ViBE – Dance Studio and Creative Space
@ 2939 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
*****
An 8-week class
” > Intro & Story
“I need to take better care of myself.”
Have you heard yourself saying this? It’s a pretty universal expression in our culture, but how do we go about taking better care of ourselves? By judging the way we look, by disciplining our bodies, by enacting a long list of “shoulds”. What if this was how you cared for a child? Or your best friend when they were in need? Who ever decided “discipline” meant “care”?
Who has time to listen to their body?
For most of us, the concept of really listening to our bodies conflicts with our beliefs. Many people think that without a firm grip, their bodies would revert to a bunch of “bad habits” or “weaknesses”, like consuming sweets all day – much like any child who was never given dessert. Who has time to listen to what their body wants, beneath the surface layer of immediate pleasures? And is it even possible to rewire ourselves to naturally find a balance between body and mind?
Bodymind coLAB is a weekly class with the goal to do just that.
Each session, in a safe space, we will take another step forward in releasing self-defeating patterns and creating pathways for instinctive healing. Can you imagine where you might be after two months of healing your relationship with yourself? How would it feel to move through the world with confidence, comfort and freedom in your body?
What if, by committing to two months, you could turn your relationship with your body around?
I’ve been amazed by the potency of this body-resourcing, whole-self work in my own life. I feel so inspired to share, that I bit the bullet and rented a beautiful space at my own expense, hoping to enable people to experience it for themselves. Every step I’ve taken to heal my relationship with my own body has been a gift that keeps giving. A workout or a yoga routine is great – but teach your body to harmonize with your mind, and you’ve given yourself a lifelong gift.
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Event info
We can be incredibly hard on ourselves when it comes to our bodies. The environments we live, work, and play in don’t always help us maintain a strong connection with our bodies. And yet, our bodies have innate wisdom and wild capabilities – like allowing us to feel, to connect with one another, and to experience bliss. In Bodymind coLAB, we’ll creatively rework our relationships with our bodies and emerge with greater comfort, confidence, and freedom.
What if we allowed ourselves to spend as much time in our bodies as we do in our heads? What if working in harmony with our whole selves was the key to unlocking new possibilities?
This will be a laboratory for collaborative learning, and a cohesive journey where specially selected exercises are woven together to build trust and create fertile ground for supporting real change and personal growth. We’ll honor our whole selves, gain insight on & rewire what doesn’t serve us, and enjoy what we got! Along the way, we will explore themes such as: self-care, intentional play, psychology & culture, community support, and gratitude.
This series draws on improvisational movement, which I’ve found to be an immensely therapeutic practice that has supported my personal wellness and growth in profound ways – emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, and beyond. Bodymind coLAB includes solo and partnered explorations based in Expressive Arts Therapy, mindfulness practices, Authentic Relating, and more. Participants will be encouraged to engage at their own pace and comfort level.
All are welcome. This is a safe space; basic agreements around respect and care will be introduced and upheld to help us co-create a nourishing experience.
This series will include:
- Eight (8) weekly in-person classes, each with a unique blend of experiential bodymind exercises and opportunities for reflection and sharing
- A dedicated cohort & community of allies who are doing the same work
- A focused & supportive environment, to catalyze your growth
- Optional take-home challenges, for continuing and integrating what you are working on outside of class
- A one-on-one check-in, during the series, to provide dedicated support & help you make the most of your experience
- Three (3) e-mail check-ins, after the conclusion of the series, to help support your continued growth & provide accountability for your intentions
When:
Thursdays 7p-8:30p, from Sep 12 through Nov 7. We’ll take a brief break on 10/24, and resume again the following week.
Early Bird special and Bring-a-Friend rates are currently available.
For bonus savings, combine the discount code “EARLYB1RDS” with the “Bring-a-Friend” ticket option during checkout [$33 off Gen Admission @ $19.90/session].
