Maria Luisa, ISMETA Board President
We did it! We ALL did it!
Our ISMETA Conference brought together more than 825 somatic movement practitioners, students, and established professionals over the course of five days at the beginning of March. The conference opened up a new chapter in the life of our organization; a chapter where each one of us are invited to contribute to continue to develop, research, experience and enjoy the somatic movement profession in all of its philosophies, schools, and applications.
Thank you for joining us, for re-membering this larger body that we all are. The Live event was fabulous ! AND The Evergreen Conference Platform is now open for us to explore. Featuring 112 hours of workshops, sessions, lectures, panels and more that we can engage with, enjoy, and learn from through December 2021.
In May we will begin our wrap around events, designed to deepen our experience and connections within the conference community… Stay tuned for Date TBD.
In the coming weeks and months, we will undergo a re-visioning and strategic process for the coming five years of our organization. Change is imminent and inevitable, and we are moving toward a healthy growth period where new and necessary developments will ensure that the field of somatic movement permeates in all areas of life and with all people. Keep in touch!
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Rebecca Frost, ISMETA Board Member
As a newly minted Board member of ISMETA, I was impressed and amazed by what the conference team was able to produce: An Engaging Embodiment Conference, all online, due to the restrictions of COVID 19. That this offering materialized and flowed with the technical support and expertise that it did is in itself a minor miracle. I also witnessed the graciousness and skill that is characteristic of somatic practitioners finding its form and voice through the digital portals.
As a board, we look forward to hearing more from members who attended what worked well for you, and what could have been improved. While an online conference may or may not ever be chosen again, we’d like to learn as much as possible from this experience. We welcome your constructive feedback! Also, if the conference sparked ideas for you of services that ISMETA might provide, services that currently aren’t evident to you, please let us know. We’d like to know what your felt needs are.
To contribute feedback or ideas, please contact me at : r.frost@ismeta.org
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Dr. Martha Eddy, past ISMETA Board President
I loved experiencing Social Justice themes and approaches woven in and among all of the sessions I attended. The consciousness is growing fast. I also really geeked out with joy, spending time with conference participants in the Community Connect and Dialogue rooms together with my long-time compatriot Ellen Barlow.
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Elisa Cotroneo, RSME/T, Executive Director
The conference was a wonderful opportunity to come together as a professional somatic movement community. It has also been a way for us all to be seen and gain recognition for who we are as a professional community. Due to this amazing gathering of such hugely talented somatic practitioners, we have strengthened our connections with our colleagues and collaborative organizations and have made many new connections …. Together we are Growing the Field of Somatic Movement Education and Therapy.
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From the Closing Chat
In response to the questions: What did I feel? What did I learn? What do I want to remember?
“I felt welcomed here.”
“I want to remember that there is more solidarity in the world than what I thought there was.”
“I learned more than I realized and was reminded there is so much to explore within me and without.”
“I felt connection. I learned that there are many paths. I want to remember we are a community of listeners reaching into ourselves and out into the world.”
“Hopeful for a humanity as diverse, curious, that embraces radical difference, that celebrates multiplicity in our experiences and enunciation, the sensation of the whole. The resonance of learning and unlearning. Making space to be heard, held, embraced, represented, and collectively dismantle the oppressions and systemic issues that separate us.”
“I also want to remember the unknown, and how crucial it is to go towards the discomfort.”
“I felt in loving family. I learned to lean into my own bodily wisdom. I want to remember the deep heartfelt courage and love of all bodies.”
“Thank you ISMETA! This was an experience that I felt through the many layers of my body. Healing and deep learning occurred and I’m so grateful. I was honored to be a part of this amazing community!”
