THE ECSTATIC BODY:
A Hands-On Exploration of the Jaw, the Pelvis, and the Core Link
June 14-18, 2024 + Los Angeles, CA
The Ecstatic Body is a 5 day hands-on introduction to the profound energetic, somatic, and structural connections between the jaw and the pelvis, and the deep capacity for systemic transformation held within them. Taught from a perspective that holds sensual presence, somatic awareness and a skillful therapeutic touch as essential to healing in any context, this workshop offers a clear, comprehensive, experiential understanding of the anatomy, the functionality, and the ecstatic potential of these beautifully sensitive axes of the human body.
Day 1 we focus on feeling, visualizing, and working directly with the exquisite architecture of the jaw, mouth and neck. On Days 2-4, we approach and explore the energetic wellspring of the external and internal pelvis. And on Days 4 and 5, we begin to unwind and play with the nerve-dense, exquisitely sensitive superhighway that connects the mouth and throat with the pelvic bowl: the Core Link.
The dynamics of consent, the cultivation of inner vision, clear guidelines for assessment, and the vital importance of providing a stable container for the free expression of transformative energies are discussed throughout the workshop as fundamental to offering the most loving, intelligent, and responsible work possible to our clients and loved ones.
This workshop is intended both as a space to engage in deeply personal exploration and to equip participants to offer this work in their professional context as relevant, with the understanding that care providers are human beings first and foremost, and that, in the realm of touch, we cannot offer to others something of which we have no personal experience.
As such, it is open to touch therapists of all varieties, somatic practitioners, therapists and care providers, birthworkers, sexological bodyworkers and other somatic educators, and to people with experienced hands, their heart in the right place, and a personal interest in exploring the ecstatic possibilities of the human body.
Bodies are rich with meaning and memory, feeling and sensation. Jaws and pelvises are especially so.
As such, big and sometimes wildly unexpected feelings can arise over the course of participating in this work.
As your tourguide, I promise that your real-time embodied agency - your choices rooted in your immediate bodily sensations and emergent preferences - will be honored as your true north at all times, as is essential to any trauma-informed, decently-human learning space. No participant is ever required to do anything, and each of us will proceed at the speed of trust.
You are sovereign in your body, your decisions, and your experience, and the container of the workshop will support and reflect this to you.
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The 5 day workshop in Los Angeles will be open to people of all bodies and all genders.
This is a 1000000% queer and trans-inclusive joint.
Some feedback from past participants:
"Pam, this was otherworldly. Subversive, magical, inspiring, deepening. There were so many first-time experiences here that it's hard to process and pluck out the most interesting pieces. Most importantly, this workshop was generative for me. I left with more questions than when I came. And as much as I learned, I am most in awe of the people who composed the group, the rawness, and the sheer honesty everyone offered. I was completely humbled by how purely everyone spoke of their experiences and their momentary feelings. This space and experience was a rare gem."
"The Ecstatic Body workshop as a whole experience was life-affirming . The most interesting aspects for me were diving into the layers of anatomy and then having opportunities to actually feel the anatomy, both physically and energetically. Many years ago I left the institution disenchanted by heavy scientific language and dry linear approach to learning about bodies. The anatomy portion of the workshop was a well needed exhale and invitation for me to revisit my initial fascinations with a new lens. I felt like I was nervous but remained in my learning zone and could actually feel healing and re-structuring happening on deep neurological levels."
"The workshop was empowering. I appreciate how you open your workshops to people who are not looking to be professionals in the things you teach. Although I do want to offer bodywork to the world as a professional, for me, I find myself more open, less resistant, and less intimidated to the material when I am learning for/about myself first. Your method of teaching doesn’t feel like teaching at all. It feels inclusive and genuine."
"It was amazing. I loved the anatomy, all the touch, my personal journey & my learnings as a practitioner. An amazing space was created and held with power, clarity & love."
