Stillness in Motion: Guided Freeform Dance Meditation

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led by Denise Porter Kemp, accompanied with music and sound by Kalidasa Joseph Getter

This workshop utilizes guided mindfulness movement and spontaneous freeform dance meditation as experiential metaphor for resetting unconscious yet familiar patterns; in the way we approach our movement practice, in the way we move when we dance and in how we relate to the unique circumstances of our lives.

I will offer meditative orientations to both help us notice how the forces of momentum, conditioned habits, preconceptions, our own will, each other, the environment around us and even the music direct our movement and experiment with consciously unhooking ourselves from following this momentum.

In the space of the pause we can potentially tap into the experiencing witness state, pure awareness underlying all other states of consciousness – the silence ever-present behind the sound, the spaciousness inside our form and the stillness of each moment within the movement – and allow fresh insight and creative possibilities to arise.

Instead of repeating pattern or even identifying as the “dancer” and moving by our own will alone, the dance takes form through us. Informed yet not defined, limited or controlled by everything we have experienced so far in our lives.

All levels welcome, no prior experience necessary. I will offer variations to suit every body.

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Denise Porter Kemp makes stillness, movement and yoga meditation practices accessible to the uniqueness of every body while expressing the underlying psychology and teachings through the experiential practice of the physical form.

Currently based in the forests of New Hampshire, she brings her traveling school to private homes, offices at lunchtime, ski mountains, addiction recovery centers, yoga studios and music festivals all along the east coast.

Certified at the 500 hour level in the Shakti Flow Vinyasa style of yoga by Asa Dustin of At OM Yoga, Level 1 in Thai Yoga by Shai Plonski of Still Light Center and initiated into the Kaula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism by Parvathi Nanda Nath Saraswati, Denise has studied with many teachers and learns from everyone who comes her way. She has been teaching yoga since 2005 and offering Thai Yoga since 2011.

~  body geometry, pure awareness  ~

Guided Meditation – Processing Experience and Sensation like Water

I thought I would share this as maybe it will help you clear your mind and body before you sleep. It is not really a video but a guided meditation, but so far with what I know a video is easier to share than audio. It is raw, not perfected or polished. I blow my nose, I have a cold, I sit up in a wonky way. It is taken from the end of a online Zoom yoga session with a private client. I have been wanting to share some guided meditations, when I teach it is pretty much all guided movement and stillness meditation. I don’t have a plan or use a script. I tried recording some with a script I wrote, and while I like what I said, it sounded like I was reading from a script. In this what I say is not exactly right, yet it sounds, at least to me, more authentic, albeit a little slow and with a stuffy nosed voice. I like it better than the script though. In 14 years of teaching it is the first time I have recorded myself and listened to the recording as a meditation for myself…I tend to be more ephemeral than documenting. I think it will help me get better at this to do this, record myself in real time rather than scripted and then experience myself as a student. It is fascinating. I am different on the outside than I am inside of me, it seems so far, and as I watch myself I have extreme compassion for this little woman that I am, in the same way I have compassion for you when I see you in real life. I will likely record a similar guided meditation and at that point perhaps delete this. Yet in the interim I am sharing what I have available and maybe it will be of interest to you.

Online Interactive Group Yoga Classes 1/29-31

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~ in the comfort of your own home ~

Week of January 27

Tuesday, January 29
10:30am, 7pm, 9pm
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Wednesday, January 30
6:30pm, 8pm
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Thursday, January 31
10:30am, 2pm

Register here and send a donation at the introductory rate of $5 or more to PayPal.me/deniseporterkemp. Be sure to comment which class you are interested in attending.

 

If there is not a sign-up form above this paragraph (it seems to be missing if you have the WordPress app on your phone), or if you just prefer, send me an email message to let me know you would like to join.

To prepare:
Download the free Zoom Meetings app onto your phone, tablet or computer and set yourself up so you can see the device and I can see you.

Some things I am learning with practice:
A laptop tends to be easiest, as you can move it around, it is stable and the screen tilts easily. Yet if you are working with a tablet or a phone, the photo below may help you find a good angle. The phone is elevated and leaning on something to stay upright and the tablet is leaning on the stool with something in front of the left corner to keep it from falling over. And yes, there is a little dog on the screen!

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Internet seems to work better if the device is well charged. If the connection is lagging, hardwiring a computer to an ethernet cord gives the best connection, although most likely is not necessary.

If there are other times that would work for you or specific themes or orientations you may be interested in let me know, I am experimenting to find what works best. I am also available for private individual and group sessions on request.

My intention is to move to one to two month sessions and longer form workshops, sign up for my mailing list here and/or follow this website for the most up to date information.

Thank you for your interest, I hope to see you in person or online sometime soon.

 

Snowsports Conditioning Dynamic Balance Sequence 1

The first snow on Mount Washington, Mount Mansfield, at Jay Peak ResortStowe Mountain ResortSmugglers’ Notch ResortSugarbush ResortKillington Resort and Cannon Mountain (did I miss anyone?) inspires me to prepare myself for the upcoming snowsports season.
As skiing and snowboarding are dynamic balance practices, flow yoga and fluid movement meditation practices are useful and fun conditioning for pre-season and throughout the whole year.
This sequence is one potential of many.
If you have interest in working one-on-one or hiring me to lead a snowsports specific group yoga class, send me a message and check out the services section of this website to see some of what I have to offer.
Once again, sorry for the technology and cropping! I am working with what I have and learning as I go.