see you in June

I hope you’ve all had a beautiful few weeks! I recently finished a series of online somatic dance movement workshops with Tamalpa Institute which was very inspiring and challenging. Moving in different ways, from the inside out, is something I’ve been incorporating into my classes and personal practice lately.

Soma/tics: The Body as Perceived From Within

The first time I heard the word “soma” was as the title of one of my favourite songs from the Smashing Pumpkins album Siamese Dream (Virgin 1993) (a sonic landscape, the song uses forty different layers of guitars in the solo!). It piqued my interest then (soma is also an ancient mysterious Vedic ritual elixir), and over the years, somatics has become an integral part of my yoga practice and teaching.

“Soma” is a Greek word for “living body” and “somatics” is a field in movement and bodywork studies where the body is perceived from within. “Soma” is also the root of the word Somavāra which is ‘Monday’ in the Hindu calendar, and in Vedic Sanskrit, “soma” can also mean “to distill, extract, sprinkle.” Chandra/Soma is the Hindu god of the moon, and “chandra” translates as “glittering, shining, bright” (tune into that the next time you practice Ardha Chandrasana!)

Somatics enriches our awareness of the inner experience of the sensations, feelings and emotions that can arise in our yoga practice, and helps to ground and center our ‘soma’ - our body, our self - in the present moment.

And with that, I’m excited to share this invitation to you, see you in June:

/\/\ SUMMER SOMA SESSIONS / AWAKENING THE SENSES /\/\

When: Mondays, 5:45-6:45pm (BST British Summer Time)

Session 1 - June 3: Sight + Smell

Session 2 - June 10: Touch + Taste

Session 3 - June 17: Hearing + Listening

Session 4 - June 24: Summer Solstice Soma / heightening all five senses in our shared practice, prepare for a multi-sensory experience!

Description: In these weekly open level, virtual livestream yoga classes we will be exploring yoga - soma - space with a focus on sensory awareness, compassionate self-adjustments, and intuitive guidance, as the seasons shift from Spring to Summer. Each class features a special sensory focus and theme to compliment our exploration of yoga asanas and intuitive, somatic movement(s). In these classes you can expect to:

• Explore and experience your yoga practice from within (somatics)

• Coordinate breath with movement (elements of vinyasa flow yoga)

• Slow down and calm the breath through rest and relaxation techniques

• Stimulate your sensory awareness through yoga asana practice, mindful movements and breath work

• Have fun and learn more about yourself through your yoga practice

To Join: set up a free account with your name and email on FreeConference.com - this is an easy to use online video conferencing platform similar to Zoom but it does not share your data and offers users more personal privacy. Once your donation is made (see below), I will send you the link to the virtual class each Monday in good time before the session. You are welcome to keep your camera either on or off for your practice. You can take one class, or as many as you wish - to get the most out of the session, you are welcome to take part in all four classes. Whatever works best for you.

Suggested donation: between £5 - £10 per class [sliding scale, pwyc] *If you would like to do a one-time donation of £20 for the four class sessions in June, rather than make your donations each week before the class, please do and I will send you the link before the classes each Monday!

To make your donation, please select ‘Friends and Family’ through this PayPal link, to <[email protected]>. If you would prefer to not pay PayPal fees, and to make a bank transfer to me directly, please let me know via email.

I’m so pleased to share that a portion of proceeds raised from these classes will be donated to The Rescue Ranch Animal Sanctuary, a not-for-profit sanctuary and hospice for animals in need that has been operating since 1996. By taking part in the Summer Soma Sessions, you’ll be helping to purchase food and contribute towards vet bills for animals who live at the sanctuary (these are some of the happiest and well-loved goats, sheep, lambs, and dogs you will ever see).

Everyone is welcome - join from wherever you are in the world!

\ JUNE 2024 SCHEDULE /

I’m here to help guide and support your practice this June:

Any questions, feel free to reach out <[email protected]>

Dancing in Psychedelic Light,

Marlie x

ps…in case you missed it, here’s Newsletter 1 (May 2024)

“We live in a boundary-less world, and what organises our activity has to be intuition(s), because we can never think our way through. And those intuitions need to be refreshed by constant meditation and constant plunging into our inner depths. We call it a practice because we fumble…over and over again”

- Peter Coyote, 2024.