"The workshop as a whole experience, for me, was one of the deepest things I've ever done in my life and answered my deepest desires on so many levels, AND I wanted more. I wanted more depth, more time to play, to inquire, to exchange, to integrate the anatomy teachings into my own body. Your exuberance for your work on this earth is absolutely contagious."
"I could do this workshop with you at least 4-5 more times to really, fully get the download, considering the volume, density & relevance of this offering, and I would. You are presenting so much value: social critic & commentary, embodied global-justice action, sound & approachable existential philosophy, opportunity to make leaps toward expanded self-awareness & more integrated self-actualization, spiritual development, deep healing & transformation, solid conceptual & experiential anatomy training, presenting a very visible and clear role-model (you!), building community, presenting opportunities for skill-sharing & a think-tank, and beyond. Fuck yea. Amazing."
"This experience has really shown me what a hands-on learning experience SHOULD be like. You did a great job of making absolutely clear that boundaries and communication are paramount to the success of the exchange, and that is something I will be considering and taking forward with me into my daily life and work. It was so safe and open. I felt like I could give feedback in a more honest and direct way than I have ever been able to give."
"I'm just home from the first birth I attended following our weekend together. I was able to integrate both jaw and pelvic work into my labor support. It was a beautiful and powerful birth, and the mom wrote to me this morning that I seemed to know exactly what she needed. The work came more easily than I thought, as this client was not peacefully lying on a massage table. I left the workshop worried I would have a hard time transferring what we learned to a moving, laboring woman. I worked on her jaw when we was between contractions in the birth tub, and later in labor I worked on the muscles externally in her pelvis when she was on hands and knees in bed. When I had access to different areas of the body, I found creative ways to support her. It's exciting to be using this new work immediately."
"I loved the workshop. It allowed me to be safely touched. It provided me tools to be present and still with myself and my clients without ‘saving’ them or ‘fixing’ them or ‘owning’ their experience."
"The workshop was quite amazing. It's actually hard to put into words. The group was so wonderfully supportive and knowledgeable, and I LOVED the incorporation of anatomy, somatics, and the open hearted way in which you shared the information.”
WORKSHOP LOGISTICS
The Ecstatic Body in L.A. will take place over 5 consecutive days at a beautiful private home in Mandeville Canyon, in the mountains between Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.
We will be together 10 am to 6 pm every day with a break for lunch.
There are a limited number of comfortable dormitory-style accommodations available at our venue for a reasonable additional fee - please note on your registration if you would like to request to stay up at the house.
COVID POLICY
In order to protect those participants who are or are in proximity to those who are immunocompromised, there will be strong Covid safety measures in place for this workshop.
I request that all participants be assiduous about masking whenever in an indoor or crowded public place, beginning one week before class.
I will require proof of a negative covid test beginning the day before class, and every day before arrival onsite.
Participants agree that they will not attend should they develop any symptoms of illness whatsoever.
Masks will be strongly encouraged in all indoor spaces when not receiving hands-on work with the jaw/mouth/face.
TUITION
I am offering a scaled payment structure for Ecstatic Body with three payment options in order to make it possible for more people to access the class with community support, and to provide an opportunity for those with more access to wealth to support others.
Please choose the option that is most appropriate and in integrity with the financial realities of your life.
Supportive: $1750
Middle: $1500
Supported: $1250
Payment plans and other possibilities are also available as needed, and a limited number of scholarships are available upon request. Please contact me to discuss this!
There will be a limited number of places for previous participants to attend at 50% tuition.
Once your application has been accepted, please send your deposit of $250 to Pamela-Samuelson on Venmo or to mercuria69@gmail.com on Paypal to hold your place.
This deposit is nonrefundable, but can be applied toward another class in the event of a participant being unable to attend. In the event that the class is cancelled, I will of course immediately refund everything.
The remainder of your tuition will be due one week before class.
To apply for a spot in an upcoming Ecstatic Body, please fill out the form below. I will reach out to you to arrange a brief call.