Jumping Into the Unknown
Throughout Europe, the US, and Korea, I teach the Jumping Into the
Unknown body consciousness workshops to those working in the arts,
anthropology, gender studies and ethnic studies. Frequently, I teach them in
conjunction with my visiting artist lectures at universities and museums.
Most recently, I have been incorporating the workshops into collaborations
with medical professionals.
Join Cara Judea Alhadeff, photographer and Iyengar yoga teacher from New
York and San Francisco, for an adventure investigating how self-inquiry can
become a bridge between the mind and the body. Using the theater of our
bodies as a site for exploring both the familiar and unfamiliar, Alhadeff
will lead participants through a series of "reaction activities". The
foundation of this relationship is physical and emotional strength rooted in
vulnerability and difference. These workshops will focus on postural
behavioral patterns/reactions and breath access in relation to a variety of
psychological contexts.
These body consciousness workshops integrate both the philosophical and the
psycho-anatomical into a framework that sheds light on how to thrive on
contradictions and ambiguities in our chaotic daily lives. The mind's
natural tendency is to be preoccupied with the outside world. When we cannot
separate ourselves from our reactions, we are no longer committed to the
practice of being in the present. When people resist the unfamiliar and
become unwittingly frozen in the habitual, tension is stored in muscles,
diaphragm, and the nervous system. This attachment to ego may have
detrimental short and long term effects on our psycho-neuroimmunology: body,
mind, and emotions. Since a lot of us are addicted to stress—to the
chemical, endorphin high-- we tend to confuse feeling energized with nervous
system stimulation. Alhadeff encourages participants to slow down enough to
find connections within their own bodies, between themselves and others—to
develop self-awareness by paying attention to the present moment.
Adaptability, rather than attachment, is a central aspect of this practice.
For Alhadeff, this is the definition of "commitment"—a willingness to jump
into the unknown.
Participants will explore body awareness activities, Alhadeff's photographic
work, and participate in group discussion as lenses through which they can
investigate choice and creativity in their daily lives. Most importantly,
the workshop offers the possibility of experiencing empathy and layers of
interconnectedness.
These are not the titles, but the subjects for the different workshops
include: Yoga and Sexuality, Yoga for Stress Reduction, Neuroplasticity and
Ego, Yoga for Performers and Public Speakers, Yoga for Parkinsons and other
Chronic Disorders, Yoga and Fertility, Yoga for Pregnancy
• Increase concentration, mental clarity, and receptivity
• Ease exhaustion, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue or other stress-related physical and psychological issues in order to relieve tension from our demanding daily lives
• Notice and Cultivate stillness and silence within-- the space inside our bodies and consciousness that already exists
• Develop physical and emotional vulnerability as a source of personal strength
• Improve posture, digestion and essential body functioning
• Explore our comfort zones with empathy and the unfamiliar by identifying how we react to the unknown
• Pay attention to how often we create a separation /b/ ourselves and others; us vs. them
• Learn how to let go of counter-productive habitual patterns of behavior
• Take aesthetic, personal, and intellectual risks in order to listen to and nourish our own bodies, minds, and spirits
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Questions we will investigate in small and large group activities:
• What is Ego? And how does it manifest in your mind and body?
• When do we expand our energies? When do we contract our energies? When do we contain our energies?
• What is Stress? How do you define it? Where does it come from?
• Where does rest come from?
• What do you need in order to balance your energy? Is it erratic, lethargic?
• How does your body respond to external and internal expectations? Where does your body hold these pressures? How does your mnd react?
• How does your body respond to the unknown/vulnerability/ambiguity?
• How does your mind respond to the unknown/vulnerability/ambiguity
• How does your body respond to relaxation?
• How does your mind respond to relaxation?
Copyright © 1999-2007, Cara Judea Alhadeff