When you become addicted to what frees you instead of to what keeps you unhappy, your life changes.
-Nina Wise
The LifeArt Course is an integrated course drawing from the principles of the Tamalpa Life/Art Process ® and the 12 Step recovery programmes. The Tamalpa Life/Art Process ® combines movement, dance, visual art and creative writing to access the innate wisdom of the body and the transformative power of the imagination.
This course has been specifically designed to support women who are in 12 Step abstinence based recovery. We broadly conceptualise addiction recovery to include codependency, eating disorders and family members affected by addiction, as well as those in drug and alcohol recovery. 12 step programmes are a ‘spiritual’ process designed to connect the one suffering to a greater sense of purpose and their own inner guidance system, so the focus of our Life Art Course is on deepening the participants understanding and experience of the spiritual principles that underpin the programme through an embodied creative process.
Addiction/s can develop as a way to manage emotional difficulties or painful life circumstances and events. As such, we may be faced with overwhelming feelings as we begin the process of recovery through abstinence and learning new behaviours. The Tamalpa Life/Art Process ® provides a strong container for these feelings, thoughts and memories. It can offer a safe place to recognise and unblock emotions, thus allowing release in the body and a soothing of the mind. Instead of being addicted to behaviours and destructive patterns, we can now use the arts as a way to feel energised and to bring inspiration and vibrancy to our lives in a healthy and productive way. The arts can bring colour back to a persons life who is recovering from the often dark and bleak experience of being caught in the cycle of addiction.
We work from the idea that creative collaboration can bring deep connection, satisfaction and trust, as with sharing in 12 step fellowships, for being witnessed in a safe, non – judgemental environment can be deeply empowering. Our emphasis is on delivering guided body awareness processes, focusing mind techniques and simple self-care tools, as developing self -awareness can improve physical and emotional well being, enhance creativity, as well as improving communication and relationships.
I use a very hands on approach with the movement when facilitating these courses, so the women are guided gently and safely into their bodies. I have devised and developed a framework of ‘movement metaphors’ that explore each of the 12 step principles and reflects one of the notions of the Tamalpa work, as stated by co founder Daria Halprin, “We work with the arts metaphorically, as a way of identifying, reflecting on, and changing our conditioning. We transfer principles and practices of the arts as a creative process in order to facilitate awareness, insight, and positive change”.
So engaging in movement as an embodied and mindful expression, we offer the participants an opportunity to experience new ‘insights’ and ‘positive change’. As conscious movers, they are able to explore whatever emerges, opening up and experiencing themselves in new creative and imaginative ways, therefore allowing an opening for different perspectives and possibilities in their lives.
If you are interested in participating or hosting the LifeArt course at your establishment click here to contact me for more information.
The LifeArt course is now being developed into the LifeArt Theatre Project, a collaborative arts project. For more information click here
