In the Rhythms of Care workshop series, participants have embarked on an immersive journey, reconnecting with themselves, each other, and the more-than-human world through embodied practices and collective care. Rooted in the Work That Reconnects framework, these sessions invite us to slow down, listen, and honor the sacred cycles of life through movement, breath, and creativity.
As we engage in the practices of gratitude, compassion, new ways of seeing, and the courage to act, we also express our experiences through micro-poetry—small, powerful fragments that encapsulate the essence of our shared journey. This collection is a recollection of the process of each session & a celebration of the voices and reflections that have emerged from this space, inviting us to witness the deep connections and healing that flow from mindful embodiment and collective creativity.
Going Forth: Listening to Our Dreams Across Time & Being (01.10.2026)
We began with a grounding meditation, arriving in the body and settling into the present moment before turning towards our dreams. Each person then shared a practical, personal dream of what they wished to do and who they wished to be in their lives. After each sharing, the rest of the circle stepped into different roles to enter into a dialogue with the dreamer. Speaking from the perspectives of doubt, an ancestor, a child of the future and a more-than-human being, we offered each dream a range of voices. Each perspective brought its own questions, wisdom, concerns and possibilities, inviting the dreamer to listen beyond familiar ways of thinking and encounter their aspirations anew. We took turns holding space for one another’s dreams, allowing them to be witnessed, questioned and expanded through the voices of those who came before us, those yet to come, the wider living world, and the doubts that accompany our aspirations. We closed with micro-poetry, gathering what had surfaced through these dialogues into a few words of our own. An exploration of how our dreams might change, deepen and find new strength when we listen across generations, beyond the human, and even to the voices within us that hesitate.
01.10.2026
“My dream was ‘integration’. I heard reassurance, play, hope and doubt leaving the room. I am ready” – Arundhati Samudra
“My dream was finding my way in this world by working with nature and living off of it. What I heard moves me deeply to keep being guided by the light of the sun. I am the hopeful child of the future.” – Dhwani Jain
“My dream was a trees dream. I heard voices of peace form future deepening my intention, butterflies and ancestors cheering on me. I am grounded in an olive trees dream.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“my heart to your heart, I rise to see you again, to feel your light, Shine.” – Louise Pitre
Going Forth: Seeing, Imagining & Telling Together (17.09.2026)
We began with a short grounding practice, bringing our attention into the body and exploring the felt sense of being grounded, aware and present. From there, we entered the playful world of images and storytelling through the game “I see, I see, I see.” Looking at a series of images, each person completed the sentence from their own perspective — sometimes seeing something completely different, even contradictory, to what another person had seen. The images revealed themselves as polysemic, holding many possible meanings and inviting us to notice how differently we can perceive the same thing. We then encountered a collage of diverse images — photographs and illustrations, animals and humans, different colours, styles and worlds brought together in one composition. We began by improvising a soundtrack for the collage, listening to the sounds and sensations that emerged from the images. Gradually, these fragments became a collective story, woven together through our imaginations. At the end, we returned to ourselves through micro-poetry, writing from three simple prompts: We told. We discovered. We are. A playful exploration of how we see, how we make meaning, and how many different stories can emerge when we look together.
17.09.2026
Image by Sonja Hellman
“We told the stories of our heat, the deepest, most real interpretations of our being. We discovered a means to connect beyond the known structures, systems and methods. We are, as I see, a symbol of resilience, creativity and hope. We are the mushrooms of the future” – Dhwani Jain
“We told a story of togetherness and animals leadership. We discovered that resilience comes form the bottom, among mycelium and fungi. We are ready to listen to the smallest bird’s message and the most giant whale’s ancient songs.” – Ilaria Olimpico
Going Forth: Cultivating Courage & Active Hope (03.09.2026)
We began our final segment, Going Forth: Cultivating the Courage to Act, by grounding into the body and the present moment. From there, we entered a space of creative expression, responding to the prompt: “Despite everything around collapsing, she felt the strength for going forth with courage and active hope.” Through art and poetry, we spent time alone with the question of what it means to keep moving forward when the world feels uncertain, painful or as though it is falling apart. Rather than searching for easy answers, we listened for the sources of strength, courage and hope that might already live within us. We then gathered in circle to share what had emerged. In witnessing one another’s expressions, we were reminded that active hope is not the absence of despair, but a willingness to remain present, connected and engaged — and to keep choosing our next step.
by Sonja Hellman
by Dhwani Jain
by Susan Lee
by Elizete Alvez
by Arundhati Samudra
She was seeing the world through a sort of opaque filter.
Even if, in her part of the world, everything still seemed usual and normal, she could no longer really enjoy colours or laughter.
How could she, knowing about the collapse happening all around her?
How could she, with certain images just behind her eyes?
The face of a baby, bitten by a rat in the middle of the ruins.
The face of a woman becoming monstrous, screaming, “Kill them all”.
