About the series:
Come together this Imbolc for a weekly winter ritual which combines tools from tantric yoga and collaborative vocal improvisation to nurture collective rest, deepen connections and unleash your voice through the healing vibrations of community singing. This six-week intuitive singing series will be guided by cacao’s heart-opening properties, helping us cultivate a loving relationship with ourselves and others as we nurture our creative expression and sing our way towards the spring.
Each week will begin with a short playful movement practice designed to cultivate spaciousness, mobility, strength, and alignment in the body. These free-form practices are rooted in tantric-hatha yoga and are designed to prepare our bodies to become clear and balanced instruments for sound. We will ground ourselves in our bodies and enhance our awareness of our unique physical, and emotional landscapes.
Each week we will gather to share some ceremonial cacao made and traded by Strouds Very own CocoCaravan and engage in guided nidra, vocal resonance-based meditations and practices from collaborative vocal improvisation, to help us activate and free the voice. We’ll use our voices to improvise, express ourselves, self-soothe, and heal. If the voice has been restricted in any way, we will lovingly encourage it out together.
Much of the power of ritual is held in the safety and depth that can be created in creating a regular and repeated practice. By gathering together in an intimate group like this over time we will experience the healing potency of ritualised singing. Each session will draw on a different theme and focus on different vocal practices for finding our authentic expression and freeing the voice. We may learn one or two short songs but focus on creating improvised songs, from the heart.
Who is the workshop for?
This workshop series is open to everyone interested in exploring the nourishment, inspiration, and creativity encouraged by this restful time of year, through cultivating vocal expression. Aspects from animist earth-based spirituality underpin my teachings which welcome all spiritual and non-spiritual diversity. No prior singing experience is necessary.
About the facilitator:
I am a folk singer, intuitive voice work practitioner, and Tantric, trauma-informed yoga teacher with experience facilitating embodied nature connection experiences. I have a deep curiosity about the links between trauma, embodiment, vocal expression and the human capacity for living authentically. Inspired by my mother’s professional work and my off-grid childhood in rural Portugal and later Devon, I spent my early life immersed in singing and nature and developed a deep life-long earth-based intuitive singing practice which continues to inform my work today.
A life-threatening accident during my teenage years, led me to discover tools from Yoga which aided my physical, spiritual, and emotional recovery. I embarked on a year-long training in Krama Vinyasa Tantra at Yoga Sara in Bristol and pursued trauma-informed yoga training through the Yoga Roots project. For the last three years, I have been lucky enough to study Collaborative Vocal Improvisation with Briony Greenhill and am currently completing her practitioner training.
My passion for teaching comes from the desire to help others become more present and grounded in themselves so that they can unlock their authentic voice. I have been influenced by my studies in collaborative vocal improvisation, embodied singing, somatics, earth-based animism, nature connection and trauma-informed practices. I am grateful to have learned from inspiring teachers who’s work underpins my teaching.
Practical information
Dates:
Tuesday 4th February
Tuesday 11th February
Tuesday 18th February
Tuesday 25th Febuary
Times
7 - 9 pm
Where?
Coco Caravan, 2 Bedford St, Stroud GL5 1AY
Cost: £60 Low Income or £80 for four weeks (£15 - 20 per session). This includes the cost of the cacao.
If cost is a Barrier, please contact Brigite
Bookings
Please RSVP and I’ll get back to you with booking information.