I grew up with a scientist for a father and scientific materialism as the reigning ideology of my times. My mother was a self-identified modern woman, who’d worked hard to distance herself from the “primitive” past of her Moroccan family, once well known and respected in Fez precisely because my great-grandmother was a powerful healer in service of the king. The gifts and talents that make me a healer weren’t always ones I knew how to appreciate.

    It’s true that people – maybe even you – have increasingly referred to me as a healer for years now, but I’ve rarely called myself one for fear of…

    It doesn’t matter. What I mean is, Enough With The Fear!!!

    This summer took me to the Sierra Contact Festival, where I taught a workshop and spent a week in the beautiful nature of the high Sierra's with amazing colleagues.
    This summer took me to the Sierra Contact Festival, where I taught a workshop and spent a week in the beautiful nature of the high Sierra’s with amazing colleagues.

    It’s killing us and blinding us from the immense healing powers of empathy and love. One look at the part of the world I hail from will suffice to prove my point. Which isn’t to say our fears – personal, cultural and global – are unfounded, or that our experience of them isn’t intensely real, but true courage and novel solutions are born of empathy and love.

    Empathy for myself hasn’t always been easy to come by, and lack of it has kept me in the closet far longer than I intended. The love in my life – from my friends, family, clients and especially from my main man Marcel – has increasingly given me the courage to make my way out into the world.

    It’s time for me to start giving and participating more fully.

    And that’s what this new newsletter is all about. It’s my way of sharing my expertise, insights and offerings with you, friends.

    Which is why I’d love to hear from you about what topics in the world of holistic health and embodied wellness are important to you to learn more about? Consider me a resource, at your service and gratefully so!

    And make sure to check out the opportunity to get one of the last spots for the Fall RELAXED Strength & POWERFUL Alignment 90-Day Semi-Private Session – we start the week of September 15 and if you’re looking to integrate a sustainable and consistent approach to health for your body, mind and spirit, you don’t want to miss out on this.

    Love,
    Ophra