Exploring the tensegrity structure of our body’s myofascial system;

Exploring moving from the midline and the fluid spine;

Working with partners in exploring symbiotic relationship between motoring and sensing through our nervous system

This course delves deep into experential learning and embodiment through exploring the body-mind connection in physiology, processes, and self-inquiry.

Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming training dates!

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We concluded the Somatic Applications in Polyvagal Theory training course 2 weeks ago @yicsingapore. An amazing 6 days of self-inquiry, somatic explorations, connecting with play and heartfelt exchanges. We learn how to track our nervous system through honing our sensory awareness, and also our ability to observe state shifts. Through experiential anatomy and the understanding of our physiology, we come into embodiment with our embody our relationships to self, to other, to our community, to our inner being and outer environment.

I’ve been facilitating this particular course for several runs now since my return to Singapore. And every intake brings its own unique tinge. Each time my mind is blown by the curiosity, presence, and openness of the participants.

I feel deeply privileged to be able to guide this work, and immensely grateful to have crossed paths with 11 brilliant minds and beautiful souls in this run!

May the seeds planted during the course sprout, and blossom in divine time 🌱

#nervousystem #polyvagaltheory #homeostasis #mindbody #yogawithdaphne #somatictherapy #somatictherapyasia #somaticswithdaphne #somaticyoga #somaticssg #somaticssingapore #yogasg #sgyogis #resilience #yogatherapist #yogatherapy #neuroplasticity #nervoussystemreset #sgbodywork #somaticbodywork #somatictherapytraining #yogatherapy #yogattc #therapeuticyoga

The post Post TTC thoughts appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

I’m more than delighted to be facilitating an embodied anatomy workshop: Somatic Experiences & Embodiment in Dance & Movement at the upcoming 12.ance Festival in collaboration with @sigmacontemporarydance

This workshop will be happening on 4 December, Sunday @sigmacontemporarydance , 1.30pm – 4pm ☺️

All are welcome to join this workshop, regardless of whether you have a dance background or not.

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Somatic Experiences & Embodiment in Dance & Movement:

Movement is more than just mindless motion.

When we are awake and attentive, movement is our way of connecting to the world within and around us. When we move with awareness, we are open to the most naunced of sensations that can guide us with more alignment and grace. Intelligent movement leads to the integration of body, mind and spirit, so that dancing can become a sustainable and functional art form.

Inspired by the work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, founder of Body Mind Centering, @yogadaphne will facilitate an embodied anatomy workshop, exploring the innate patterns of movement to uncover the body as an integrated system.

Somatic principles And Embodiment in Dance and Movement
By Daphne Chua (All levels)
4 Dec, Sun / 1.30 – 4pm
@sigmacospace

Whether you have prior dance background or none at all, you are welcome to join this workshop.

More details:
http://sigmadance.co/12ance

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Daphne helps people of all ages rehabilitate injuries, regain neuromotor functions, manage chronic pain, and work through trauma. She also creates holistic therapeutic trainings and mentorship programs for individuals, movement teachers, fitness instructors, healthcare and coporate professionals.

She applies principles of kinesiology, embodied anatomy & physiology through somatics, evidence-based research on the nervous system, trauma physiology, as well as traditional yoga philosophy into her work.

#12ancefestivalsg #12ance2022 #sgdanceartists #dancers #dancesg #dance #contemporarydance #dancefestival #danceclasses #somaticpractice #embodiment #movementpractice #inthespiritofdance #nervousystem #homeostasis #mindbody #yogawithdaphne #somatictherapy #somaticssg #contactimprov

The post @12.ance : A Collaboration appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

It was said that grief changes our world by adding a hue of grey to our lens in which we perceive reality.

Though I would argue that grief has wiped the various layers of hues off of the life I thought I should be living. It has made the impossible possible. Turned chaos into clarity. Rage into forgiveness. Wonton living into conscious grit to move beyond my own limited narrative.

Grief has allowed me to see through old storylines about my relationships with my family, my work, money, my sexuality and my self worth.

2 years ago I came back to Singapore so I could mourn.

And in this time I’ve come to understand the man that he was, is more than I’ve ever known before.

In ways that words cannot express, he’s never left. He’s very much alive, embodied in my cellular imprint – in his strife, his pain, his broken dreams… but also in his optimism, his earnestness towards life, his resilience, his porousness to emotions, his unbridled joyfulness and unconditional presence to people around him.

So Happy 75th Birthday Papa! In so many ways we are still creating memories with you and sharing our love. Your legacy lives on in the work we do for each other in the family, and in how we want to show up each day to the world. May you rest in this knowing ❤️

The post May 3rd, 2022 appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

Skin serves as our boundary between self and other.

