Workshop - Somatic Breath: The Foundations of Effective Breathing

In this workshop I'll be sharing a different way of understanding the breath - as a living, responsive process that reflects our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.

Donna Farhi calls this the essential breath; spontaneous, fluid, permeating the entire body. A breath that is attuned to both physical and emotional needs. Adaptable, rhythmic, responsive; providing stability, calm, or energy as the moment requires. The foundation of effective breathing.

Together we'll look at:
Why we breathe; it’s not just the lungs, but the needs of our cells
The relationship between the heart, lungs, diaphragm, and organs
How pressure, shape, and movement create the breath
How breath is an exchange with our environment

In practice we'll work with:
Freeing and mobilising the diaphragm, the primary muscle of breathing
Gentle side bends and supported back bends to create space in the rib cage
Mobilising held areas of the thoracic spine
Slow, refined movement coordinated with breath
Pauses for rest and integration throughout

Each workshop is grounded in the principles of somatic inquiry:
Pulse and oscillating - dusting off the fascia, awakening the tissues, reconnecting body and nervous system
Yielding - giving weight, receiving support
The moment of melt - when effort releases and the body reorganises
Moving slowly - creating the conditions for sensation to be felt
Rest and digest - integration as an essential part of the practice
Consciously placing awareness inside the body - noticing what is actually there

Open to anyone curious about Somatic Movement, no previous experience necessary.