Life Moves
with Resident Teachers Mala Sikka and Terry Hagan
August 9-11
A child meets the world through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch; greeting each moment with alert curiosity. Children express themselves spontaneously, naturally with their body, coloured pencils, clay and anything they can find. As adults we often lose this freshness, yet we can experience it again by awakening our senses with movement and meditations that clear habitual patterns and encourage joyful open awareness.
Moving our body we will work indoors and outdoors using the natural mind and the natural environment as our teachers.
learn to develop a new inner attitude towards our life and its situations, leading us to accept our limitations, weaknesses and potentials. This allows us to rest.
free up life-energy that would otherwise be seized by self-doubt and self-criticism. By redirecting this energy, we can explore new possibilities in our bodies and minds. It creates space for playfulness and joy....
learning to be present in our daily movements and to become aware of the movement around us
exploring the structure of our body and how our body moves in space
This course will increase our vitality and joy of living giving us a sense of freedom of expression that can allow us to move on from our old dusty habits that wear us out. To do this course no previous movement or art skills are necessary simply an interest to explore no more.
'Life-Moves' is a movement practice with no set patterns to 'master'. We explore natural bodily movements which develop fluidity and freedom of expression as we learn to trust subtle responses rather than habitual reactions. This builds confidence and understanding that helps us embrace refuge, vitality, and heightened awareness in our daily lives. To accept our own level. That is to see ourselves as we are without blame or judgment, false humility or pride, to accept our limitations and also to be able to perceive others and our surroundings more clearly. It soon becomes clear that our attitude in movement is as important as the movement.
Mala Sikka is a movement artist. She spent years making larger than life puppet theatre which led her study Kathakali a form of Indian dance theatre. Wanting to go deeper into the healing qualities of movement and meditation she received a diploma in a healing-shiatsu practitioner in 1991. At this time she also started studying with herJavanese movement teacher Suprapto Suryodarmo and is qualified by him to teach Amerta movement (river of life). Mala was co- resident teacher at the Dharma centre of Canada from 2007 until 2011 when she left for India staying in meditation retreat for 3 years. With over 25 years experience teaching and working with the body through moving, meditation and healing she enjoys working with those at cross roads in their lives and in times of change.
Terry Hagan has been studying meditation and movement practices for over 40 years. He began his studies firstly, with his main teacher Namgyal Rinpoche, a gifted meditation master who was able bridge eastern and western approaches to the study of mind and body through meditation and movement. Terry was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be his assistant for over 27 years, witnessing the evolvement of multiple forms of body awareness practices. Terry met Suprapto Suryodharmo in India in 2005 and began to study Amerta Movement under his guidance in India, Indonesia and Europe and is qualified by Suprapto to teach.
Important Details
Rates: Non-members: $220, Members: $190.
Rates include: Single accommodation and all meals. They do not include instructor fees. Mala and Terry are sharing their experience within the traditional Buddhist understanding of Dana.
What is Dana?: Teachers give the Dharma freely so that anyone, no matter their financial means can attend classes. Each time one receives teachings, it is an opportunity to consciously practice generosity. Giving money and other means of support expresses gratitude and support to the teacher and helps to ensure that these teachings continue. Each person receiving Dharma teachings determines the kind and amount of Dāna according to one's heart and one’s financial means. When deciding how much to offer, one should think about what these teachings mean to you and try to give accordingly. It is recommended that students make an offering of dāna at the beginning of a class or retreat to establish the intention to make the most of this opportunity for one’s own progression and for the benefit of all others.
Payment: Payment can be made to the Dharma Centre of Canada by credit card, cheque or e-transfer. Please call us, toll free, if you need information on making a payment at 1 866 266 0966 or email: info@dharmacentre.com. Full payment is due 10 days prior to the start of a retreat or course. A 50% deposit is required to hold your space for an upcoming retreat.