Celebrating the Healing Power of Gentleness – Dec 2018
By Susannah Darling Khan
One of the highlights for me in the ‘Embodied Leadership’ group I led this last weekend in London was a new level of seeing (in the mirror of thee group) the crucial importance of support to inform and ground (and, surprise – support) embodied, co-creative, heart-based leadership. On Saturday morning the group co-created a (stunning) group poem and theatre of what we mean by co-creative embodied leadership.
On Saturday afternoon, after lunch, we entered a deep journey of quiet nourishment and support, practising asking for what we genuinely wanted, which culminated in a new version of ‘supporting tree’ dances. After that we let go into a slow crescendo in which I witnessed a soft pliant power and vibration in the room I have never seen before. On an objective level, as far as I can tell, there was a pliancy (soft and strong flexibility) in people’s spines that I have never seen before in our western world. As this quality appeared, it allowed a level of natural healing to occur in which people became freer to offer their own authentic love, creativity and strength (leadership). I bow to the healing power of nurturing gentleness and to the capacity we have, as humans, to shift, when the environment is right.
From my experience in myself, and in what I see and hear in and from others, I think it’s fair to say that most of us have a strong unconscious assumption that strength means not needing support. This assumption is so normal in our culture that we don’t even notice it.
I’ve been learning (with the help of Ya’Acov’s kind strength) that the capacity to notice that I need support and to ask for and to receive support is actually a key part of my strength. I’ve been learning, with the help of my ponies, that the more I quieten and calm myself the more trust and co-operative power, love and freedom there is between us. And watching and feeling how the energy in the group responded as we tuned into a para-sympathetic, responsive, support practice was quite extra-ordinary for me. The pliancy, fluidity, effortless joy and co-creative power that emerged in people after spending time in the healing valleys of quietness and support was so beautiful to witness. Thank you all….
As attachment psychologist from Pepperdine University, Louis Cozolino says: “We are not the survival of the fittest, we are the survival of the nurtured” (Thank you Catherine Dunne for this quote and this link).
On Monday I did my next session with the NHS women leaders with the Kings Fund’s Athena Project, and once again I witnessed how creative freedom and the willingness for authenticity and to inhabit our learning edge comes when we really feel safe. The word ‘safety’ keeps resounding and more and more. Ya’Acov and I recognise how vital it is for people (including ourselves) to be enabled to undergo deep metamorphosis, which involves taking off our habitual armour and becoming truly defence-less and vulnerable (which literally means ‘wound-able’) as we seek to discover and inhabit our most authentic selves.
In the poem created by the group, which I read back to them in the last softly humming and vibrating stillness, the word ‘authentic’ appeared several times. I recognise that so many good ideas are lost in our society simply because people don’t feel safe to express what may be ‘different’ and/or that no-one is listening to people who are not at the top of their pyramids. The other word which emerged within this poem, and I want to share now is ‘service’.
With love to all of us and our efforts to co-create healing possibilities for authentic service in the world, whether or not we are in formal positions of leadership. Thank you all,
I hope to see you soon, one way or another, and wishing you a magical and restorative solstice,
With love,
Susannah Darling Khan
Susannah’s upcoming workshops:
18–22 December: Returning Home with Ya’Acov and Susannah. Waldhaus, Switzerland.
This annual workshop of story telling, art, dance and ritual, invites participants to reflect on the year that has past and unveil new dreams of another year ahead. Set amidst the stunning mountains of the Swiss Alps, this retreat provides an invitation to return to the essence of who you are, let go of what has been, plant new seeds and nurture your connection to community and to all life.
Contact Roland Wilkinson: +44 (0)1803 762255; hello@schoolofmm.com
8–12 January: Dancing with the Heart of the World with Susannah and Ya’Acov, Costa Rica.
This powerful intensive weaves together the strong practices and tools of Movement Medicine of embodied healing with the message and intention of the Pachamama Alliance Awakening the Dreamer Symposium. We are going through strong and challenging times together, personally and collectively. Big shifts are on the horizon if we want to protect the magic of life on earth. This workshop is a space to dance with and realign our dreams and give energy to the seeds we wish to plant in our lives. We will explore the personal connection to and love for all life and how that manifests in our being and doing, and we will learn how to step more and more into our power so that we are resourceful and fulfilled humans that can make a positive contribution to earth and humanity.
Contact: Gaya: info@pachamama.com
25–27 January: Life Lab with Susannah. Burlington, Vermont, USA.
With Move! Evening on 25th of January.
In this workshop the dancer will learn a few of the powerful tools of Movement Medicine, which have a positive impact on life, business and relating. The participants can discover new possibilities of being more present, resourceful and conscious in every day life, and will walk (or dance) away with a wide knowledge of and new skills around embodiment. The workshop provides a practical tool kit to take home, empowering each one to integrate new conscious ways of being, bringing about real and tangible positive shifts in personal and professional life.
Contact Carolyn Cooke: +1 (802)363-4878; cecookevt@comcast.net
30 January: CPD Webinar with Susannah and Ya’Acov. Online.
This is a webinar for everyone who has taken or is participating in Movement Medicine Professional Training. It provides the space to hear about and explore subjects or themes, suggested by you or Ya’Acov and Susannah, which are related to your professional work with Movement Medicine. All sessions are recorded and accessible to the subscribers of the CPD webinars.
Contact Roland: hello@schoolofmm.com
8–17 February: Professional Training Module 2 with Susannah and Ya’Acov. Rill Estate, Devon, UK.
This module of the Professional Training covers mostly the hands-on practice and learning of holding space on the dance floor and how to guide and support people through personal processes and transformation. It will offer a new perspective on all the many tools of Movement Medicine, as the focus shifts from experiencing them for oneself to utilizing them to guide others.
Contact Roland: hello@schoolofmm.com
22–24 March: Embodied Leadership and Co-Creation with Susannah. Copenhagen, Denmark.
What a great combination – Leadership training through the playful and embodied work of Movement Medicine! This workshop offers a safe and very well guided space to explore various facets and qualities that leadership and co-creation requires, such as congruence, presence, clarity, self-trust and the ability to guide creative team-work. Personal authority together with the skill to co-create makes great leaders and brings these beautiful qualities into your personal life too. Come along to dance, to play, to co-create and to remember that everyone is a leader.
Contact Nanna Heinz: +45 50 83 18 84; nanna@dancingyourspirit.dk