What clients say:
“I had had such an incredibly lovely evening, and it was now the next day and I still wanted to be in that evening.” “So much gratitude to you, Amber, for such a beautiful moment. I hope we’ll share more.” -V
“I think our group was so sweet! Thank you. I love how you made that space. I think the best thing about the event was the space and atmosphere you created. I’m quite sensitive to space with negativity, tenseness, anger, anxiety etc and you made such a beautiful safe space to relax, be able to listen and hear and be comfortable. To me that was the best part of the workshop because I think it’s really hard to do.” -M
“Really brilliantly put together. And you are such a gentle, innovative, compassionate facilitator! I can tell you wanted to get a lot done, though I really liked how you listened to the energy of the group and let them process and even co-create the experience.” -T
“I’ve been feeling good! I appreciated your confidence in leading us and your vulnerability in being affected by us. I loved how close we all felt near the end especially since I had never met any of you before. I liked how we all went wherever we wanted at the end and everyone was enthusiastic to be a part.” -J
Venue
ViBE – Dance Studio and Creative Space
@ 2939 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
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For questions, including low-income ticket inquiries, please feel welcome to contact me via info@dancepantswellness.com.
If you need to miss a session, please let me know in advance. I can provide the exercises and prompts we covered, brief notes on what came up for the group, and be available to answer questions & provide additional support via e-mail. Your group members may also be open to sharing their experience with you, and hearing about yours.
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Amber is a wellness facilitator and community resource. She believes in reintegrating the body and play into our everyday lives, freely drawing on various disciplines and modalities as needed or desired, and connecting people with resources and communities to help support their personal growth and wellness—via Dance Pants Wellness.
Amber’s lifelong love of feeling good from the inside out inspires and informs what she has to share with you, in addition to her background in contact improv and holistic massage therapy. She facilitates special events, an authentic connection-based community circle, and enjoys continuing adventures researching Dance/Movement Therapy and other bodymind modalities. Amber has accumulated over 600 hours of education and training in Expressive Arts Therapy, psychology, and other specialized bodymind modalities, and has completed a 128-hour somatic education program.
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Pieter Performance Space
@ 420 W Avenue 33, Los Angeles, CA 90031
*****
Consider this—
If you were 
100% best buds with your physical body… what would that be like?
What would you be able do? Where would you go?
…
We’ll explore the above questions, and more, through movement, dialogue, and other experiential activities. Inquisitive seekers, RSVP today!
THE INTENTION:
- To explore how we relate to our bodies
- To experiment with ways to treat ourselves with greater care and respect, physically and beyond
- To gain insight into our body’s story and its needs
- To cultivate a more loving and mutually supportive relationship with our bodies.
We’ll have opportunities to breathe, sink in, move, play, unfold, connect, co-create, reflect, share, flow, and mellow out together.
The experience will include facilitated solo, partnered, and open-ended explorations based in movement, expressive arts therapy, other bodymind modalities, and mindfulness practices.
Participants will be encouraged to engage at their own pace and comfort level. No touch is ever required. All are welcome to attend.
BASIC SCHEDULE
7p – arrival & personal warm-up
7:15p – opening circle
Group warm-up
Facilitated explorations, interspersed with moments for reflection & sharing
Closing circle, ending by 9:30p
Cost: Pay-What-You-Want
Sat SepT 8, 2018 // Noon-7:30p
Angeles National Forest, CA 93553
(Exact location provided via e-mail)
Let’s head outdoors! The weather has been so delicious. Group nature immersion, adventures, and bodymind games/ tools await.
There will be plenty of shade, and comfortably cool temperatures are expected.
THE INTENTION: to investigate & play with resourcing our whole selves in exploring themes of self-care, joy, bodymind wellness, human connection and community support, personal growth, and empowerment.
We’ll have opportunities to breathe, immerse, move, play, unfold, connect, reflect, share, flow, and mellow out together. The experience will include facilitated solo, partnered, and open-ended explorations based in movement, wilderness awareness material, expressive arts therapy, other bodymind modalities, and mindfulness practices.
Participants will be encouraged to engage at their own pace and comfort level. No touch is ever required. All are welcome to attend.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Noon – arrive and meet at rendezvous point (to be provided)
12:20p – head to trailhead as a group, and begin forest hike (unrushed, leisurely pace & easy/moderate trail)
12:45p – opening circle
Facilitated explorations, interspersed w/ moments for reflection & sharing, as well as additional hiking and breaks–including an extended midday meal break (byo food & pack it out/ leave no trace!)
7:08p – sunset
Closing circle, ending by 7:30p (last light)
Exact meeting location and other details, including help with carpool coordination, to be sent via e-mail.
Cost: Pay-What-You-Want
Sat Jul 21, 2018 // 7-10p
Pieter Performance Space
@ 420 W Avenue 33, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tired of adulting all-the-dang time? Wish you could let go of your to-dos and worries, even for a bit, and instead allow your curiosity and excitement to lead the way?
