News, Book Launch, Apprenticeship – February 2017
After a beautifully slow beginning to the year with plenty of time at home, I feel that quickening that comes with the Imbolc light (Pagan festival that celebrates the spring). The snow drops and daffodils, brave as any warriors, are pushing through the cold ground to face the last lashings of winter and give us the promise of new life.
And what a time we live in. If we are to believe the news, it’s a terrible time. And whilst it’s undoubtedly true that it’s a time of many unknowns and things to fear (when wasn’t it?), it’s also another moment on another day when this great mystery of life is giving us a body to move in, the breath to breathe, a heart to love with and a mind to imagine with. I think the hardest challenge we face is to let the wonder of this life in. When I get it, my heart can’t contain the love I feel for this mystery. Just as I always have, I dream myself into that dark embrace and there, night by night, I am refreshed.
Already this year has offered up some tantalising glimpses of mystery in action. Not least of which is the fact that I have finally found my love for Jesus! Apparently, he’s just moved to Manchester from Brasil and started to play centre forward for Manchester City. And what a saviour he is! At home, we started a project to make a wildlife sanctuary in the little lake on our land. In came the diggers, the liner, and the plants but unfortunately, it turned out to be a bigger job that we expected as we found tonnes and tonnes of silt at the bottom of the lake which needs to be shifted. So, we’ve postponed for now and will come back to it later in the year. I love looking after land. There is no rushing things. My own will has to play second fiddle to the pace of nature and that is good medicine for a speed freak like me. Perhaps I’m just getting older and perhaps being at the beginning of my elder years is helping me to have more trust in life than I have managed up until this point. Every morning when I shower, I have a little word with ‘benevolent death’ and thank him for giving me another sunrise. It’s hard to remember gratitude when we’re so busy and so adrenalized by our fears of what might happen. But apparently, it’s good for our well-being in very real ways. And so I continue to offer 21 gratitudes every day for the life I live and for the many challenges and opportunities it offers me.
I have finished editing my book and since I am writing to you on 6thFebruary, I am entering the final four-month period of this ‘pregnancy’ before it finally comes into the world on June 6th. I am very excited to share it with you and we’ve decided to do a launch event through Alternatives in London on June 7th. We’re going to broadcast it live on facebook as well for those of you a long way away – a book reading, an embodied shamanic journey to find that place of Jaguar in the Body, Butterfly in the Heart within you and a book signing. I hope you can make it or tune in. Details will be on our website soon.
Things are also getting ever clearer for us as we look into the crystal ball and play the future game. It’s always a tricky balance to honour the past, dream the future and make concrete plans – all whilst staying in the gloriously unknown moment that is the present. We are recognising the need to move into a new place within Movement Medicine as we take our first toddler steps as elders. We have always held the dream that Movement Medicine would find its way into many different places, cultures and organisations. That’s why we started to train people. And we are coming close to the limit of people we can take on as apprentices. Apprenticeship is a deep commitment from both teachers and apprentices. For us, it’s a sacred relationship in which we make a contract to do our best to support you on the journey of landing your dreams here on earth. Though naturally, some apprentices come and go, we have been in relationship with many of our apprentices for decades. When we accept you as an apprentice, we are clear that we will do our utmost to be here for you throughout your journey with Movement Medicine. At the Winter Dream Dance 48-hour ceremony that was part of Module 2 (Immersion) of our current apprenticeship, we were delighted to have apprentices from all 4 generations present.
The door is now open to the fifth generation – you can send your application to Roland and it must be with him by March 13th. You will hear from us by the end of March. With each journey, our work is clarifying more and more, and we find ourselves deeply touched by the work our apprentices are engaged with. The Winter Dream Dance was such a strong ceremony and we were privileged to witness so many apprentices from previous generations sharing their medicine as part of the ritual. The interweaving of the generations was a deep dance to behold and we feel this Movement Medicine mesa going from strength to strength with each passing year. If you are interested in being part of this next generation, please check out the link where you can download an application form. As always, Roland will be happy to help you with any questions you have.
