connection & rhythm
In today's fast-paced modern world, we often feel disconnected - from our bodies, from others, from place, and from the natural rhythms of life, both internal and external. Our society, which values constant 'doing', propels us into a perpetual summer, leaving us burnt out and out of sync with our natural energy ebbs and flows, and changing emotions. This monotone tempo doesn't resonate with our deep-seated need for rhythm and contrast, to shift between growth and rest, to move between expanding and contracting - for oscillation. This may lead some to seek a more harmonious way of living, but what about those who are unaware they are trapped in a flatline existence, lost in a haze of continuous busyness, blurring the boundaries between work and rest.
What is move with the seasons
Welcome to Move with the Seasons - a series of seasonal one-day workshops that explore movement, nature connection and embodied/ecological awareness practices in harmony with the rhythm of the seasons. These workshops aim to forge deeper connections to your body, others, and the environment around you.
We delve into the relationships between body, people, place, and rhythm (seasons), fostering a deeper understanding of ourselves as moving, adaptive beings within a dynamic environment.
Have you ever noticed how often, our eating, sleeping, and socialising habits shift with the seasons, but our exercise or training routines often don't? This might be due to a lack of awareness, but we're here to challenge this static approach. We explore aligning our intentional exercise/training/practice habits with our body's intuitive response to the changing seasons. For instance, in winter, when we naturally move less, we might need more focused, structured movement sessions. Conversely, in summer, when we're more active, we can embrace spontaneity and enjoy moving with less structure or even no planned sessions at all!
We believe in the power of movement and nature connection as catalysts for profound shifts and insights. Our seasonal workshops are built on the belief that just like our environment, we too are ever-evolving and cyclical beings. Everything is moving: You are, the world you inhabit, the people and seasons around you. Things are moving because things are changing.
We champion the movement of seasonal living. We have a movement focus and a connection focus. Cultivating awareness is key for us. Whether it's through expanding your body's movement vocabulary, deepening your connection with nature, or cultivating a mindful awareness of your ecological self, our workshops guide you towards understanding you and the relationships you are in.
Our one-day workshops are centred around the rhythm of each season - usually marked by the winter and summer solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes. Each season brings its unique energy and gifts, and we aim to celebrate these with movement and activities that embody the essence of the season's spirit, whilst maintaining anchoring constants (things that stay the same), to balance ritual and adapting to change.
We emphasise practical takeaways that can easily be applied in daily life. Located in Hampstead Heath or a similar green space in London, we provide skills and concepts that can be used beyond the workshop. Our goal is to help participants maintain these connections outside the workshop environment, avoiding the disconnection often felt after returning from 'the bubble of a retreat'. By enhancing awareness and connection skills, we aim to empower individuals for everyday interactions.
The mission of Move with the Seasons workshops is to help us reconnect through movement, nature connection, and awareness practices with our bodies, other people, and places. In doing so, we foster a lifestyle that moves with the seasons and aligns with our inner selves, enabling us to attune and resonate with the things in the world we love.
move into seasonal rhythm
Cultivate deep ecological connections & awarness through movement
Moving to (re)connect
The workshops are guided by the simple urge to connect to things we wish to resonate with. Through movement, we form anchors to stay connected and develop awareness to sense when to expand or contract.
Workshops focus on four pivotal areas to move and connect with
Move with body
Develop awareness, inspiration & tools for the language of your movement
move with people
Explore your movement patterns when in communication with others
move with place
Connect with the landscape and let it inspire your movements.
move with the season
Learn to adapt and oscillate your practices and flow with the seasonal changes
what do we share at workshops?
Adopting a blend of Movement, Nature Connection, and Embodied/Ecological Awareness Practices, our workshop shares these core anchoring practices and then shows you how to adapt them to the expanding and contracting of the Seasonal Rhythms.
