Name: Portland Circling Intensive (Spring 2026)
Start: 2026-03-20T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-03-22T18:00:00-07:00
Location: Awakenings Wellness Center

Portland Circling Intensive (Spring 2026)

Join The Deep Play Institute for a weekend intensive of Circling: a here-and-now practice of deepening connection, authenticity and presence. Circling, developed by Guy Sengstock in the 1990s, is one of many practices aimed at exploring the here-and-now in a group. Other such practices include Group Therapy, T-Group, Group Relations Conferences, Process Work. Please find more info about Circling here.
The aim of our weekend is twofold. The first is to deepen into the practice of Circling, which involves bringing more connection and authenticity in relation to each other within our group. This deepening will involve practicing multiple Circling modalities including: Large Group Circles, Small Group Circles, Dyads, Circles that focus on one person’s experience (called Birthday Circles), Circles with predefined roles such as mother, empathetic listener, clown (called Kabuki Circles), and Circles with explicit representation of shadowy/challenging aspects of the group (called Coyote Circling).
The second aim of our weekend intensive is for participants to try co-creating new Circling modalities. As facilitators we are riveted by playing with the structures of play. We think this meta-play brings a heightened awareness to the impermanence of rules and the magical process of designing towards depth, connection, and awareness. On the last day of the weekend intensive we will co-create and iterate on a new here-and-now structure based on our emergent interests as a group.
https://www.deepplayinstitute.com/circling-pdx-2026.html
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thedeepplayinstitute/1948883
Rough Schedule (Subject to Change)
Friday March 20th, 7-9pm: Opening Circle, Agreements, Warmups, First Full Group Circle
Saturday March 21st, 10am-6:00pm: Deepening into Circling modalities.
Sunday March 22nd, 10am-6:00pm: Co-Creating New Structure.
Price: Price is tiered sliding scale based on 3 income levels. All prices are in USD.
Tier 1 $350 / Tier 2 $300 / Tier 3 $250 BIPOC: Tier $250
Sliding Scale: Please try to reasonably and honestly select the price that reflects your economic situation. If you are unable to find a price that is suitable for you, please get in touch [[email protected]]. We are committed to covering our basic costs, while also making this possible for everyone who wants it.
Maximum Participants: 13