Sensory Awareness Foundation East Coast Workshop

With Shelley Hainer, Eyal Yona, and Stefan Laeng

Date: October 7 – 8, 2023

Times: Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 9:30 – 4pm

Location: Westbeth Community Room, 155 Bank Street, New York City

Registration: SAF Website, Belonging

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Belonging – Being a Part and not Apart

Our world may seem fractured, but even fractures are part of a whole.

Every step we take is not just about getting somewhere – it’s a gesture of belonging. 

Or it could be.  

We move through the air we live in, we let in as we breathe – we are part and not apart. It’s a simple reality, revealed to us with every breath.

But it may not feel that way.

Our gaze meets that of another, our ears hear the voice of a neighbor. We are connected.

But we may feel separated. 

Our hands reach for an object – a cup, a tool – it may not be a living thing but it’s there nevertheless, sharing this moment with us, participating in a task to be accomplished. We co-exist with everything. 

But we may feel estranged.

We long for connection – and we fear it. It is beautiful – and it is painful at times. We know that.

How can we rekindle the trust needed to be a part again and not feel apart? 

The movement-based mindfulness practice of Sensory Awareness explores such questions through everyday gestures, playful explorations, and quiet attentiveness. Respectful of what may seem to be in the way, – fear, worry, restlessness, a past that was not safe – we engage in activities as ordinary as walking or reaching out to receive a stone offered by a friend. Opportunities arise to regain a sense of trust in our own experience of the living moment. 

In the immediacy and intimacy of the present fully met, preoccupations can fall away, and we can step into new and familiar situations and relationships with a renewed sense of vitality, of belonging.