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Welcome.I believe we all need a place to slow down and find inner ground. To make facing this life a little less overwhelming, to feel a little less alone. Especially now.
Relational Body is a playful, embodied, and relational practice—one that cultivates resilience, supports agency and offers a sense of shared humanity, while making space for new ways of being to emerge. It is a place to train for life by attuning to ourselves within the body of a group.
Here we meticulously and joyfully build capacity to ‘be with’ – the moment, our pain, our joy, each other – and enact our agency from there. Through fluid interplay of curiosity, movement, active engagement, and maintaining space, silence and stillness, we practice rooting deeply in ourselves with an agile nervous system to meet life as it comes. We move at the pace of trust toward physical proximity and touch.
When we slow down and attune to the subtle, we create a foundation from which spontaneity can emerge— play, expression, and joyful connection, as well as the unbound freedom to say no and redirect at any moment. We take little risks to grow our capacity to respond honestly and beyond the confines of patterns and narratives that harm.
Together, we template felt-sense experiences that re-align our sense of safety and possibility.
6-Week Series: April 22 - May 27
Wednesdays, 6:45-8:30pm
2127 N Albina Ave, Studio #211
In our time together we will engage in:
~ Sensory-based explorations
~ Grounding and resourcing practices
~ Solo movement and group play
~ Physical contact with intention
~ Holding awareness of identities and minding our impact
To do the following:
~ Build embodied resilience & relational awareness
~ Notice how we approach, avoid, brace, yield, and grasp
~ Grow our capacity for closeness & self-expression
~ Access more ease and fluidity in our bodies & movement
Each class includes a foundational solo practice, structured exercises, and open group movement. We will slow down together, tracking the subtle cues of our nervous systems, and expand our capacity to bring these sensitivities into daily life. Homework will be offered to support integration between sessions, keeping a somatic journal is encouraged.
Practicing within a consistent group offers a rare opportunity for building trust to access real-time relational repatterning, as well as joyful connection and community within a liberatory framework. You are welcome to sign up with a partner or friend, but it is not required.
You might use this practice to explore:
~ Staying with yourself in charged conversations
~ Interrupting a freeze response with play
~ Gently moving toward closeness, even when it feels scary
~ Supporting others without overextending
~ Being with discomfort in social spaces
~ Recognizing when it’s time to step away
All that said, this is a space where we might work openly with potentially difficult personal material, and it is possible that material will arise that the container cannot hold in a supportive way. If the need should arise, I am available for individual sessions and have trusted referrals for additional support. Our primary objective here is to study our experience and cultivate skills for self-regulation in order to grow our capacity to be in connection.
When we change the way we move interpersonally, we change the fabric of the world. I look forward to moving, unlearning, and exploring what’s possible, together.
Attendance & Commitment
Building trust within the group is essential. You may miss up to two classes, but must commit to attending the first two sessions to help establish a strong container for our work together.
Registration
To apply, fill out the intake form (posted soon) -- feel free to DM me with your interest or questions any time! I will follow up with folks who complete the form. Your place in the group is secured upon payment. Payment plans are available. Registration closes 24 hours before the first class or when the cohort is full. A waitlist will be maintained.
Cost & Accessibility
Sliding scale: $210-$300 for the full 6-week series.
Equitable access is important to me. If you have the means, please consider paying on the higher end to support scholarship opportunities. If cost is a barrier, please reach out.
This group requires a minimum number of participants to run and is capped at 8 people. A waitlist will be available once capacity is reached.
Refund Policy
~ Full refund available if you cancel at least one week before the start date.
~ 50% refund if you cancel within one week to 48 hours before the first class, or if someone from the waitlist can take your place.
~ No refunds for cancellations within 48 hours of the start date.
Health & Safety
Masks are optional. If you are experiencing any symptoms of illness, please stay home to protect the group’s well-being.
About the Facilitator
Antje Schaefer (they/them) is a queer, white, able-bodied, German AFAB immigrant who has cultivated their skills of embodiment and facilitation for over a decade. Since 2012, they have lived in Portland, OR, on the unceded homelands of the Kalapuya, Chinook, Molalla, and Clackamas tribes. They are committed to examining and unlearning the harms of colonization, patriarchy, and white supremacy to foster more equitable and liberatory ways of being and healing.
Antje draws their work from studies and experience in social partner dance and Contact Improvisation; Contemporary Alexander Technique; the frameworks and practices of Larissa Kaul and Dare Carrasquillo of Animist Arts; Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy; the work of Judith Blackstone; studies and collaboration with Suniti Dernovsek; interpersonal neurobiology; physical theater; play; bodywork; herds/schools/flocks/packs of animals; death practice, grief work, tensegrity and water.
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North Coast Seed Bldg Artist Studios, 2127 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97227-1748, United States
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