Mary and Suzie have created this revitalizing event that we are both very excited to invite you to - interweaving movement and art so you can take a deep dive into your inner world at The Yoga Lounge in Clarinbridge, Co Galway. We are going to relax deeply in our bodies and take time and space to listen and express what emerges from this deep space, allowing ourselves experience self expression and self discovery through expressive art and yoga.
Suzie will guide you in the morning with yogic, somatic body movement, breathwork and relaxation - spiralling inwards with intention. In the afternoon we will continue from this inner space to play and experiment with a range of art materials, with some guidance initially from Mary and create expressive drawings and paintings following our own inner voice.
The journey of any yoga practice is to move from the surface to the depths of being, the journey of expressive art is to bring this inner journey outwards into expression so we can make meaning of it and grow as a person. Its a day without too many words - working with the body and art.
Myself and Mary will guide you with our combined expertise to express yourself in a way you may never have done before. We also aim for it to be a truly enjoyable, transformative and fun experience. You don’t need to learn anything new for this workshop as you know it already - it is a natural expression of who you are. The response from our previous workshop was that this was a wonderful day of growth and personal releases were experienced.
Through connecting deeply with our bodies we can access an intuitive knowledge, an intelligence behind the thinking mind, through following instinctual mark making, we can externalise with a visual image some of this deep inner knowing.
Why would you come to this workshop? By moving and relaxing our body in many different ways we create a portal that lets us access our own depths. Intuitive expressive painting leads us to experience connection, self-knowledge and freedom. To be creative is to experience being fully alive, to get to know ourselves at a deeper level, to experience something new and move beyond self limiting beliefs, to play and have fun. You will have an experience of wonder looking at an image created by you but previously unknown. Engaging in the process is a present moment experience of discovery, and a revisit to the wonder of a child’s eye.
Something about Mary ? Mary retired from a career as a Special Education Teacher to pursue her life-long interest in art. Following a study of the Principles of Art Therapy in Crawford College of Art, Mary continues to explore creativity through courses on Process Painting, Expressive Painting, and her own work. (She is a firm believer in the power and potential of the creative process and is enthusiastic about making this experience available to all who “can’t draw a straight line”… but want to!)
To read more about Suzie you can click here
Schedule of the Workshop
10:00 - 12:30 am - With Suzie - we will begin with some simple breath awareness and move into some body awareness somatic practices. Then we will move into some archetypal yoga poses - nothing too strenuous and no experience or flexibility required. By getting quiet we will allow the body to communicate back to us in a deep somatic experience. We will get deeply grounded and then do some restorative poses.
12:30 to 14:00 - Lunch - we will go to Poppy Seed in Clarinbridge for lunch - I love the coffee there - if you prefer you can bring a lunch and get a coffee at the health shop around the corner. If you prefer to have your own lunch elsewhere this is perfectly fine. We might have time for a little walk in Kilcornan woods across the road.
14:00 - 17:00 With Mary - we will continue to explore and play with a range of art materials and techniques - draw with eyes closed, using 2 hands, and express our inner world with paint and a range of mark making tools, the goal being to express-not impress, from a place deep inside. We will develop your doodle and paint for pleasure. Everyone is creative, it’s part of being human, and the freedom and joy of exploring and making your own unique marks is something that years of conditioned adult thinking has removed from us.
I literally have shivers just writing up this intro. Its so wonderful when you feel this feeling of deep inspiration . It’s about so much more than yoga or painting - its about self expression and liberation.
The Cost of the Workshop is 100 euros plus vat @ 13.5% - please click on the link below to sign up. Please read the terms and conditions before signing up. All the art work above is by Mary Harrison from expressive art sessions she has done. You do need to be able to get up and down from the floor to do this workshop. Please bring a warm blanket. Wear clothes you can get paint on - you can change no problem. No previous art or yoga experience necessary at all.
