The Alchemy of Stillness
The heart has an electro-magnetic field over 5000 times greater than that of the brain. It beats more than 100,000 times a day. It has an extraordinary power and is the home of our instincts and the wise elder within who teaches us about the power of love. This is movement medicine for the heart. Through seeking emotional fluidity in movement, we are re-learning and developing the intelligence and animal instincts we were born with. Our hearts hold many stories and dreams, all of which we are capable of transforming into high-energy fuel for positive action and creative living.We will work with the four domains of the heart as a medicine wheel. They are the domains of Courage, Integrity, Surrender and Gratitude. Our journey will lead us to the centre of the heart where wisdom and compassion reside. This alchemical process works directly with the physical structure of the body to strengthen our core and create energetic support for the heart. Through this process, we will dispel ancient shadows and recover the instinctive and intuitive power of the embodied heart. Part of our work is the creation of a temple of installations. These will form the landscape we call The Alchemist’s Garden, in which we will spend the whole last night of the workshop in ceremony. In this garden of possibility, the dancer is able to create the appropriate alchemical mixture for purification, healing and dancing prayer.
The course felt like a complete package. It flowed from beginning to end and I came away feeling that I had come through a lengthy process in tact and with tools that I feel able to use in my everyday life.Lyn Butterworth - Home Tutor
I think I first danced Alchemy of Stillness about eight years ago, in Germany. Since then I’ve experienced this body of work three or four times. Over the years the workshop has grown and evolved but at its heart is the night spent in the Alchemist’s Garden. One of the most valuable discoveries, for me, has been the co-existence of the mundane and the extraordinary. All those years ago in Germany I’d injured a leg. During the night in the Alchemist’s Garden I was in pain and then, when I moved into the space and visited the temples we had created, I stepped into another world and found myself in a spiritual place. It was a learning for life. If we allow ourselves we can move effortlessly between these places. And, as in our movement practice, so in our lives. The physical journey home from Germany was one of the strangest I’ve ever had, cancelled planes, strange re-routing, all of which I was able to take completely in my stride. I’ve never been absolutely sure if the man in evening dress playing the grand piano in an airport lounge was real or an extra gift from the Alchemist.Sylvia Wordworth
Alchemy of Stillness was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life with all it’s dances. I feel both lost and excited and really peaceful with that. My heart is open, my feet are on the ground and I’m ready to greet the world a changed man. Ya’Acov held the group securely with humour, tenderness and intense wisdom, both profound and mundane, a real exponent of practical Shamanism. Alchemy left me wanting to carry on exploring the chambers of my heart with compassion and courage. A truly worthwhile experience.Andrew Hassenruck
Forthcoming dates: to be confirmed
NEWSLETTER ARTICLES:
Resolving Trauma – Sept 2011
The Mayans and All That….. – April 2011
If Someone Cried in Heaven – March 2008
Alchemy of Stillness May-June 07 – June 2007
