‘Meeting the breath’: half-day workshops

These half-day group workshops are a starting point for those interested in experiencing how, in a practice of Middendorf breathwork, breath that is allowed to come and go on its own can be encountered through presence and bodily sensation. Middendorf breathwork is complex and multilayered but it is possible to begin to develop one’s own practice from the outset.

The workshops are led by Middendorf practitioner, John Howard.

Half-day group workshops are offered from 1 pm to 5 pm on the third or fourth Saturday of each month. The dates for the next sessions are:

• Saturday 20 February 1-5pm
• Saturday 20 March 1-5pm
• Saturday 17 April 1-5pm

Cost: $60/$45 artist concession.

Where: Body Voice Centre, 50 Wolverhampton St, Footscray.

Bookings & further details: email info@bodyvoice.com.au

Group workshops usually begin with everyone sitting on flat-topped stools taking some time to place their hands on their torsos and sense the movements of their bodies with their breath as they let it come and go; not trying to make it bigger or smaller, faster or slower, allowing it to be as it is in the moment. There is a shift from the dominance of thinking to that of sensing - perceiving sensations of movement, perhaps also of warmth or coolness, of hardness or softness of bone, muscle, flesh. Experiential breathwork focuses mainly on sensing while also allowing time for reflection and integration through periods of rest.

Much of the work is conducted in three part sequences where there is first a movement or activity, second a time to sense what has changed as a result of the activity, and third a rest. Activities include a wide range of movements, vowel soundings, and work with pressure points. They encompass both structured  movement sequences and free-form breath movement improvisations. The work is oriented to increasing awareness of body and breath.

Read some responses to previous half-day breath workshops here:

Nuances and extremes of the human voice: weekend bodyvoice workshop:

This workshop will explore nuances and extremes of the human voice linked to movement, breath, and imagery. It aims to open out the range and expressive possibilities of the body voice connection grounded in the interplay of breath, sensation, and presence. The workshop will draw the ‘extended voice’ tradition that began with Alfred Wolfsohn and has been developed by members of the Roy Hart Theatre. It is one that welcomes all the sounds of the human voice, from high squeals and squeaks to low growls, from whispered to bellowed, from musical to atonal, and from ‘ugly’ to ‘beautiful’. The workshop will draw on other body voice practices related to solo and ensemble work as appropriate.

The workshop is open to any adult wanting to explore and expand their body voice connection. Workshop leaders Helen Sharp and John Howard are directors of the Body Voice Centre.

When: Friday 12 March 7pm to 9.30pm, Saturday 13 March 10am to 5pm, Sunday 14 March 10am to 4pm

Cost: $280/$190 artist concession.

Where: Body Voice Centre, 50 Wolverhampton St, Footscray.

Bookings & further details: email info@bodyvoice.com.au