April 29-May 3, 2024
Gestalt Practice & Principles: Cultivating Embodied Wholeness in Daily Life: Open for Registration
Esalen Institute
Steven Harper & Friends
Gestalt Practice at its core is an awareness practice in which we cultivate embodied, present-moment awareness of the unfolding experience of the here and now on a journey toward authentic growth, wholeness, and aliveness.
Drawing from the foundations of Gestalt Practice, wisdom traditions, and contemporary approaches that cultivate awareness we learn practices that support a more deeply embodied daily life and become increasingly aware of our habitual, reactive, behavioral and emotional patterns – especially those that may no longer be skillful.
We will exercise our emotional and somatic intelligence in parallel to support, respect, and gently turn toward what arises moment to moment, and learn to allow more space and appreciation for silence, sensation, emotional expression, and communication.
During this workshop we will explore the rich practices and principles of Gestalt Practice, apply them to everyday life, and begin to experience the simple yet profound potential for showing up more fully and authentically for the daily presentations of living an awake life.
Gestalt Practice cultivates curiosity, equanimity, and acceptance with greater choice for creative possibilities. Rather than focusing on fixing or achievement this approach offers methods to encourage us in:
- Cultivating awareness and embodied presence;
- Growing responsiveness, resilience, and choice;
- Trusting in your organism’s inherent capacity for self-regulation and co-regulation.
Together we explore the elements of this approach primarily through experiential personal practices, interactive exercises, and Gestalt Awareness Movement. Practices and exercises will be done solo, in pairs, triads, and groups, allowing participants to grow their awareness and learn how we can deepen our relationships – to self and others.
Steven will offer time for some participants to experience classic Open Seat practice in one-to-one sessions with the leader in the roles of Initiator and Reflector while in the context of the group. In support of enriching our understanding we touch upon the rich history, theory and, neuroscience that supports this approach.
Through Gestalt Practice we bear witness to ineffable mysteries that can bring us to living life more fully. Participants are invited to show up, choosing to be present, pay attention to what has heart and meaning, and open to what life presents — letting life live through us.
The workshop is appropriate for all levels of experience with the understanding that participants are exploring in a model of an awareness gym or lab — not a therapy. A welcome letter will be sent upon registration along with additional information about our time together.
Register Now
McWay Falls in Saddle Rock Cove in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park