I’m now in Switzerland with Susannah for the second module of our couples course, The Space Between Us, and then I’ll be going on to Berlin for Re-Creation. After that, and a weekend off to celebrate the birthday of a good friend, Susannah and I will be saying goodbye to each other for the whole month of March. Susannah has a very exciting journey to Africa, including a working visit to Kenya, a place she lived as a child. She always promised not to go back as a tourist but only to return when she felt she had something of value to share with a land and people that were such a formative part of her childhood. After that, she will visit Zimbabwe and then South Africa. For myself, once I’ve recovered from the questionable planning that had us agreeing to spend the whole month apart, I will head off back to the USA. I will begin my tour on the East Coast with a trip to Philadelphia, a dancing tribe that I supported to begin with the help of Rivi Diamond eleven years ago. From there, I will spend a few days in New York, including a meeting with my publisher before heading on to Burlington to teach. I have recently been back in touch with one of my teachers, Victor Sanchez. I sent him the excerpts from my book that pertained to my work with him, and he then read the whole thing. The result of this reconnection, and the recognition of how much I received from him, is that I will spend a couple of days with him in Santa Fe. After that, I have a few days in San Francisco including teaching an evening workshop there. My tour ends with a five-day workshop at Esalen followed by a weekend workshop in Port Townsend. And such is the life of a road warrior. I will enjoy every minute of it to the best of my ability, knowing that at the end of my trip, Susannah and I will have so many adventures to share with each other and such treasures to bring to one another.
I am naturally aware that the USA is a different place than when I visited it last year. I wrote this on Facebook this morning in response to questions about a petition I put up urging people to sign it. The petition was suggesting that the British Government withdraw their invitation for Mr. Trump to visit.
Should we say no, or should we accept everything as someone’s right to a point-of-view? For me, the answer is both. In the deepest place inside me, I reside in the mystery of life. In truth, I have no idea what should or shouldn’t happen in this world. Who is to know if Trump being President is a terrible thing or a good thing? I can only know that in my heart of hearts, it would be untrue and unreal for me to sit politely around debating when I am offered a chance to peacefully say no to the views of someone I wholeheartedly disagree with on so many issues of basic human decency. I have no idea if Mr. Trump is such a terrible human being. That’s not the point. The point is, I feel to stand up and say no to his actions.
What a time then, to be going to the USA and offering our work and the space for people to be together, ask the questions they need to ask, and give it all up to the spirit of the dance. For me, the dance, and especially Movement Medicine Ceremonies, and the pathways it has opened up for me over the decades, remains the strongest medicine. And I am delighted that this year, we will begin a new cycle of Long Dances. After completing the 7th in 2015, 2016 was a fallow year for the Long Dance. June 30–July 6we will begin a new cycle. As you probably know, the Long Dance is a give-away event (no-one is paid for it), raising money for local or international projects is a major part of the medicine of the ceremony. We hope very much that you will feel moved to join us this year so that we can raise an almighty prayer in gratitude for the life we live. We are very happy to announce that we will once again be joined by Manari Ushigua, the tribal leader of the Sàpara people, and Belen Paez, the extraordinary woman who has done so much to support the tribal people of the Ecuadorian Amazon to protect their lands. Please join us or if you cannot make it, sponsor someone who can.
Finally, dear community of seekers and finders, a little heads up for the first webinar I will have offered for a few months. We had to change the advertised date, and it will now take place on Tuesday 21st February 19.30-21.00 UK time. The focus will be ‘prayer for the world’ which of course includes you, your families, your friends and communities and all beings. I invite you to join me and let’s join our energy together in shared practice, supporting one another to dance deep and connect to what strengthens us. After all, now is a time when we and the earth that sustains us needs all the strength we can get. And alongside that, the love of life and the love of the mystery which since I can remember, has been the bedrock of my life.
As the season turns, so must we.
Wishing you all good soil and healthy seed for a new season of growing ahead. I pray that all the pain in the world right now is evolutionary and moves us towards a more conscious human presence.
With my love and respect, Ya’Acov DK
Forthcoming workshops with Ya’Acov:
February 15–19: Re-Creation with Ya’Acov. Oslow, Norway.