We learn so much through PLAY. Remember??
We refresh & regenerate ourselves through RECREATION. We make new connections and remember what’s/ who’s important when we allow ourselves to BREATHE and to let our hair down.
Play is not just fun, it’s a basic human need!
Adventure time, new pals, fresh perspective & inspiration await at this nature-inspired playshop! Join us for a silly-deep good time, and don’t let the kids have all the fun. ; ) We would LOVE for you to be in the mix.
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THE INTENTION: to investigate/play with resourcing our whole selves in exploring themes of self-care and bliss, human connection and community support, self-inquiry, personal growth, and empowerment. Specifically, this includes explorations in—
- Attuning to our senses
- Cultivating greater resiliency/ the ability to rejuvenate ourselves
- Deepening our capacity to play, feel, and love
- Practicing how to play/work with those around us
- Developing our resourcefulness
- Connecting with our vitality, our capacity to live and grow
- Finding greater ease & enjoyment in what we do
- Honoring our personal needs, natural rhythms, creative impulses, and inclinations.
We’ll have opportunities to breathe, sink in, move, play, unfold, connect, co-create, reflect, share, flow, and mellow out together.
The experience will include facilitated solo, partnered, and open-ended explorations based in movement, inspiration from nature, bodymind modalities, expressive arts therapy, and mindfulness practices.
Participants will be encouraged to engage at their own pace and comfort level. No touch is ever required. All are welcome to attend.
BASIC SCHEDULE
7p – arrival & personal warm-up
7:15p – opening circle
Group warm-up
Facilitated explorations, interspersed w/ moments for reflection & sharing
Closing circle, ending by 10p
Cost: Pay-What-You-Want
[photo “Bird in Grass 3” by J. King, 2013 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); changes made: original photo cropped and text overlay added.]
Sat May 19, 2018 // 7-9:30p
Pieter Performance Space
@ 420 W Avenue 33, Los Angeles, CA 90031
It’s been a long week! Treat yourself to an evening dedicated to exploring what *bliss* means for you, personally, and inviting deeper levels of it into your present experience.
We’ll have opportunities to breathe, sink in, move, play, unfold, connect, co-create, reflect, share, flow, and mellow out together in this small group. All are welcome.
~
THE INTENTION: to investigate/play with resourcing our whole selves in exploring themes of self-care and pleasure, human connection and community support, self-inquiry, personal growth, and empowerment.
Specifically, this evening will be dedicated to exploring what *bliss* means for you, personally, and inviting deeper levels of it into your present experience. We’ll have opportunities to breathe, sink in, move, play, unfold, connect, co-create, reflect, share, flow, and mellow out together.
In support of these intentions, we will experiment with tuning in to our senses, noticing and resourcing what flows through our awareness, connecting with our personal preferences and desires, and giving ourselves permission to follow our intuition and creative impulses.
The experience will include facilitated solo, partnered, and open-ended explorations based in movement, touch, bodymind modalities, expressive arts therapy, mindfulness practices, and inspiration from nature.
Participants will be encouraged to engage at their own pace and comfort level. All are welcome to attend.
BASIC SCHEDULE
7p – arrival & personal warm-up
7:15p – opening circle
Group warm-up
Facilitated explorations, interspersed w/ moments for reflection & sharing
Closing circle, ending by 9:30p
Cost: Pay-What-You-Want
Thurs SepT 21, 2017 // 7-9:30p
Highways Space
@ 1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Movement Workshop: Body Ecosystems
Facilitated by: Amber Shiau & Tovya Jacobs
What is holding you back?
We all develop habits in our movement: hunching our shoulders, slumping in chairs, favoring a side that holds a purse or a messenger bag — We forget they’re even there, but our bodies broadcast them in our dance and walk, and repeating these patterns can cause real obstacles to health and optimal function.
How do you find ease in your movement?
In Body Ecosystems we will build awareness of learned patterns, and offering the tools to replace them with joyful, natural movement. Jacobs and Shiau teach Movement, Contact Improv, Massage Therapy and Anatomy — and will be combining their resources to make this a holistic introduction to finding bliss in your dance and beauty in everyday movement.
Your body is your environment: We believe that if you take care of it, it will take care of you.
Cost: $25 early bird, $30 at the door