Our skin is our armour and shield against the world.

As it is porous to what can infiltrate and absorb.

Movement and touch are like the Yin & Yang of our skin.

Movement touches the skin from the inside out.

Touch moves the skin from the outside in.

From the universe within, to the macrocosm without.

Beneath and beyond.

Skin is both the Unifier and the Segregator.

Who do we welcome, and who do we reject?

The skin does not lie.

Are we braced tightly upright bound by its borders?

Frozen ropes wrapped around our organs.

Or loosely in a puddle, a sludgy strife against our pain.

Can our skin yield without hesitation?

To the support of gravity.

To be held in the spaciousness of life.

To be welcome in the container in which no one comes before you.

To belong in … our skin.

• • • • • • • •

DO YOU KNOW?

Our skin and our brain arises from the same germ layer in embryology.

Skin is our brain turned inside out.

Skin is the conduit between our nervous system and the outside world.

Skin is the barometer that reflects our relationship with our self, and the environment we are in.

Our lymphatic system also follows the veins along the skin of our periphery, and culminates in the mid section of the body – forming an integral part of our immune system.

Most rashes, hives, eczema, and skin conditions follow these lymph / nerve tracks.

Taking care of our skin, and paying attention to the different qualities of our skin in different areas of the body can help to improve our immune function, regulate our nervous system, and retain suppleness of our skin.

The post The Skin appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

Props required:

• 1 yoga mat
• 1 blanket (optional)
• 1 soft squishy ball / roller (optional)

The post Nervous System Workshop 2/2 appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

In the first out of two workshops on the nervous system, we bring our focus back to the pelvis. The pelvic diaphragm works with the respiratory diaphragm to contain and support healthy functioning of all of our organs in the body, particularly in the areas of digestion, elimination, and sexual function. The vagus nerve – which is instrumental to restoring balance to our body and nervous system – passes through all these organs. Through the afferent nerve network of the Vagus nerve, information from the body travels back to the brain. By bringing awareness to the pelvis through interoceptive movement and proprioception, we allow the nervous system to respond with a baseline of the parasympathetic tone of safety and spaciousness. This in turn resets our gut motility and opens up the breath to regulate our nervous system.

The workshop begins with pelvic clock exercises, followed by movement explorations that create activation from a sense of grounding, specifically movement sequences that radiate bi-directionally from the pelvis through the transverse plane – lower half to upper half of our body to the lungs, heart and head. We also engage in movement explorations from the feet too, as well as play with balance and sound.

Props required:

• 1 yoga mat
• 1 blanket
• 1 strap (or scarf/belt)
• 1 soft squishy ball (or 1 pair of socks)

The post Nervous System Workshop 1/2 appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

Join me in this upcoming somatic workshop series for a nervous system reset, as well as to reconnect with self and others through creative embodiment practices.

Somatic movement therapy is an accessible practice for anyone looking for a meaningful reset to the body-mind. Tap into the wisdom of the body through gentle guided movements, visualisations and breath work to hone your sensory awareness. Journey into a parasympathetic state of intuition, deep rest and connection.

Each session in this series of 2 will begin with a movement practice to tune into our deeper awareness and subconscious. As we learn to listen to our being at a cellular level, our nervous system moves into homeostasis to restore health, as well as create space for openness and curiosity. We can harness the power of deep listening to take stock of who and where we are, what we want to let go and nurture – through the simple practice of journaling and dialoguing.

This series of 2 can be taken in tandem or individually.

~ Details ~
Saturday March 5 & 12
2.30 – 4.30pm
Yoga In Common Singapore
$45 per class or $80 for both
Studio pass holders may pay 2 classes per session

Click link in bio to register.

The post Nurture & Nourish Embodiment Workshop appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

This overwhelming desire for control often hinders our ability to be, to meet our self and other, to arrive just as we are. Our minds become rigid as we brace for control. We are afraid to fail, to disappoint, to upset, to fall. 

We forget that to PLAY is our birth right. 

Even as we play, notice how frequently the desire for control intervenes itself with play – we no longer play for play’s sake, but play within the confines of what is deemed right or wrong, good or bad. Play becomes competitive, territorial, divisive. 

The post The Power of Play appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

We are told to believe that we can outwit nature by constantly doing doing doing, setting ourselves to always be in fight or flight.

What if it’s not a binary process of the last man standing, but a recognition of our innate relational ability to co-exist. That to thrive is to create symbiotic relationships with self and others. That resilience is not so much about resisting, but to let go. That transformation comes through our vulnerability to BE, to rest, to digest, to adapt, to connect, to trust.

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on February 23rd 2021.

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