Welcoming Change: Somatic Support During Hard Times

We hope you will join us for Welcoming Change, amidst a season of profound collective change this January. At elemental, we believe that true wellness begins with repairing our disconnection from our authentic selves and Nature. Although we will be indoors for our practice, Nature is always around and in us.

The day of practice will start with connecting to our senses while we move our bodies. Our modern world breeds disconnection from our bodies, which can make change even harder to integrate. Rooted in yoga, the supportive movement practice is intended to release tension and bring you into presence in your body. After moving, we will transition to stillness for a yoga nidra (guided meditation) practice. We will be building yoga nidra nests of blankets and bolsters to support your body best. While there will be blankets and bolsters at the studio (enough for everyone to have one each), we encourage you to bring lots of cozy blankets, pillows, and cushions to optimize your comfort.

What is yoga nidra? It is a practice sometimes translated as “yogic sleep.” This process is a deep meditation where the body is meant to rest as though you’re asleep, while your brain stays aware. The practice is structured to bring your brain into theta brainwaves (a hypnagogic state), where your subconscious and limiting beliefs live. Our theme is Deep Rest, so the yoga nidra will reflect this theme of the wisdom of rest and beauty of slowness (quite contrary to our societal pace). It’s common for people to fall asleep during the practice, even when setting the intention to stay awake. We are not at all offended if you fall asleep, we value rest! But if you start to snore, we will gently wake you so you don’t impact the experience of everyone around you.

We will close the day and encourage you to plan a quiet evening after. A warm nourishing meal at home, a warm shower or bath (LA water quality allowing), and an early bedtime is ideal.

We encourage you to leave behind clock time. We will keep clock time for you as we facilitate, but we also want wiggle room to adapt to the needs of the group day-of. Because of this, we may end later than 5pm, but no later than 5:30pm. Please plan accordingly.

To honor the container, we will be locking the doors at 3:05. No exceptions. Plan to arrive as early as 2:45pm to get settled and account for traffic.

cover photo by melodee solomon

Host or Publisher Elemental