Workshops

Workshops for runners

A series of three three-hour sessions, which can also be booked individually
This workshop is aimed at all runners who want to improve their technique and ease when running.
All of our workshops focus on practical applications. They start with 90 minutes in the studio, training the body using exercises. Then we go outside to put what we have learned into practice in a simpler running style.

“Easy, light, smooth, fast.” (Christopher McDougall, Born to Run)

Dates in 2021:

"Flexors Flex, Extensors extend"
Sunday 07.03.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs
and
Sunday 25.04.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs

"Elastic Energy Saving"
Sunday 21.03.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs
and
Sunday 09.05.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs

"Aware Running"
Sunday 28.03.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs 
and
Sunday 16.05.2021 from 0900 - 1230 hrs

1. Flexors Flex, Extensors Extend

– Basic biomechanical principles for more ease when running –

In this workshop, we look at the function of different muscle groups when running, and how the joints in our legs work together when we run.

We will focus on:

• Pronation/supination
• Knee stabilisation
• Extending and flexing the hip joint
• Pelvic movement

2. Elastic Energy Saving

– Fascial stretch reflexes and fascial elasticity as a source of energy for more ease when running, with less muscle strain and higher performance –

This workshop focuses on recognising and promoting fascial elasticity when running. It involves learning how the fascial system – and in particular the stretch reflex – can act as a motor driving the running motion without any biomechanical energy input (oxygen or glucose), thereby significantly reducing the total amount of energy required to run.

We will focus on:

• Body positioning
• Use of the arms
• Body rotation
• Tightening the muscles (contraction) vs stretching the muscles (expansion)

3. Aware running

– Activating bio-intelligence for an easy, flowing and efficient stride –

In this workshop, you will discover how the body runs with us, rather than us running with the body. This involves learning how our thoughts as an internal environment and the route we are running as an external environment influence our movement patterns, and how we can use mindfulness to control these processes.

We will focus on:

• Thought-led movement
• Rhythm
• Automatic regulation and self-regulation

Tactile guidance

Dates to be announced

Tactile cueing in Pilates

This half-day workshop offers the opportunity to gain practical experience in instructing using tactile cues in the context of fundamental Pilates exercises from the basic repertoire.

• How thoughtful touch can effect immediate change
• How incidental touch conveys information, whether you want it to or not
• What kind of touch using fingers and hands elicits what kind of response
• What the most helpful way of being touched is for you
• How different people can interpret and assess the same kind of touch in completely different ways
• Developing strategies
• Avoiding misunderstandings

Just get moving

Dates to be announced

Walking and running with our biotensegral bodies

A workshop for movement and bodywork professionals of all disciplines 

We examine the biomechanical requirements of the feet, knees, hips, pelvis, spine and shoulders for easy, efficient walking and running. You will learn how to sense and release movement restrictions, thereby (re)introducing fascial elasticity to your biotensegral body.

On the first day, we will explore the role of bone structures in walking and running, and what the supporting tissue needs to create efficient movement patterns.

You will learn exercises and theoretical background that will enable you to analyse and improve the overall habitual patterns people display when walking and running.

You will discover how to focus on the necessary elements of movement that may need your attention, and how to deconstruct, examine and then reconstruct them.

On the second day, we will discover how a more efficient stride and speed can be achieved through rotations and counter-rotations of the spine, limbs and entire body.

We should all be able to enjoy walking and running, without pain and without effort.

Releasing the male pelvis

Dates to be announced

Small changes with a big impact

This workshop explores how the anatomy of the male pelvis influences everyday movements. Strategies will be presented for releasing and increasing movement in and around the pelvis.

This workshop will include open discussions about sexuality.
You should feel comfortable enough with this topic to be able to discuss it in a safe space as part of a small group.

In the theoretical part of the session, you will learn:

• The basic anatomical principles that apply and the characteristics exhibited by the male pelvis and male sex organs in relation to fascial movement patterns.
• How men grow up from infancy and what influences they are subject to
• How attitudes, beliefs and expectations in relation to sexuality can have an impact on a loose or constrained pelvis
• How a stiff pelvis can lead to a range of different physical problems
• The physiological requirements for an erection, what causes and what can prevent them
• What happens to the male pelvis during orgasm, provided it can move freely
• The excess strain that can occur during sexual interactions if the pelvis cannot move freely

In the practical part of the session, you will learn:

• How it feels to live with external sex organs without having to “hide” them
• What impact your choice of underwear and clothing can have as a man
• How to walk and sit as a man
• How to experience and obtain a loose, flexible pelvis

I work with props in order to give female participants the clearest possible insight.

