The Body Memory Method
Created by our founder Leah Zeiger, the Body Memory Method honors and explores our body’s knowledge through somatic movement.
Four Guiding Principles:
1 - My body is a knowledgeable being / My body’s knowledge doesn’t just come from my experience - it has its own intellect.
2 - My body’s number one goal is to survive, and number two goal is to be free of pain / Everything my body does has these two goals in the forefront of intention.
3 - My body is endlessly and unconditionally forgiving and empathetic / My body doesn’t hold grudges.
4 - My body is the only thing that allows me (my conscious self) to experience the world / My relationship with my body has a defining impact on how I experience the world.
Body Memory Method Workshops
In it’s most robust form, Body Memory Method workshops involve 3 elements:
Conversation - Leah discusses one or more of the guiding principles as well as the theme of that day’s workshop. The group may discuss their relationship to their bodies and any somatic movement experience they do or don’t have.
Movement - gentle movement prompts centered on the workshop’s theme to explore speaking and listening to the body through movement and sensation.
Reflection - both individual reflection (journaling, meditating, etc) and group reflection (discussion, reading journal entries, etc) are offered as ways to process but are not compulsory for any participant. Final group reflection is focussed on incorporating Body Memory Method into daily life.
“I was so in touch with my body that I wasn't thinking of anything else”
“I feel profoundly calm and curious.”
“it was nice to connect with my body and reflect on what she has been through to survive and converse whether or not what we are doing now to survive is serving us.”
Feminist Center for Creative Work
Community Partners who have hosted Body Memory Method Workshops:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Peace Over Violence
Awakenings Art
Book a workshop now!
Body Memory workshops can be offered in tandem with a program that already runs or as its own program. They can be one-off sessions of any length of time or offered as a series. This can be in person or online. These workshops are meant to be as accessible to your organization and constituents as possible, and we can shape-shift the program to fit your needs!