Animova - Movement Exploration

anima · soul, breath, inner life
move · motion, change, being moved

Animova means to move from what is alive within you.

Animova is a monthly therapeutic movement gathering for exploring your relationship with your body, your inner world and the living world through music and movement.

Rather than learning choreography, following steps or dancing for an audience, Animova begins with slowing down enough to notice.

A change in breath. Tension somewhere in the body. An impulse to stretch, turn away, take up space or become smaller. An emotion that wants attention. An expectation about what your movement should look like.

From there, we listen and choose how we want to respond.

Sometimes that means moving freely and expressively. Sometimes it means meeting discomfort, vulnerability, pleasure, grief or something difficult to name. Sometimes it means repeating one tiny movement, resting or becoming completely still.

More movement is not necessarily better. Stillness is part of the practice.

Animova invites you to meet yourself wherever you are, rather than trying to get somewhere else.

Notice. Listen. Choose. Move. Notice again.

Our first Animova explores Spirit · Presence · Self.

Before moving into the elements, light, shadow and other territories in the months ahead, we begin with ourselves.

What does it feel like to inhabit your body as it is today?

What expectations do you carry about how your body should move?

What happens when nobody is asking you to move correctly?

Through music, reflection and gentle invitations, we’ll become curious about the difference between what we think we should be doing and what our bodies are actually communicating.

There is no right way to do Animova.

Stretch. Sway. Shake. Tap. Twist. Move wildly. Move delicately. Lie down. Curl up. Become still. Pause. Start again.

The exploration belongs to you.

We begin slowly with grounding, body awareness, journalling and an introduction to the month’s theme.

Then the music begins.

The musical arc starts meditatively, gradually becomes more lively and eventually settles again. Along the way, you’ll receive occasional prompts for attention, imagination, somatic exploration and movement.

These are invitations, not instructions. You decide how you respond.

The music might invite something big while your body wants something small. A song might bring up joy, resistance, awkwardness or emotion. You might notice yourself becoming self-conscious or wondering what everyone else is doing.

All of this can become part of the practice.

Rather than automatically following what is happening outside of you, Animova encourages you to pause, notice and ask:

What does my body actually want to do?

During the movement portion, conversation is paused and we minimize watching one another so that the exploration can remain primarily inward rather than social or performative.

As the music settles, we return to stillness with a guided closing practice. Afterwards, there is time for journalling, tea and optional therapeutic conversation and integration.

Our relationship with the body can hold pleasure, expression and vitality, as well as pain, discomfort, self-consciousness, vulnerability and disconnection.

We may also carry expectations about how our bodies should look, feel or move. In lives increasingly shaped by screens, schedules, productivity and demands on our attention, it can become easy to experience the body as something to manage rather than something to inhabit and listen to.

Animova creates intentional space to practise a different kind of attention.

Movement offers another language for experiences that can sometimes be difficult to reach through conversation alone. We can notice sensations, emotions, boundaries, instincts and habitual patterns, and become curious about how we want to meet them.

The response does not need to be dramatic. It might be movement, breath, sound, rest or simply noticing.

Physical pain is never something you are expected to push through. Participants are encouraged to listen, adapt and honour their limits.

The practice is not about forcing expression or release. It is about developing enough attention to notice what is present, and enough agency to choose how you want to respond.

Animova is grounded in an animist understanding of embodiment: that human bodies do not exist separately from the world around us.

We are bodies among other bodies, continually in relationship with place, season, weather, other beings and the elemental conditions that sustain life.

Learning to notice ourselves can also become practice for noticing what exists beyond ourselves.

As we become more attentive to our own sensations, boundaries, instincts and rhythms, we can practise bringing that same quality of attention to the boundaries, rhythms and lives around us.

Throughout the year, Animova explores these relationships through themes including the elements, light and shadow, emotion, instinct, creativity, life, death and spirit.

What might change if we practised moving in relationship with the living world, rather than simply through it?

Animova is a small-group, sober, phone and photo-free therapeutic movement practice.

Freedom of movement exists alongside awareness of ourselves and others. Participants are encouraged to honour their physical and emotional limits, respect the boundaries of others and remain aware of the shared space around them.

There are no steps to keep up with, no expectation to move intensely and nothing you need to make your movement look like.

No previous dance or movement experience is needed.

You are welcome, especially if you have always thought:

“I don’t dance.”

Wear something you can move, sit and rest comfortably in, and perhaps something that delights you and helps you feel like yourself. Bring a water bottle and, if you’d like, your own journal. Journalling materials are also provided.

Animova was created and is facilitated by Chauntell Dietrich / D’Yana Rey Waroway, Registered Social Worker, Animist Minister, artist and lifelong intuitive mover.

Her work brings together trauma-informed social work, embodiment, creativity, spirituality and animist practice.

Movement has been part of Chauntell’s life since childhood, although structured approaches to dance never quite fit. Her body naturally wanted to improvise and find its own way of moving. Over time, movement became a personal practice for connecting with the body, processing emotion, relating with the living world and expressing experiences that words do not always reach.

Animova grew from bringing this lifelong relationship with movement together with her professional therapeutic practice.

We don’t necessarily need to be taught how to dance. Sometimes we need the space and permission to discover how we move.

If something arises during Animova that you would like additional therapeutic support exploring, individual sessions with Chauntell are available at a reduced rate for participants.

If the standard rate is a financial barrier, please reach out for an accessibility discount code. No explanation is required.

As Animova is facilitated as a therapeutic group by a Registered Social Worker, Social Work benefits may be used where eligible under your individual insurance plan. Please confirm coverage with your benefits provider if you intend to submit your receipt.

Small therapeutic group · Limited spaces · Registration required

Earth in Sky · House of Elemental Care
497 Main St E · Hamilton, Ontario

Earth in Sky is a therapeutic, spiritual and creative gathering space. It is a sober, consent-centred environment held with attention to choice, personal boundaries and different ways of participating.

Different identities, abilities, neurotypes, spiritual traditions and ways of being are welcome. If you have questions about accessibility, sensory needs or accommodations, please reach out before attending.

A small parking lot is available beside the building, with free street parking throughout the surrounding neighbourhood. Please give yourself a little extra time to park, arrive and settle before we begin.