I’ve facilitated workshops in community centres, squats, herb shops, food co-ops, community gardens, health centres, schools and people’s front rooms, and would be excited to come to your project or community and run one or any number of the sessions below. They can all vary in length from 3 hours to 3 days. They can happen as one offs, or as part of a series, as intensives or spread over time. Workshop rates are totally negotiable, and depend on length, where they’ll be held, and context. Get in touch to talk about what you might like to see happen and what might work. Please scroll down below the workshops for information about mentoring/supervision.
Introduction to Herbal Medicine
Our Bodies, Ourselves
The session is for any women, gender non-binary and trans folk for whom the issues are of interest. All welcome – whether you’re new to some of these ideas/conversations or want to contribute of your own body of knowledge.
This workshop uses Threads – a DIY, not-for-profit book – as a basis for information exchange and shared conversation about feminist health including anatomy, sex & gender, and the various differences and commonalities of experiences throughout the menstrual cycle. It will look at what gets called ‘PMS’, and also at what gets called ‘mental health’ and critiques biomedical stories we are given about the body/mind as part of opening up space to explore our different and similar lived experiences, and to consider both what health and what ‘self-care’ mean in the context of social justice and social change. Depending on length of the session we can also look at herbs and other holistic approaches for some common related health issues.
The Politics of Experience
This workshop uses the book Warp & Weft as its basis and looks at some of the history, language and politics of what gets called ‘mental health’ including discussion about medical approaches, understandings and diagnosis. It will look at decolonising psychiatry, some of the history of psychiatry in the US & UK, and anti-psychiatry movements & alternatives from the 1960s to the current time, and consider some historical & cross-cultural understandings of consciousness. We will look at some of the progressive conversations around and understandings of psycho-emotional health in social context, and consider alternative approaches, and at conversation and resources around trauma and resilience. Depending on the length of the space we’ll look at some of the main herbal nervines (herbs that affect what gets called the nervous system) and talk about related approaches, practices and broader support for psycho-emotional health. The space is for information exchange, questions, shared dialogue and solidarity. All welcome – whether you are new to some of these ideas/conversations or wanting to contribute of your own body of knowledge.
Embodied practices for rest and connection
Basic meditations, resting and movement practices and bodywork for grounding, centering, release, rest and connection. A session or sessions to explore ideas that can be good personal and/or exchanged tools/resources in the body. The session can include some simple ideas for exchanged touch through clothing, with the option to sit out at any point if any exploration doesn’t speak to you.
Bodywork Lab
This experimental lab looks at different ways of sensing into, touching and connecting with the body, through shared hands-on inquiries together. It includes a look at basic bio-medical anatomy, some different cross-cultural maps of the body and touch healing traditions, with conversation about avoiding cultural appropriation. We will explore conversation around consent and creating safe space, and explore different approaches using touch through clothing and/or with some directly on the skin exploring different oils, with the option to sit out at any point if any exploration doesn’t speak to you. Open to anyone, whether you are new to therapeutic/intentional approaches to touch or want to deepen connection to and/or share of your own practice.
Grief spaces/ Death and beyond
Over the last few years I have been in involved with co-creating spaces to share grief in all its forms, also spaces to share experiences we have had around death, and beyond death. I am continuing to do that in different contexts and welcome collaborating on creating those spaces.
Mentoring/Supervision
I offer mentoring/ supervision (or whatever word feels appropriate for support and reflection) to bodyworkers. If you are just beginning a practice or want to review your practice, or would like to have a regular or occasional space to speak about your practice please get in touch and we can feel out the shape of what might be useful.