The faces of young boys, covered by a fabric, spreading terror among other young people, women, and elders too.
The face of a tree — yes, even trees have faces — closing its eyes against the pain travelling through the network of roots and fungi.
Then the collapse became more and more visible in her own part of the world too.
But despite everything around her collapsing, she felt the strength to keep going.
She looked into the eyes of the mother caring for her baby among the ruins, planting seeds for the next season.
She looked into the eyes of the woman becoming monstrous, and into the eyes of the boys becoming terrorists.
Oh yes, it was difficult. But she could see underneath a desperate need, and still, somehow, a possibility for transformation.
And more than anything, she connected to the deep sadness of the mycelium.
And within her tired whisper — “Enough. Enough.” — there were empty spaces waiting for new possibilities and new connections.
Then a squirrel was storing a nut for the next winter, holding space for the future.
She was not alone.
by Ilaria Olimpico
Despite everything around was collapsing, she felt the strength for going forth with courage and active hope.
Just a year previous she’d felt like she was lugging a weight behind her, heavy and solid it strained every step, and thwarted every effory. Even a little thing – preparing an evening meal, planning a trip to visit a friend – was weighty, a decision that quickly became burdened by the worry that she was part of the problem, and not enough of the solution. Anything could be a trigger – she’d see a dead tree and feel scared; at one point, Sylvia found herself on a family vacation, on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, only to find herself overcome with the worry that it, too, was under threat, and her being there was not helping.
It’s hard, now looking back to say what the turning point was, only that it was so necessary it was inevitable. At first, it was slow and deliberate, and maybe deliberately slow. She simply chose to press pause and to look for joy, which she found in all sorts of expected and unexpected places. Hope came in the form of a snail, sidling jauntily down her garden path at dusk, its tentacles outstretched assuredly in the chill air. It came in the shock and awe of plunging herself into the frigid Atlantic Ocean and, afterwards, allowing the beads of water to pour off her grateful body. It came suddenly at times, like during a rock concert, when she found herself in a throng of 80,000 swaying, singing strangers who, like her, probably also needed to pee but were too entranced to bother about such things.
Something happened that night. It felt as though the final piece of a puzzle fell into place, completing the whole, and that all that was needed was being fully present and open to life, to joy, to gratitude, and to our shared experience. Even in the face of collapse.
Sylvia started to remember and to feel the satisfaction that comes with living, fully, in the present moment. She felt a desperate need to run towards the future as never before. She felt it more than she had when ruminating over or worrying about that future. She fully understood, deep in her being, that living now, acting now is all that matters, and that the rest will have to take care of itself.
Anonymous
Seeing with New Ancient Eyes: A Dialogue Across Time and Being (27.08.2026)
We began the session by checking in through image and sound, followed by grounding practices to arrive fully into the space and into our bodies. The main practice invited us into a dialogue between two parts of ourselves. One part carried a worry, concern or problem, whether personal or political, that we may be holding in our lives. The other embodied the wisdom of our ancestors, a child from the future, and the more-than-human world: voices and perspectives that hold knowledge beyond our immediate experience. Through movement, we explored the dialogue between these parts, listening to what each had to offer and allowing different forms of wisdom, perspective and possibility to emerge. This became an embodied conversation across time, generations and species. We returned to the group to debrief and reflect on what had unfolded, allowing the experience to find expression through micro-poetry and shared witnessing.
27.08.2026
“I saw doubt and fear, and inability to stand up. I saw the love and the kind compassion of the entire universe in all her glory in me. I heard softness and assurance, a companion within. I heard the truth. I am a source, radiating from inside out.” – Arundhati Samudra
“I saw myself opening up letting grief and worry move. I heard my struggles and my wish to move past it. I am troubled.” – Dhwani Jain
“I saw a red thread, pure love, connecting me to the grandmothers – grandmother whale with deep ocean wisdom – to my own grandmother, now passed more 50 years ago – to me as a grandmother – to my future great, great grandchild. Love was the connection. I heard silence. I heard the wind whispering you are love, you mattered. I heard “I am here because of you”. I am – I don’t know what I am. I guess I am curious about the red thread, about my definition of impact, visibility, relevance. Imposed by the patriarchy, internalized into my body, an ageing woman, invisible, no longer relevant. What does it mean to be seen? and by whom? Ah there is so much here.” – Louise Pitre
“Saw a vast and empty desert, a silent and directionless wanderer. I heard ripples of water from far beneath the surface.. bubbling up from the sand to meet my tears. I am a vibrant stand of reeds growing at the water’s edge, woven by ancient hands into a future, subtle and green..” – Susan Lee
“I saw a giving up body, and the I heard ‘I hold you’. I am little, tired, down, but still held.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I saw opportunities, some taken others dismissed out of fear. I saw a longing to comprehend the obstacles created along the way. I heard a gentle voice saying: it’s been fear, all along, your own creation, part the veil and look into the other side. I am the fear, the excitement, the pull & push in the journey to return to just BE” – Elizete Alvez
Speaking Across Generations: Ancestors & Future Beings (06.08.2026)
In this session, we entered an embodied role-play in pairs, travelling across generations. One person took the role of an ancestor living in our present time, while the other became a child from a future generation, living in a world where humanity and the more-than-human world have found ways to thrive together. The child from the future asked the ancestor about what it was like to live on Earth in this moment in history, listening to the stories of hardship, uncertainty, struggle, hope and possibility. This exchange invited us to hold the full complexity of our present moment while imagining what might become possible when we act with care for generations yet to come. We returned to the circle and moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from this encounter across time and from the questions, emotions and possibilities it opened within us.