Movement practice in winter will be more inward, different from practice in summer. Nature connection practices such as foraging will be dependent upon what is seasonally available. The core idea revolves around adapting and oscillating these anchoring practices in harmony with the changing seasons, promoting an understanding of aligning with the current external season while remaining attuned to your internal seasons - your inner and outer rhythms. We keep it playful to make it engaging because we believe that play is nature's optimal state for learning.
movement practice
Our approach to movement practice is rooted in Ecological Movement, which involves our moving body engaging in a dialogue with the environment (both physical and social). We explore this using the four pillars of Evolve Move Play Movement practice - Body Integrity, Body to Environment, Body to Object, and Body to Body - And through the lens of Fighting Monkey Practice’s Zero Forms, Movement Situations, & communication, We delve into your unique body's patterns, fostering an awareness and appreciation of how your body already moves. We also provide ideas for expanding your movement vocabulary to enhance your awareness and interaction with space, objects, and people. You will learn how to find an individual sequence for your body, a 'line' to move with/through the environment, and a sequence you can create with a partner.
nature connection
Engaging with nature through a series of immersive activities, participants will develop a profound connection with the environment. The programme, crafted by an experienced nature mentor, includes sensory engagement to enhance awareness, appreciating the intricate ecosystem, understanding the signs and decoding the language of different flora and fauna for deeper ecosystem insights, foraging, and participating in interactive games aimed at enriching environmental sensitivity and knowledge. Integral to this experience is the principle of reciprocity—encouraging a mutual exchange where both participants and nature benefit, fostering a relationship of mutual respect and care. Through these experiences, individuals will learn not only to nourish their senses but also to cultivate a lifelong curiosity and responsibility towards the natural world
embodied & ecological awareness
Embrace mindfulness and ecological awareness practices. Learn how to sense and resonate with your surroundings. Blend introspection, somatic exploration, sensory awareness activities, and environment connection ideas to highlight our interconnectedness - the Ecological Body. Enhance understanding of our relationship with the world, aware that our moving bodies are co-created with, not separate from, our environment.
seasonal rhythm and adaption
Our relationship with time and place impacts our well-being significantly. Recognising our current position, both physically and temporally, allows us to tune into natural rhythms—daylight changes, seasonal shifts, and our body's own cycles. By aligning our activities—whether it's movement, connecting with nature, or practising mindfulness—with these rhythms, we can adapt more harmoniously to the world around us. Introducing constants or anchors, adjusted for each season, ensures stability and creates a sense of continuity in our lives, offering both comfort and structure in the face of change.
move with the seasons
move - sense | connect - anchor | expand - contract
upcoming seasonal workshops
SPRING 2024
23rd March
SPRING WORKSHOPS
Rebounding with movement and connection. Green wood-like growth.
Spring is a time of awakening, a gentle yet persistent nudge, prompting us to rise, unfurl, and eventually rebound into elastic movement and gradually expanding our connection to people and place. How do we prepare for the excitement to 'spring' into action without overdoing it too much too soon.
Next workshop:
Spring equinox with ida fabrizio & ben medder
WHEN: 23rd March 2024
WHERE: Hampstead Heath
tickets: Early Bird: £120 for the first 6 tickets (Limited availability!) Standard Price: £150
Expand the + below to find out more:
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Rebounding from winter, growing to summer
Spring acts as a bridge from the introspective cold of winter to the expansive energy of summer, making it a crucial time for transition from our most contracted time at winter to opening to growth and expanding into summer. It's a season that invites us to shake off the stagnation of the colder months and open ourselves to new possibilities and expansion. For most, it's an easier transition than, say, autumn to winter, as it is said that in spring we are more prone to being dopamine-driven, which helps with increased feelings of motivation and exploration. The best way to harness the vibrant energy of spring is to heed the natural inclination to want to start, spring into action, spend more time outdoors, and to connect more deeply with the world around us. But it's also an opportunity for self-awareness, to be mindful of where our internal season is at. How well did we 'winter'? If we didn't contract well and go inwards during winter to benefit from the natural rhythm of oscillating, to take stock and restore, we could find ourselves still stuck in our summer phase of always doing, or without the energy to rise up out of our hibernation. By engaging in movement practices that are fascia-focused, we enable our bodies, at least physically, to rebound well from winter's dormancy. Embodying the essence of spring through elastic coordination practices helps you find the rhythm and musicality of your own constellation and leads to kinetic potential—literally in terms of movement, and metaphorically regarding the potential to rebound well and safely. This workshop will guide you in reconnecting with your ecological body to celebrate and leverage the unique qualities of spring.
