"The great sea has sent me adrift;
it moves me
like a reed in a great river.
Earth and the great weather move me,
have carried me away,
and fill my inward parts with joy." - Uvavnuk, an Iglulik Eskimo woman shaman

"Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a bath in the sea. Entering the unconscious, entering yourself through dreams, is touching nature from the inside and this is the same thing, things are put right again." - CG Jung

Embodying Nature, Becoming Ourselves

Click here to listen to an interview by Teri Carter with Jamie on the Somatic Speaker Summit in 2016 about Embodying Nature

	Courses: See course calendar See course list

We are nature - our bodies are a microcosm of the outer landscape. In these retreats, we temporarily leave the modern world behind and immerse ourselves in the living dreamscape of our bodies and the natural world to discover more of who we are and what we can be. Tree, sky, rock, and water – all these elements reflect parts of our being that can be embodied and expressed.

Each day begins by settling into our inner landscape with the five somatic technologies of breath, vocalization, contact, movement and stillness. Then, we move into relationship with the outer landscape by contacting, witnessing, mirroring, and responding. These somatic technologies open the portals of perception to allow the spirit of place to occupy our soma and psyche.

What emerges in this encounter between our inner and outer environment is a rich, creative stream of spontaneous dances, intuitive songs, and silent contemplations that connect us more deeply to our interior and the larger body of the Earth.

Having guided these Embodying Nature retreats for the past 25 years, I have found this approach resonates with a wide cross-section of people, and is of particular interest to dancers, environmentalists, movement educators, and eco-psychologists.  

Click here to read a recent article about Embodying Nature.