06.08.2026
“What about our challenges, that sometimes is messier than the mess we’ve witnessed before? When one moment of darkness is only replaced by a darker one? What about my strength, the willingness and capacity to meet the darkness yet all over again, greet her like a long lost friend and move together & forward all over again; the strength emerging from a tiny light from within my body. What about a future, a dream that sustains us all, the blue hummingbird and the young little child who doesn’t know at all what it means to not-love.” – Arundhati Samudra
“The walls are crumbling , falling away. what we thought once was we now see as illusion. We fear and wonder where to turn. We remember our inner worlds, our hearts and minds. Seeing and feeling our way, noticing, seeking, listening and finding. Our future depends on building connections not on re-building the walls. We will share visions that resonate with care, respect complexity. We no longer wall ourselves off, or capture others —or life itself—within walls.” – Susan Lee
“Our biggest challenge is to keep believing that we shall overcome, that this is time for a great turning. Our strengths are in the sense of awe for the little miracles still happening and the hope of keeping doing the smallest acts of care and kindness. Our future is calling us not to give up with an innocent smile of a child in a grandmother wrinkled face.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“Our biggest challenge is the powers that be, trying to divide humanity through fear, isolation, poisoning our waters and land. We’re becoming sick, physically and emotionally, without even knowing that it’s happening. Our strength is waking up to our inner power and to community. Our future lies in being in community, discovering who we are, exchanging our gifts and bringing back health to ourselves and to the land” – Elizete Alvez
Seeing with New Ancient Eyes: A Council of All Beings(23.07.2026)
In this session of Rhythms of Care, we continued our journey through Seeing with New Ancient Eyes by deepening our relationship with the more-than-human beings we had chosen in the previous gathering. We began with grounding breathwork, arriving into the presence of our more-than-human companions before entering a movement exploration. Through movement, we first encountered our chosen beings as a duet, gradually allowing the boundaries between ourselves and the more-than-human to soften until we moved as one. Together, these embodied explorations unfolded as a Council of All Beings—a space to listen, relate and experience the world through perspectives beyond the human. By stepping into these beings, we were invited to cultivate empathy, kinship and a deeper sense of belonging within the wider community of life. From this shared experience, we moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from the wisdom, sensations and insights that had been embodied. We concluded the session by sharing our poetry and witnessing one another’s unique encounters with the living world.
23.07.2026
“I am a big old oak tree. What I need humans to know is that you can rise without destroying each other. What gives me joy is the sunlight shining on my leaves, arms and trunk and my roots growing deep in the earth. What I fear is being axed down. What I ask you is to breathe deeply, to play in the sun and rest in the shade.” – Arundhati Samudra
“I am Rain, surrendering and falling as Grace. I need humans to understand our interdependence, that we need one another because we are one another. What gives me joy is to be part of the dance, seen and known. What I fear is hearts that become dried up by greed and fear. What I ask of you is to remember to connect with the source that you already are.” – Susan Lee
“I am holding the wisdoms of the worlds. what I need humans to know is ‘you are it’. what gives me joy is being space. what I fear is fade in time. what I ask of you is breathe love” – Sonja Hellman
“I am a mother wolf. What I need humans to know is they are not superior, not separated, not so much different from us. We are the same. What gives me joy is the mountain, the fresh air and the smell of the forest changing in each season, the solitude and the talking with the moon. What I fear is the end of hope, the lack of sense, and the spread of hate. What I ask you is stay simple, enjoy the essential, com e back to Life. Honor Life.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I am Horsetail, a blessing of healing to the land and to humans. What I need Humans to know is to learn these gifts I carry. I’m rich in silica that strengthens your bones, heals your wound and infections, and I strengthen the soil too. What gives me joy is to rise to the surface to bathe in sunlight and feel he dew on my stems. What I fear is to be forgotten and be treated as a nuisance, a pest to be pulled out and get rid of. What I ask is that you take the time to know me and cherish the gifts I willingly bestow.” – Elizete Alvez