A great journey for the still ‘early hours’ of the year, takes the dancers into transformation of relationship, of past stories, and guide you into stronger, more sound empowerment within yourself and within that which matters to you on your path. This workshop includes a Dance Ceremony, the S.E.E.R Process (systemic essential energy retrieval) and an introduction of the archetypes present in Movement Medicine: the Dancing Warrior, the Wise Elder and the Fool.
Contact Kathrin Keller: +49 30 28458820; info@kathrin-keller.com
March 3–5: 21 Gratitudes with Ya’Acov. Philadelphia, USA
Learning about the 21 Gateways of the Movement Medicine mandala, the dancer gets to immerse in this deep shamanic and healing work with its maps, tools and invitations to find out what the dancer brings, what needs releasing, and what parts can still shift and transform through the power of kind and loving illumination.
Contact Rebekah Zhuraw: 001 215-498-1780; rebekah@5rhythmsphilly.com
March 11–12: Arch of Time with Ya’Acov. Burlington, Vermont, USA.
With Move! Evening on March 10.
In this weekend workshop, we are tracing an arc of time, with body and dance and movement meditation. This arc going back to our rich ancestral heritage, of support and connection, source and learning opportunities, and going forth, through the power of presence, into daring to offer all that we hold inside our selves.
Contact Carolyne Cook: cecookevt@comcast.net
March 19–24: Dancing with the Heart of the World with Ya’Acov. Esalen, USA.
Finding to our own heart and the wisdom it holds, and in movement finding the empowerment to show up as responsible and choice-full human beings to extend that expression of our hearts – as our vision and our gift to the world from our true and strong centre. Our world needs a new and more respectful story, and this workshop in an invitation to dance with your part of that new story.
Contact Esalen: +1 831 667 3000; info@esalen.org
March 24–26: Return of the Light with Ya’Acov. Washington, USA.
Connecting with the inner dancer, we are giving body, heart and mind a spring cleanse to release and make space for the light to stream into dance and being and for the new it brings. We are giving space to realignment of self and certainty of direction in this year ahead, so that we can be all we are and give all we got.
Contact Aletia: 001 360 344 4475; info@madronamindbody.com
March 31 –April 2: Soulful with Ya’Acov. Luzern, Switzerland.
With Move! Evening on March 31.
With deep dances and embodied prayers, you are invited to discover more of the soul (and heart-) landscape that you hold, brought with you, are, and unfolding into. In this deep landscape, we will walk and dance, to find out more of who we are, and what the heart is speaking of. We will harvest some more self empowerment, and more clarity of necessary choices, to continuing to nurture this soul landscape that we are and that is through us.
Contact Katriona Forester: +41 33 676 2708, kat@kf-events.ch
April 3: Move! Evening with Ya’Acov. Geneva, Switzerland.
During this evening you can experience your body as an intelligent dancer, while you are guided through some basic tools of Movement Medicine. You are invited to let your mind have a rest, while arriving in your body to feel and express what moves inside, beyond and underneath.
Contact Véronique Champalou: +33 7 81 46 57 49, verochampaloudanse@gmail.com
April 12: Move! Evening with Ya’Acov. Antwerp, Belgium.
During this evening you can experience your body as an intelligent dancer, while you are guided through some basic tools of Movement Medicine. You are invited to let your mind have a rest, while arriving in your body to feel and express what moves inside, beyond and underneath.
Contact Luc: + 32 61 32 99 20, luc@owc.be
April 13: Move! Evening with Ya’Acov. Utrecht, Holland.
During this evening you can experience your body as an intelligent dancer, while you are guided through some basic tools of Movement Medicine. You are invited to let your mind have a rest, while arriving in your body to feel and express what moves inside, beyond and underneath.
Contact Marold: info@maroldemmelkamp.nl
April 14–16: Soulful with Ya’Acov. Paris, France.
With deep dances and embodied prayers, you are invited to discover more of the soul (and heart-) landscape that you hold, brought with you, are, and unfolding into. In this deep landscape, we will walk and dance, to find out more of who we are, and what the heart is speaking of. We will harvest some more self empowerment, and more clarity of necessary choices, to continuing to nurture this soul landscape that we are and that is through us.
Contact Pierre-Henri Therond: + 33 615 325 816, pierrehenritherond@gmail.com