Following the Creative Breath
A two part somatic writing series in Portland, Maine.
Session I: Exhalation January 6th - February 10th
Session II: Inhalation February 24th - March 24th
Your breath holds a creative blueprint for navigating these wild times.
With each inhalation and exhalation, you move between cycles of rest and movement, stillness and ignition. If we want to develop our embodied creative lives without falling into stasis or burnout, we’ll need to follow the creative wisdom of breath.
In deep winter, we practice turning inward and resting. In early spring, we listen for the whispers of nascent movement.
Taken together, practicing these simple, potent dynamics through somatic writing fortifies our joy, our capacity, and our range.
Session I: Exhalation January 6th - February 10th
Session II: Inhalation February 24th - March 24th
Monday evenings, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m, Good Medicine Collective in Portland, Maine.
Join us for Following the Creative Breath, an immersive, two-part series in creative embodied practice through somatic writing. Over each 5-week session, we’ll combine gentle movement and breath exercises with writing prompts and (optional) sharing in a small-group setting to tend to your creativity, your voice, and your inner unfolding. Explore what happens in your writing when you invite your whole self into the room.
In the spirit of breath and the season, we’ll explore practice in two parts. You’re welcome to register for one or both:
In Session I: Exhalation, we practice embodied writing in the key of deep winter. Here we invite practices that support going inward, rest, and tending the inner sanctum. We listen for the richness inside dynamic stillness.
In Session II: Inhalation, we play in the subtle energetics of earliest spring, listening for the nascent movement that comes from readiness, resource, and authenticity. What does unfurling look like when it’s expressed from inner trust and organic ignition?
Throughout, we’ll bring playfulness, curiosity, and deep creativity to our explorations. We let our breath and body guide our writing, discovering new connections, and making space for intuition, mystery, and creative impulse.
“Body work is soul work, the imagination is the bridge.”
The course is for those who:
Want to step more fully into their lives and bodies
Appreciate spacious witness and collective support
Seek support and tools for tending their nervous systems
Are interested in inhabiting their creativity with more self-trust and ease
Want to commit more fully to their own creativity, embodiment, and inner rhythms
Building a Creative Embodied Life supports you to:
Strengthen your voice & writing in a community of care & gentleness
Develop creativity and embodiment practices
Discover new portals for listening to your inner knowing
Become more familiar with your own rhythms & resources
Connect to your own creativity, intuition, & even joy
Learn body-specific exercises to unwind your own stuck places
Deepen your writing practice towards an easier, more authentic voice
Our beautiful meeting space at Good Medicine Collective.
Following the Creative Breath includes:
Weekly Embodied Writing classes: In depth exercises and evocative writing prompts along with (optional) sharing in the context of a small, supportive group
Gentle, guided movement and breath exercises from a bodyworker with deep experience in anatomy, myofascial technique, and somatic approaches to the nervous system
Rich catalogue of poetry, music, body techniques and other resources to keep you inspired and support your own explorations
A supportive, kind, & local community of fellow writers, movers, and empaths
Snacks & tea because… nourishment is essential ;)
Facilitator
I’m Johanna
a biodynamic craniosacral therapist, a teacher, a writer, an audio producer, and someone who knows autoimmune disease from the inside out. I create spaces where we can listen to what our bodies are actually saying in order to inhabit ourselves more fully. I believe in abundant permission, reverence, and the vitality of creativity. Read more.
Following the Creative Breath will be hosted and assisted by the wonderful Lara Turnure, a gifted bodyworker, yoga teacher, educator, and friend!
Course Themes
Each week we’ll be guided by themes to deepen our exploration of creativity through somatic writing. We’ll also leave room for fluidity in our structure - following the group’s evolution and interests.
Session I: Exhalation
Jan. 6: What good feels like. Building somatic vocabulary for resource.
Jan. 13: Roots. Lineage & ancestry as a source of inspiration and differentiation.
Jan. 20: MLK Day. No class.
Jan. 27: Expansive structures. Ritual, rhythm, bone. Building spaces that reflect our nervous systems.
Feb. 3: Of the earth. Working with seasons, nature, timing
Feb. 10: Dynamic Stillness. How do we adorn the inner sanctum as practice? Letting sensitivity & intuition nourish.
Session II: Inhalation
Feb. 27th: (Invent)ory. Attending to our bodies & building language for knowing ourselves in the present.
Mar. 3: Ignition. Exploring the difference between pulling and pushing.
Mar. 10: Elements. Bringing the language of natural form & unfurling into the body.
Mar. 17: Space & Pace. Exploring how much space we actually need and our organic sense of timing.
Mar. 24: The Inner Compass. Following curiosity, beauty & intuition. What happens when we tune in, as Saeed Jones writes, to “the intelligence of honey?”
A sample somatic writing practice
See the .pdf or listen to the audio below.
How it works
Following the Creative Breath is a two-part immersive course to explore embodiment and writing towards awakening our creative selves. Each session is 5 weeks; you’re welcome to register for one or both.
Schedule.
Session I: Exhalation meets Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the following dates: January 6th, January 13th, January 27th, February 3rd, February 10th. Please note we won’t be meeting on MLK day (January 20th)
Session II: Inhalation meets Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the following dates: February 24th, March 3rd, March 10th, March 17th, March 24th.
Location. We’ll meet in the beautiful meeting space upstairs at Good Medicine Collective located at 231 York Street in Portland, Maine.
Cost. Sessions I & II, 10 weeks: $675. Early bird price until Dec. 15th $625.
Single 5-week session: $350. Early bird price until Dec. 15th $325
Payment plans are available. $200 deposit to register. In addition, limited scholarships are available for marginalized folx and those in great financial need. Please contact me if you’d like to learn about scholarships or donate to make this option more widely available to others.
Following the Creative Breath is limited to a small group of 8-10 participants.
Questions & Answers
Are meetings recorded?
Nope! This is a live, in-person class. Please check your calendar to make sure you can join for most (hopefully, all!) meetings. If you need to miss a class, I’m happy to share class sequence and materials afterwards.
What if I don’t identify as a writer?
Identifying as a writer is no prerequisite! Many (many!) of us wrestle with this fraught designation. If writing is an interesting or occasional outlet, if you like to play with words, or are simply open to trying - that’s perfect :-)
I have another question - where can I find the answer?
Please be in touch directly via the contact page.