“I am out there pulsating a soft body in a broken ocean. Ethereal, delicate and fleeting. What I need humans to know is that I am not nothing. I have no mind to speak of . I am an aqueous sack but I have water spirit, I have moon spirit. I am moon jelly born of this earth as a being that looks like the moon fell from the sky made mushy on the way down. What gives me joy is light. We’re not do different you and I. What I fear is not death. For my life will soon be over. I fear that you’ll never see me. What I ask of you is to try to reserve judgement, and to know that mine was not a life of aimless drifting and that maybe I was here to remind you how fleeting and how precious it all feels sometimes.” – Anonymous
“I am ancient, flowing, vast, rivers held by earth, rolling waves, mother to whales, fish and pebbles. I am here to nourish the earth and all creatures. I can carry and cleanse memories and emotions and I invite you to flow with me. My joy is being filled by the glistening warmth of the sun, flowing freely in many forms shaping rivers, oceans and clouds. The smell of the earth when we meet. I fear pollution and disconnect, the forgetting of how precious everything is. I ask of you to remember me and come back into deeper connection. Honouring me in ways that are meaningful to you.” – Jodie Hansen
Seeing with New Ancient Eyes: Entering the More-than-Human World (09.07.2026)
In this session of Rhythms of Care, we began the third segment of the Work That Reconnects Spiral: Seeing with New Ancient Eyes. We opened with grounding breathwork, arriving into our bodies and cultivating presence before stepping into a different way of perceiving the world. Participants were invited to connect with an animal or another being from the more-than-human world that called to them. Through a process of creative mask-making, movement and sound, we began to embody the qualities, rhythms and wisdom of these beings, exploring what it might mean to experience the world through their eyes rather than our own. This practice invited us to loosen the boundaries of our human-centred perspective and deepen our relationship with the living world, opening ourselves to curiosity, imagination and kinship with the more-than-human community. From this embodied exploration, we moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from the experience before closing our gathering together. These masks will accompany us into our next session, where we will gather in the Council of All Beings and continue our journey of seeing with new ancient eyes.
09.07.2026
“I am in the magic forest, riding a white dear and all the animals around.” – Thea
“I am old, very old, I’ve been here since the dinosaurs time. I am strong resilient, I am a survivor. I feel misunderstood and neglected as I bring the energy & wisdom from forgotten times. I bring healing to the land and all beings” – Elizete Alvez
“I am an ancient wolf… I feel the forest all around, the smells, the fresh air… I bring the energy of the intentional solitude, the wisdom of the mountain, and the care for the puppies of all species” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I am flexible and strong. I feel the unity of elemental presence. The energy I bring in is the life force of creation.” – Susan Lee
“I am a big old grandpa oak tree. I feel deep joy in my belly, a satisfaction of life. The energy I bring in is being calm and centered.” – Arundhati Samudra
Honouring Our Pain: The Truth Mandala – Giving Voice to What We Carry (25.06.2026)
In this session of Rhythms of Care, we continued our journey through Honouring the Pain for the World by entering into the ritual space of the Truth Mandala from the Work That Reconnects Spiral. We began with movement and sound, allowing the body and voice to guide us into presence before entering the ritual. The Truth Mandala invited us to make space for the many emotions that arise when we turn towards suffering: grief, anger, fear, emptiness and the many expressions of pain we carry within ourselves and in response to the world around us. This was a practice of witnessing, recognising & honouring these emotions as expressions of our care and connection. Together, we created a sacred container where what is often difficult to hold could be acknowledged and shared. We then moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from the experience, and concluded our gathering with the Sanskrit shloka: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu (May all beings in all worlds be happy and free.) A prayer that carried us forward with the intention of transforming our awareness of pain into deeper compassion, connection and collective care.
25.06.2026
“My pain is alive and in motion. My medicine is to sing and dance it, to balance it. My prayer is that I remain open to what pain teaches and how it transforms me and also the world..” – Susan Lee
“My womb hurts. It pains me the disconnection I have, we have with the world. Not the world as we know it, but the world of nature that we truly are.
