My Summer Reflections: July 2019
After a brilliantly sunny June, early July brought rains to cleanse and protect us from the later summer’s heat. My young cats, Mira and Rumi, have entered the outdoor world and are tasting all the delights their little body/spirits can absorb. Through them I have become more attuned to the infinite miracles of life and love.
The first image shows Rumi looking out through lush foliage with alert, eager readiness. He is drinking it ALL in on sensual levels we cannot even imagine. I see his steady gaze and my heart opens! I am called to join him and explore the world with such eager, fascinated curiosity.
The next image is of Mira, named after Mirabai, the ecstatic Hindu poet and saint. She likes to be on higher levels and has appropriated the bird bath. Sometimes I find it hard to believe she is a cat.
Rumi, the beloved Sufi mystic, and Mirabai, taught much about Love and Life. Rumi and Mira, my beloved cats, do the same.
I am now learning much about the power of Love and the force of Life as I must be treated for throat cancer. The prognosis is good and I will be fine and back to work in late October. I am surrounded by my beloved community, including my family, and guided by a legion of healers at the BC Cancer Agency who have all devoted their lives to love. It is all palpable!
I am very, very grateful for all good wishes and energy you are inspired to send my way. Because my system is sensitive, I ask that you focus these on this Buddha, who sits on my living room window sill and will spread them into my home, with the love totally intact.
May your summer be one filled with teachers like these as you travel each day of mystery and delight – each day of Love, Harmony and Beauty.
With Love to you,
Tannis
Ongoing Workshops
Contact Tannis for dates and locations.
Authentic Movement
In this introduction participants will learn the form of Authentic Movement. They will explore the roles of mover and witness to gain a deeper understanding and acceptance of their embodied experience in all areas of their lives.
Authentic Movement and Performance
Using Authentic Movement to access and manifest deeper levels of our selves, we may enrich our presence in performance, enhance creative exploration, and increase awareness and trust of the body. The form of Authentic Movement is especially useful for dancers and actors.
Moving Prayer
Our need to pray is as ancient and central to life as our breath. In this workshop, we listen to the prayers moving in and through our bodies using guided visualization and structured movement improvisation. By joining body, mind and spirit to dance our prayers, we celebrate ourselves and the earth as miracles of Creation.
Moving with Spirit: Ecstatic Body Postures and Authentic Movement
Learn to journey to the realms of Non-ordinary Reality using Ecstatic Body Postures and integrate the teachings of spirit into conscious awareness with Authentic Movement. Discovered by anthropologist Felicitas Goodman, Ecstatic Body Postures are a sacred technology used by our elders thousands of years ago to commune with the world of spirit for healing, divination, and ritual celebration. Now, to regain access to these realms, practitioners hold a posture from an early indigenous culture, accompanied by drum or rattle, and enter a visionary trance state. In this workshop, we will explore both practices to connect with our ancient roots and the guidance of spirit. Transformed by these gifts, we will feel our place in the web of life and a compassionate acceptance of all being.
Embodying the Roles We Play
This workshop begins by embodying our unconscious realms through Authentic Movement, inviting the emerging parts of ourselves to dance their roles. Then, using the playful tools of drama therapy, we will discover and enact the stories that wish to be revealed.
Hunger Spirit and the Body
A split between our bodies, minds, and spirits can leave us feeling profoundly starved. This workshop uses movement, art, and creative writing to investigate personal and cultural issues which prevent us from nourishing and loving ourselves. We will discover and enter the body’s wisdom, creating a path to heal.