Movement for musicians

Dates to be announced

How does my body react to my instrument and/or my voice?

My goal when working with musicians is to bring the demands of the instrument/voice into balance with the conditions and adaptation mechanisms of the body in order to allow easy, unhindered performance in the long term without leading to stress responses from the body.

This workshop addresses the following topics:

• My instrument and me: exploring optimum movement patterns with my instrument/voice
• Connection, energy transfer and flow: how can I open my body to the music and make it move with me and my instrument/voice?
• How do I support my breathing correctly and without excessive strain so that my breath is carried by my body in the truest sense, allowing my voice/tone to take flight while at the same time grounding it?

Pilates for easy movement

Date to be announced

Walk and run with ease and freedom using Pilates equipment and exercises

This workshop explores the arrangement of bone and tissue structures while walking and running

• What are their functions?
• Which movements do they enable and inhibit?
• What role do they play?
• What does the supporting tissue do?

Through the lens of fascia, we will use both familiar and lesser-known classic Pilates techniques to:

• Identify and alleviate areas of restricted movement
• Discover and learn how to recognise how people’s movement patterns manifest themselves when walking or running
• Focus on the functional elements that are in need of attention, to deconstruct, examine and then reassemble them.

This workshop will help you and your clients to become free and fluid, so we can all enjoy walking and running without pain and without excessive effort.

Autoregulation of the body

Date to be announced

Made possible and easy using Pilates equipment and exercises

You will learn how your awareness and powers of observation are the key – and the only necessary requirement – for your body to become active and adequately and appropriately equipped for every challenge it faces. 

We will use Pilates equipment and exercises to discover how we can focus our awareness so as to easily trigger the functions of our fascial tissue that are necessary for movement.

You will come to understand and experience the difference between self-regulation and autoregulation – and discover that you need the former in order for the latter to develop.

You will learn to understand, to feel and to appreciate how your body works when it is able to do so without impairment.

You will discover how to let your body act for itself, and what it means to immerse yourself in its system. To achieve this, we will use consistent and constant contact and weight distribution.

We will experiment with different expressions, images and thoughts to find out how they manifest in our bodies.

In doing so, you will learn the importance of connection between teacher and student.

The steering spine

Date to be announced

How our spine controls our movements

This half-day workshop is aimed at everyone interested in movement practices, and aims to show how the spine informs the fascial system.

If the coccyx becomes our rudder and we pay attention to our gaze, we will find the simplest way to move within our fascial, biotensegral bodies.

You will learn: 

• How movement in the spine reaches all the way out to the limbs
• How rotation, flexion, extension and lateral tilts can become free and flexible
• How it feels when the system receives the same or opposing messages from either end of the spine
• That our day-to-day lives are full of “mixed messages”, and whether and how we can change this.

A learning environment that encourages change

Date to be announced

We will explore and discover how the environment we create as instructors can help or hinder our clients’ progress.

We will experiment with techniques, ideas, words, touch and thought processes that will help our teaching method create the constructive environment we strive for.

This workshop aims to reveal possible changes that you can integrate into every aspect of your teaching.

It will help you develop your individual teaching style. We work with guidelines and techniques that will enable you and your clients to bring out the best in yourselves.

We will learn about “Transferring knowledge”, “Listening to abilities” and “Verbal and tactile guidance”, and how we create connection or distance.

You will discover how to inspire enthusiasm for change, rather than hindering it, and how this can make every session lead to new discoveries that enrich both you and your client.

Pregnancy and the fascial system

Date to be announced

Discoveries from supporting pregnant women through Pilates training
Over the course of my 15 years as a Pilates instructor, I have successfully supported women during and after pregnancy with adapted Pilates training. In doing so, I have come to realise that in this area, too, findings from fascia research can and should lead to a new approach. Back and posture problems, along with pain, were reduced and often eliminated entirely.

In this workshop, we will look at the stages of embryonic development with a focus on fascial tissue and recognise how the mother’s body prepares.

In the practical part of the session, you will learn through example exercises:

• How the mother’s biotensegral body stretches to help create space for the developing child
• How the diaphragm and breathing sometimes require new patterns on account of the developing child
• How the pelvic floor and stabilising muscles react to the baby and what you can do to help these processes

This course primarily focuses on supporting mothers during pregnancy. My approach to postnatal rehabilitation will also form part of both the theoretical and practical parts of the session, however.