My medicine is my ability to feel, my pain and that of another
My prayer is hope, an intention that may all beings be deeply well, be happy, be free..” – Arundhati Samudra
“My pain is a pain for the future, a future crumbling in violence, death, despair, violence and lack of care for each other. My Medicine is sharing and making connections. Until the end. my Prayer is – when the energy of moral rage is down – may my prayer be enough.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“My pain is forgetting – forgetting who I am, forgetting what I have, forgetting my voice and agency. My medicine is grand-mother love, generously given. My prayer, I don’t know what my prayer is right now, a world that is just, a world that loves its children, human and non-human, a world that remembers love.” – Louise Pitre
“My pain seems ot surpass me, extended far beyond my being, it is in the heart, my own, and it is in the heart of everyone I know. My medicine unknown. My prayers, however, always leans in the direction of there being strength, abundant of it, love beyond measures and kindness, keeping the world alive.” – Dhwani Jain
Honouring Our Pain: Social Awareness & Embodied Justice (11.06.2026)
We began this segment by entering through a movement song, with “E Malama,” a Hawaiian Indigenous song that calls upon the sacredness of the Earth that holds and sustains us all. Through this invocation, we grounded ourselves in a relationship with the living world, remembering that our care, grief and responsibility emerge within a larger web of connection. This session of was dedicated to the phase of the Work that Reconnects Spiral ‘Honouring the Pain’, and specifically to Social Awareness. Inspired by the extension of the Spiral curated by Mutima Imani, we wanted to bring social awareness in the act and ritual of honouring our pain for the world, because everyone of us can feel the pain of the world, but each one is impacted by the structural violence in different ways, depending on social and economic status, geographical place ancestry history, race, sex and gender, and all this entangled in an intersectional, relational, and contextual, identity. While the capacity to feel pain for the world is universal, the burden of structural violence is not distributed equally. This lens of social justice makes our work about collective well-being a political work, a radical act of care grounded in social awareness. Embodiment prevents social awareness from becoming a purely intellectual or ideological exercise. This process was not about feeling victim-hood or a sense of guilt, but about being aware, through body’s sensations, of how we move in the world, with what kind of power, privilege or not privilege, and agency. We explore each one with her own body the question: Where in my body do I experience the impact of social & structural injustice & discrimination? After that, we came back together and shared some poetry making sense of that experience.
11.06.2026
“I felt a foundation of power, so deep and strong and a shame so dark and covered up. The roots of these injustices from the generations before me.I discover responsibility. Now, it is up to me to work with what I have: both the privilege and the pain. I move into the world with hope and some shivers. A readiness to let go. A desire to be.” – Arundhati Samudra
“I felt stuck, found myself slipping into this gunk. Until I discovered, there there is a lesson in befriending, acceptance. I move into the world carrying a little more courage to keep exploring the gift, in the present.” – Dhwani Jain
“I felt a sense of immense dignity re-owned as woman. I felt a layer of shame on my skin and the need to offer it to transform it. I felt a sense of privileged safety on my back and a sense of shared uncertitude for the future. I move into the world with my feet on the ground and my hands open to allyships.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“_I felt… alone. Taking loads of work, stuck straight, Armes up, stretched, seen by noOne, honoring all what others do _I discovered… there’s no I to complain. (But still there’s a body & family with needs ) _I move into the world… all-one” – Sonja Hellman
“I felt annoyance, irritation, and fight energy, a desire to get rid of the patriarchy, and then I noticed a purple orchid growing in my garden – this originated from my grandmother’s garden – it might be about 50 years old; I discovered a bone deep longing for wholeness, truth. I discovered connection to my grandmothers. I move into the world with awareness. I move into the world with my power, my voice, my agency. I move into the world with grandmother love. From my heart to your heart.” – Louise Pitre
“I felt my power draining as I headed for the marketplace. I discovered the sacrifice, offered on a silver platter to the buying and selling of self and other. I move into the world connected in Light to a shared heart.” – Susan Lee
Moving with the Stuck: Witnessing, Embodying & Transforming (28.05.2026)
In this session, we continued our journey through the segment of Honouring Our Pain by entering the first part of the Stuck to Rainbow practice. In small groups, we created intimate spaces of witnessing and care, allowing ourselves to meet the places where we feel stuck, held or unable to move. Through the wisdom of the body, we explored what it means to give presence to these experiences — not by rushing to change them, but by listening, feeling and allowing them to be seen. Supported by the gentle witnessing of our group members, we moved with the stuck places, exploring the possibility of softening, shifting and opening towards a new experience or process. From this embodied exploration, we moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from the sensations, emotions and insights that arose. We closed with sharing, honouring the vulnerability and courage it takes to be witnessed and to witness others as we move through the many landscapes of being human.
“I saw myself uprooted, I felt an immense desire of belonging, I became a nest for others..” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I saw myself between worlds. I felt the story of fear I am telling myself. I became willing to release it, to move moment to moment with presence” – Susan Lee
“I saw connections, roots, ties, that lay common for us all. I felt like I am in the tide, whirpooling somewhere alone, before i got hit by the after and I the became the tides, the knots, the ecosystem, that consists us all. – Dhwani Jain
“I saw scattered thoughts, things passing by – chaos. I felt held, but not confined. I became a tree, swaying in the breeze, rooted and tall and sure of everything without needing to know. Working with not against – the forces of nature. The forces that occupy my space. When I feel my soul is being scattered in the wind, I remember – I am rooted – and I am everything.” – Elicia Santa Maria
“I saw you growing happily and strong, looking for the sun in your tender leaves.I felt like running away, far far with a heavy heart, despondent, overwhelmed… I become rooted in your strength, in your resilience” – Elizete Alvez
“I saw the pain of one and the love of another. I felt myself drowning deeper in the darkness and then emerge with a force. I became love” – Arundhati Samudra
Entering the Waters of Honouring Our Pain: Being Accompanied by the More-than-Human World (14.05.2026)
As we entered the second segment of Rhythms of Care — Honouring Our Pain — we began by inviting a more-than-human companion to walk alongside us through this journey. Through connecting with an animal, element or presence from nature, we explored the possibility of being held and accompanied by the wider living world as we move towards places of grief, tenderness and vulnerability. Through movement, we entered into a deeper relationship with this companion, allowing its qualities, wisdom and presence to support our exploration of pain and care. This practice invited us to remember that our experiences are not held in isolation — that we are part of a larger web of life where support, resilience and healing can emerge through connection. From this embodied experience, we moved into micro-poetry, giving form and voice to what had surfaced through movement and reflection. We closed the session in circle, sharing our experiences and witnessing one another as we began this next chapter of the journey with openness, compassion and care.
