Dynamic Embodiment Community at the ISMETA/NDEO Conference NYC
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Somatic Movement Perspectives for Navigating a World in Crisis
Thursday, December 11th, 10-11am ET
REGISTER HERE
The ISMETA Equity, Justice and Accessibility (EJA) Committee offers bi-monthly gatherings for members and non-members to explore topics related to equity, justice, and accessibility in the context of somatic movement education and therapy. We invite you to gather with us over the next 12 months to discuss this question, among others:
What does the profession of Somatic Movement have to offer, in providing an ethos, a worldview, and practices for responding to the multiple threats of today’s world effectively and non-violently, and in a way that is humanizing for all?
Taking into account economic, social/political, and intersectional realities, we aim to explore possible avenues of leadership alongside our clients, students, and colleagues.”
In the spirit of encouraging participatory community, any attendee is welcome to offer a five-minute somatic arrival practice to start each gathering. The facilitator will ask for a volunteer when we begin. Please join us if you are interested in participating in these conversations!
2026 DATES (Click to Register!): January 8th, March 12th, May 14th, July 9th, September 10th, November 12th, 10-11am ET
Please find your local time HERE.
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PAST COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
RESPECT, SAFETY, AND BELONGING: EXPLORING RESOURCES
FOR CULTURE-BUILDING IN SOMATIC MOVEMENT SPACES (2025)
Culture-building is commonly defined as the deliberate process of developing and nurturing a set of shared values, beliefs, and practices within an organization or community. This year, ISMETA’s Equity, Justice and Accessibility (EJA) Committee offers bi-monthly gatherings to explore resources about how we may grow respect, relative safety, and belonging in our professional practices and in our professional organization.
In this series of conversations, we will consider questions such as:
•What did you learn from this approach to culture-building
•How will you share or implement these resources in your professional work?
In the spirit of encouraging participatory community, any attendee is welcome to offer a five-minute somatic arrival practice to start each gathering. The facilitator will ask for a volunteer when we begin. Please join us if you are interested in participating in these conversations!
Photo by Reid Naaykens on Unsplash
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ACCESSIBILITY IN SOMATIC MOVEMENT EDUCATION AND THERAPY (2024)
Accessibility is commonly defined as the quality of being able to be reached or entered, or the quality of being easy to obtain or use. In the context of ISMETA’s Equity, Justice and Accessibility (EJA) work, it may involve the capacity to make choices to engage in practices that support health and well-being in ways that are not limited by socio/cultural/economic factors including physical environment, language barriers, financial constraints and concerns about basic safety. In this last conversation in 2024, the EJA Committee will explore the concept of accessibility as it relates to Somatic Movement Education and Therapy. We will consider questions such as:
• How do we keep space open in our professional communities and practices for a plurality of voices, needs, and abilities?
• What challenges and opportunities are present to do so in a fragmented world?
• As a way of priming this discussion, we invite you to view the Global Roots of Somatic Movement Free Preview video, which highlights some of the many diverse practices that have informed the work of Bonnie Cohen, Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, and Paul Linden.
During the conversation, we may also discuss the following prompts:
• What primary influences were acknowledged in the somatic movement approaches you trained in?
• Did you know about practices from cultures outside of Europe and the U.S.?
• What impact does this information have on your understanding of “somatics” and somatic movement as practices that have been “named” and “developed” in the northern hemisphere?
In the spirit of accessibility and increasing participation, any attendee is welcome to offer a five-minute somatic arrival practice to start each gathering. The facilitator will ask for a volunteer when we begin. Please join us if you are interested in participating in these conversations!
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COLONIALITY IN SOMATICS: CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION (2023)
The ISMETA Equity, Justice, and Accessibility Committee invites you to an online conversation, “Continuing an Inquiry into Coloniality in Somatic Movement Education and Practice”. This invitation is open to all people – ISMETA members and the general public.
ISMETA is currently a predominantly racialized white organization striving to implement its values of Equity, Justice and Accessibility more fully into our organizational practices. We seek to support our membership to do the same in their professional practices. Thus, we offer a bi-monthly series of community conversations about themes related to this goal.
PLEASE NOTE: Affinity groups based on racial and ethnic identities, sexual preference, gender identity, differing abilities, primary language, home country, and/or other identities are offered for anyone seeking relative safety within this context.
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Sharing the Process, Sharing the Work: ISMETA Strategic Visioning Continues (2023)
The ISMETA Community has been deeply involved in a comprehensive process of Re-Visioning our organization over the last couple of years. Come join us at this Community Conversation to hear about the process and what we found to be most important to the Somatic Movement community moving forward. We will share next steps for our organization and what we see as our guiding light for the evolution of ISMETA and the field of Somatic Movement.