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As we move into spring, we shift our focus to preparing our bodies for the dynamic activities of summer. Embrace movements to shake off winter stagnation, make room for growth by opening pathways wisely to enhance flow, and get ready for the energized months ahead.
We explore movement practices that help us transition from a contracted winter to be able to rebound fully into a more expansive summer, being mindful of being ‘too rigid’ or ‘too flexible’ to spring into action. Flexibility and flow. Elasticity and load.
Movement Vocabulary & Awareness: Paying attention to how we already move and providing guidance and tasks to encourage moving differently.
Fascia Focus: We emphasise movements that enhance fascia health, kinetic potential, and elasticity. Whole-body coordination exercises emphasise arm and leg swings, rhythm, and bounce
Individual Exploration: Find your unique movement 'language' through simple, feel-good movement 'phrases' that reflect your personal expression and interaction with your surroundings.
Move with the Trees/ Environment: Engage with the landscape, allowing it to guide your movements; interact with elements like trees to inspire new ways of moving through space.
Create with a Partner: Collaborate on creating a partner sequence, focusing on the shared experience and how movements change or stay the same when communicating with another person.
Movement practice maps: Frameworks you can take home and fill with your own ideas. Including: the 4 movement Pillars of Evolve Move Play movement practice and the 3 domains inspired by Fighting Monkey Practice.
By integrating these elements into how you move with spring, you'll not only prepare your body for the summer but also enrich your movement practice with creativity, connection, and a deeper understanding of your physical potential.
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As we transition into spring with the Celtic "wheel of the year," the equinox brings longer days, signalling growth and renewal. This season invites us to mimic the energetic movements of wildlife, nurturing our beginnings and forging connections in preparation for the months ahead. It's a time for cleansing our bodies with nature's bounty, such as nettles, dandelions, and wild garlic, while also reconnecting with the awakening trees like beech, birch, and hazel. Spring is a celebration of light, life, and rejuvenation.
You’ll be introduced to some of the many core routines from 8 Shields Mentoring Model/Coyote Mentoring.
Sit spot: Find a special place in nature, get comfortable, and absorb the lessons of nature.
Expanding Sensory Awareness: Notice everything around you to enhance sensory perception and connect with nature.
Listening for Bird Language: Be still, and observe vocal signals and body language of birds and animals to understand their messages.
Foraging for spring greens: Identify and gather wild spring greens under guided supervision, learning to recognize edible plants and understanding their uses.
Tracking and animal forms: Study animal behaviour, follow their trails, and imitate their movements through games.
Identifying wild plants that emerge in spring. Wild foraging for spring greens. Wildlife tracks and signs. introduction to bird language and behaviours to better understand the broader ecosystem
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Meet your Guides:
Ben, a seasoned movement coach with a syncretic approach, harmoniously blending diverse disciplines of movement. He specialises in guiding individuals through the forests of self-discovery, where ancestral movements converge with both ancient and modern practices. Through playful exploration, he cultivates a deep connection with the ecological body - the ever-changing body in a dynamic physical and social environment (Body-People-Place). Read more about Ben here.
Ida, a seasoned nature mentor and wilderness awareness teacher. She offers practices and collaborative activities to deepen our connection to nature. Using our innate senses, we tap into our primal instincts and rediscover our wild roots as a human species. Rather than relying on mere knowledge, we embark on a journey of direct experience, fostering a profound bond with the natural world and nurturing our innate curiosity. Read more about Ida here.
SUMMER
summer workshops
Expansive energy that moves outwards. Highest peak of growth.
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Explorative and exuberant movement. Awareness of being ready to push, or repair depending on our spring practice. More movement with community as we are at our most social.
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AUTUMN
Autumn workshops
Embrace the harvest of your movements. Bittersweet transition. Storing your acorn.
WINTER
WINTER workshopS
Contracting inwards. Reflect and conserve your energy.
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