14.05.2026
“What I saw was the sun in all it’s glory. The early morning sweet sunshine, the afternoon’s strong gaze and the breathtaking evening sunsets. I felt the madrugada and the dusk too, shimmering, transitioning, ever so briefly and beautifully so. I felt the sun blessing me, partnering with me, holding all of me..receiving me, encouraging me, and challenging me as and when I need what I do. I became the rays of the sun, a dance of gold. A warm glow of yellow, orange and red radiating from my skin, my cells and my entire being.” – Arundhati Samudra
“What I saw was a giant whale offering me to enter her body. What I felt was the sound of the underwater, the protection of the whale inside, the gentle and thick depth of the ocean. And this is what I became: a human-whale. I became the space of the giant whale body, held by the quiet and vast depth of the ocean.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“What I saw was bigger than I thought it would be – scurrying, hurrying, fighting – to come and find me. What felt was steady. A steady pace – lightness, joy. I felt scared, then we felt scared together. Until we enveloped ourselves together in our world. And still nothing felt the same. And so I became someone who steadily marches forward. Together in solidarity with my world and the world around me with my loyal companion at my back..” – Elicia Santa Maria
“What I saw was the dry grassland of the Himalayan mountain. Browns, greys, reds and yellows, a tiny bit of green and some mushroom growing close to the tree trunk.
What I felt was lost, not one of a kind, as I walked more, touching my feet on the ground, taking my hands through the trees, smelling the earth I felt drawn towards the connection and disconnection. Through the discomfort and struggle of finding the connection I became the tree that puts its energy towards growth of itself and others and stands tall against all the odds to provide for all that it surrounds” – Dhwani Jain
Dancing with Interconnectedness: Remembering the Web of Life (30.04.2026)
In our fourth gathering, we explored the interconnectedness of our beings — recognising that who we are is shaped not only by our inner worlds, but also by our relationships, communities, ecosystems and the wider web of life we are part of. Through movement, we danced with the many connections that sustain us — our individual selves, our social worlds, and our relationships with both human and more-than-human beings. This practice invited us to experience ourselves not as separate, but as deeply woven into a living network of belonging, care and reciprocity. From this embodied exploration, we moved into micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge as a reflection of our shared experience and the connections we had touched. We closed our final session in circle, sharing our reflections and honouring the journey we had travelled together — a journey of remembering, reconnecting and deepening our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.
“rock slides, ocean waves, gentle silent moss brothers and sisters to me Gaia’s children moving within” – Susan Lee
“Feeling the delicate, constant dance of myriads of fireflies inside of me. Being in a flow. Being a flow, a never-ending, self-generating, and re-generating flow. doing nothing from me, participating in a cosmic dance” – Ilaria Olimpico
“What about feeling the same life force that’s in me is in the mango tree before me? The sun rays that pierces through everything between me and the sun itself to reach my skin, the pores, that on my cat, as he moves, sprawls and stretches with me during this dance? What about just being? Suspended, a trillion million atoms and cells all co-existing together. I am them and they are me, and the ‘I’ suddenly loses all meaning and gains all too. Doing with a lightness, a surrender.. that blesses everything and everyone. Because what is you is what is me.” – Arundhati Samudra
“The dance begins before we see it – with the eyes, in the flesh. The dancer prepares with a breath – an invitation to all things. To dance. With her. The movement is laced with intricacies that the human eye cannot see – but she knows. Everything she comes in contact with is moving too. Just say hello and see what happens. Come alive with all that’s alive in you.” – Elicia Santa Maria
“What about feeling light, bright, zesty, excited… alive What about being here and now: aware, present, awake, moving, still. What about doing all of life in tender movement filled joy/sadness with love and care” – Elizete Alvez
“I stepped outside into the cool spring. Dots of yellows, reds, purples, orange sprinkled throughout my garden. My tulips. My favourite flower. Cedars standing tall along the fence. Birds in the cedars, blades of green grass growing. I walked through my house. I noticed every picture, each either rooted to the earth, to a place I had been, or to family, to love, to being alive and present. I found a big, heavy stone. Twenty-five years ago my daughter drew on this rock. there was the sun in the middle ,a big yellow blob, tulips, red and pink dancing around the sun, a layer of blue sky, a layer of green grass. Is this serendipidity? the image I saw outside etched into a stone, with crayons, 25 years ago, by my daughter. is this serendipidity? Or a deep knowing, a bone deep knowing. We are interconnected to the web of life.” – Louise Pitre
