Dancing Body Stories: The Embodiment of Self

Dancing Body Stories: The Embodiment of Self

This workshop takes a somatic approach that uses movement to connect the body, mind, and emotions. Its purpose is to guide participants on a journey of self-discovery, empowerment, and transformation, supported in a therapeutic environment. Through this process, participants have the opportunity to revisit and re-experience the formative stages of early development.

The workshop is designed to give voice to the body, allowing it to express unconscious and unspoken thoughts stored as memories. These often appear in the form of tension, limiting beliefs, self-doubt, chronic fatigue, or even illness. Each of these patterns holds unexpressed parts of ourselves—stories waiting to be told. By exploring these stories through movement, participants can move toward wholeness and healing.

My inspiration for creating this workshop comes from over twenty years of study and practice in body language, embodiment, somatic healing, embryology, and indigenous healing traditions.

At its heart, this is an inquiry into body awareness as a path to healing. Through movement, participants will explore old imprints, discover new ways of moving and relating, and develop tools for self-empowerment. The intention is to support participants in “taking charge” of their inner states—both in relationship to themselves and in connection with others.

The foundation of this work lies in the six stages of the Dance of Awareness practice. This developmental model invites participants to explore human growth from pre-birth through to around five years old—a crucial period when our sense of self takes shape through early experiences, setting the patterns that carry into adulthood.

The practice will be supported by somatic movement education, including explorations of embryological movement stages. This approach offers a way to connect with the deeper layers of the self, integrating somatic and healing concepts to create opportunities for connection, integration, and empowerment.

Over six sessions, the framework will draw on the Somatic Experiencing approach, which provides tools to release traumatic shock as well as the wounds of early developmental and attachment trauma. Participants will explore whether they are “stuck” in fight, flight, or freeze responses, and will be guided to complete self-protective motor patterns while releasing survival energy held in the body. This process is designed to address the root causes of trauma and support lasting transformation.

Interview with Clare and Tim, creators of Dance of Awareness. Listen here