Force and Flow

Tag: workshop

  • 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

  • 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.

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    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:

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    [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]

    [/toggle]
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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

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    [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]
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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.

    [/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.

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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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    [one_half]
    [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]

    [spacer height=”10px”]
    [divider style=”medium”]
    [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]