“What about feeling like I have the energy in me to create and to nurture the self, What about being soft, kind, gentle and hopeful for what i am and can be what about doing something that is intentional, with presence, inviting and extending gratitude for being as I please, what about finding my belonging with the earth and its offerings to keep moving on as a being” – Dhwani Jain
“What about feeling _ being_doing? …. What about feeling – when the builders on my roof start again—— What about feeling in the this web of life earth dance – trust you’re always there – to hold me – even if I’m not there – you hold me. …. feeling – connected. Being connected – mirrors -hard to write now with that builders- … being connected mirrored by all – feeling the pain of the world coming to my heard – being woven in all the threads of light(bright) an Dark(glowing) _ You nurture me — I’m never separated from the earth, from the children, from you people, from the builders —— arg—— and I’m not being my thoughts . Who am I to complain… doing breathing swinging with the earth – Sonja Hellman
Dancing with Ancestors: Receiving Their Wisdom (16.04.2026)
In our third gathering, we turned towards the presence of our ancestors and the many lineages of wisdom, resilience and stories that live within and around us. Through movement, we explored the possibility of connecting with those who came before us — receiving their guidance, acknowledging their journeys and honouring the threads that have brought us to where we are today. Through dancing with our ancestors, we created space to listen beyond words, allowing the body to become a place of remembrance and relationship. We invited the wisdom of our lineages to move through us, holding both the gifts and complexities that come with what we inherit. From this embodied experience, we moved into micro-poetry, offering words to the sensations, memories and insights that arose. We closed in circle, sharing reflections and witnessing the ways ancestral connection can deepen our sense of belonging, continuity and care.
16.04.2026
“I felt in peace, I felt loved, I felt worthy enough
I felt overwhelmed 🌺 I saw my bibi means grandmother ✨ I am happy and content” – Anupam Thakur
“I saw water, wind, sky. I felt them moving through me, as me. I am a large bird soaring and returning to Earth” – Susan Lee
“I saw the sun shine brightly, and the winds grow stronger.
I felt pain and relief, pin and needles and a flow. I am the beginning and an end, a spiral, turning round and round, I am here to just be” – Arundhati Samudra
“In distance, human ancestors in need to be forgiven, in depth my animal ancestors, the wise and giant turtle, the delicate deer, and the lonely and caring wolf. May human ancestors leave in forgiveness, may I live in freedom. I am free” – Ilaria Olimpico
“My body wanted to b eon the floor, my hands and legs widely stretched out and I saw how it was begging for rest. I felt the noise in my head grow lounger and lounger, areas of concerns surfacing. I found myself fighting these voices away to give myself a break. Overworked, overloaded mentally. I am disconnected from the greater energies that are present” – Dhwani Jain
“In distance, human ancestors in need to be forgiven, in depth my animal ancestors, the wise and giant turtle, the delicate deer, and the lonely and caring wolf. May human ancestors leave in forgiveness, may I live in freedom. I am free” – Elizete Alvez
“I saw everything. Eyes open, they said – see what you have created with what you’ve been given. What we have given you. I felt my soul moving towards the light, the warmth. That’s how you know, they said – Find your way to the warmth and you will know. I am ready to close my eyes again and believe – all of life is dancing with itself, with each other. A rhythm and still, I am..” – Elicia Santa Maria
“I saw the kitchen of my Granny’s – the time my father was a kid. I felt the empty Space of grandPa in war. I saw darkness looking for deeper, younger. I felt the call… I followed the call… I felt the drum…. I felt the dance…. I am backed up (I felt Layne & Gabrielle). Backed up to share. I am on my way. I am supported” – Sonja Hellman
“I saw the beam of light open up into a flower, climbed up the ladder and sat on the ledge of the flower’s petal, still, watched. I sat with my sister and grand-mother. We went back down to the centre. I hugged the tiger, and wept. My sister and grand-mother sitting on the back of the together; a majestic dragon showed up, he was there to protect us. Mary Magdalene the dark goddess, holding all of us in her embrace. I felt joy, at seeing them, a sense of delight, and then pain. I am them. They are me.” – Louise Pitre
Who Am I? : Dancing with Identity, Roles & the Ecological Self (02.04.2026)
In our second gathering, we explored the question “Who am I?” — gently unfolding the many layers through which we experience and express ourselves. Through movement, we danced with the social markers, identities and roles we carry, bringing awareness to the ways we are shaped by our relationships, experiences and the worlds around us. As we moved beyond these visible and familiar parts of ourselves, we opened into the possibility of a wider sense of self — the ecological self — remembering our deep belonging and connection with the more-than-human world. Through embodied exploration, we invited a shift from seeing ourselves as separate individuals towards recognising ourselves as part of a larger web of life.From movement, we transitioned into micro-poetry, allowing insights, emotions and reflections to find their own unique expression through words. We closed the session in circle, sharing our experiences and witnessing the many ways each of us encountered and expanded our understanding of self.
