Relational Body ~ 6-Week Somatic Cohort

Name: Relational Body ~ 6-Week Somatic Cohort
Start: 2025-04-09T17:45:00-07:00
End: 2025-04-09T20:45:00-07:00
Location: North Coast Seed Bldg Artist Studios

Schedule

Wed Apr 09 2025 at 05:45 pm to 08:45 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

North Coast Seed Bldg Artist Studios | Portland, OR

Relational Body: 6-Week Somatic Cohort
Welcome.
This series acknowledges the vast complexity of human contact, supporting a foundation of being at home in ourselves. It is a space to play in and acclimate our bodies and nervous systems to physical proximity and touch at the pace of our awareness. In a non-conceptual, sensory-based way, we examine and play with how we "do relationships" and begin to relax the patterns we have inherited through conditioning, power, oppression and life experience. The series applies a deeply embodied, relational, curiosity-driven and strength-based model of being to build greater resilience, intimacy and a liberatory group culture.

6-Week Series: April 9 - May 21 (except May 7)
Wednesdays, 5:45-7:30 PM
2127 N Albina Ave, Studio #211

In our time together we will engage in:
~ Subtle sensing and resourcing practices
~ Movement and play
~ Nervous system awareness
~ Physical contact with intention
To do the following:
~ Build embodied resilience & relational awareness
~ Notice how we approach, avoid, brace, yield, and grasp for control
~ Grow our capacity for intimacy & 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 expanding 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. 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
~ 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 2 classes, but you must commit to attending the first two sessions to help establish a strong container for our work together.
Registration
TO APPLY, please email [email protected] to receive the intake form. Once I receive your completed form, I will follow up with you. 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-$360 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; physical intimacy; bodywork; herds/schools/flocks/packs of animals; death practice, grief work, tensegrity and water.