“I see – closed eyes – first nothing… then my broken bed (I’m not my broken) with a little freshly cleaned space (I’m on my way). I feel touched, sad, tired, … and good, ok, whole … and a hotflash 😀 I discovered – I am not my thoughts, not my work … I am artist mother dancer… I am Multiversum and I am not” – Sonja Hellman
“I saw a goddess here to bless the earth, a spider weaving her web of creative life, a wild river trembling as she becomes a waterfall. I felt a million different cells in me, the magic of life, pure untainted Alchemy. I discovered that I am more than just human. That a mango tree lives in my womb, the skies in my eyes, a bear curled up in my heart, there is red sand in my blood. I discovered that I am everything and nothing, all at once.” – Arundhati Samudra
“Many layers going down. A big heart opens her arms. What it stays is a tiny gentle grounded blade of grass.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“An Archway, a portal, a doorway to walk through. A rose, a tunnel, an opening to unfurl. A juniper branch, in darkness, she is there, still. -A vein that moves everything, where is needs to go. I am a portal, a tunnel, a darkness. A doorway, a rose a branch. I am the on that makes everything move.” – Elicia Santa Maria
Gratitude: Arriving Through Breath, Movement & Presence (19.03.2026)
We began our journey by arriving into the present moment through the simple yet profound practice of connecting with the breath. Through breath awareness, we created space to slow down, listen inwardly and gently meet ourselves exactly as we were. Moving into “Dancing with All Your Parts,” we explored the many expressions, emotions and aspects of ourselves through embodied movement. This practice invited us to relate with curiosity and compassion to the different parts we carry — creating space for acceptance, playfulness and deeper self-connection.From this movement, we flowed into the practice of micro-poetry, allowing words to emerge from the body and the experience we had just moved through. Through these small moments of creative expression, we witnessed how movement, feeling and reflection can come together as a form of remembering.We closed our first gathering in circle, sharing reflections and witnessing one another as we began to build the foundation of connection, trust and care that would carry us through the journey ahead.
“I felt a disconnection, between me and the earth…a deep desire to connect to be accepted. I saw all the parts of me, valuable at some time in the past, but not so relevant anymore. I am the soles of my feet that touch the earth. I am the acceptance of all parts of me..” – Arundhati Samudra
“I felt long held tensions reaching out, coiling in. I swathe push and pull of old and new. I am wondering about it all” – Susan Lee
“I feel/felt – heartache, – ok – support from Nature(Tree, Ground) – a little distructed. I saw/see : – Magnolia blossoms in Sun 6 Shades…. Moving together…. And being still together. I am – here, – ok” – Sonja Hellman
“I felt constricted and my body felt angry that it felt confined and had to be a certain way. I started to hear a beat in my head and my body began to feel more alive. I feel, I saw, I see. I feel, I saw, I see. I feel, I saw, I see. I am, I am…I’m free..” – Elicia Santa Maria
“I feel cold and out there… I see the sun shinning outside.. I am here, sleepy” – Elizete Alves
“I am a turtle, my shell flipped, laying on my back, mother earth holding me. I feel strong and balanced. I am a tigress. I am watching. I am ready.” – Louise Pitre
“I felt a precious and fragile web of connection almost intangible but so present. I saw the underworld, under earth, black but a good black, a shelter from the war just above. I saw myriads of tender white and beige roots, connected. I am tending, I am waiting the time it will be so clear to everyone what I saw, what I felt. I am we are.” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I felt overwhelmed today. I felt myself at peace. Just going with the flow wherever it takes.” – Anupam Thakur
“I felt ease, letting myself rest. I saw a pause rise within me while the legs are heavy and refuse to feel lighter and I also see the tension in my right shoulder more gently. As I experience this time I shared with myself I am now resting” – Dhwani Jain
My parts dance by Louise Pitre
aczxc
slow, and steady
parts of me,
show up
find a beat
and
dance.
I am the turtle, flipped on its back, mother earth holding me.
I feel strong and balanced.
I see the sky.
I am a tigress quietly waiting.
I feel the fire in my belly.
I see you.
I am the robin, preparing my nest for new birth.
I feel the call of spring.
I see hope.
I am a dancer.
I feel the rhythm of my soul.
I see possibility.
parts of me
show up
slow and steady
find a beat
and dance.
I wonder
what are they up to?
12.03.2026
“I see myself rocking, cradling and lulling myself, I feel my womb regenerating tirelessly, me and you hold my the Earth, I am we are” – Ilaria Olimpico
“I see a heaviness trying to find its way home. I feel a balance with my feet, in connection with the earth as she accepts this heaviness from my body and leaves me lighter. I am a channel..a grateful one” – Arundhati Samudra
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