Your Empathic Body

Learning to Embody All of Your Emotions

Join licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® Trainer and somatic movement educator/performing artist Chris Bodwitch for a 6-week introductory course to learn how to think and feel in collaboration with your body’s innate intelligence.

About This Course 

Using creative and fun approaches to observation, movement, writing, listening, and drawing, you can welcome back your natural, childlike ability to play with everything. As you learn how your emotions are stored in your body, you will become more aware of their necessary messages. Instead of keeping everything around you unmoving and controlled, you can figure out how to respond or behave and use your whole body intelligence to move with the present moment. Then, making decisions, relating to others, and generating solutions feels more like a dance than a confusing and impossible task.

What you are likely to experience in this course:

• Questions and Revelations
• Silliness and Wisdom
• Invigoration and Restfulness
• Laughter and Tears
• Vulnerability and Strength
• You – Authentic and Whole

What You’ll Learn:

• How to work with your personal space so you feel safe and confident in your body whether you are alone or with others.
• How to move and create with your body without worrying if it makes sense, is the right thing to do, or looks good.
• Balance skills to create a healthy relationship with your fear, anxiety, and depression.
• A personal body movement practice that will welcome sadness and grief and replenish your energy.
• How to discover your body’s physical response during a “triggered” situation and begin to discern what emotions are really needed for your present experience.
• How to tune into your body’s movement — gestures, posture, actions, and sensations — so you can understand when you express or repress emotions, and shift to working with them brilliantly.
• How to engage your imagination as a partner for possibility, risk-taking, and pleasure while bringing you new information about what your emotions are communicating to you.

Course Details

Length of Course: 6 Weeks

Dates: Monday, February 27 to Friday, April 7, 2023

Price: $175.00

Learning & Interaction Structure: Reading curriculum, Forum discussions, audio and video files, course PDFs, and one-hour weekly webinars using the Zoom video conferencing program.

Live Zoom Class: These weekly one-hour sessions are not mandatory and will be mostly movement explorations with a little bit of discussion. Participants are welcome to keep their cameras off for the duration of the session and join in conversation via writing (in the chat box) or speaking with or without the video camera on. These Zoom meetings will be recorded for anyone who cannot attend.

Zoom Webinar Schedule: Thursdays from 3 to 4pm Pacific Time. Dates: March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, and April 6.

Time Commitment: You’ll read the course curriculum and interact in the Forum on your own schedule (plan for a minimum of 2-3 hours per week), and you’ll meet with Chris and classmates for one hour in the Zoom each week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What will we do in the course?

A: Each course week, you will have access to videos, readings, and exercises that will ask you to play, listen, create, and reflect using movement, writing, drawing, and sometimes a mix of all three.

Q: How do I find the link to join the Zoom class, and what if I miss a Zoom?

A: You can find the link in the weekly email sent the day before the course week begins (usually Sunday.) Each weekly Zoom will be recorded and saved in our course Forum for your review in case you weren’t able to make the live Zoom.

Q: If I sign up, what happens next?

A: You’ll receive a welcome email from Chris with all the course information and logistics. Then, you’ll receive another email 1 week before the start date of the course to invite you to the Forum where you can introduce yourself and access the Zoom link for the live class. Every week, you’ll receive an email with the information and materials you need for the week, including the Zoom information for our live meeting.

Q: Do I have to know how to dance or be an artist?

A: Not at all! If you enjoy moving your body and learning in new ways, then you are ready for this course.

Q: How much interaction should I expect?

A: You can interact as much or as little as you like in the live Zooms and in the Forum. From my experience as a workshop participant, I learned huge amounts of information from others sharing how they engage and learn with their emotions. I also learned (when I shared how I was feeling) that I was not alone, and the responses always brought me new insights. It’s also a great way to practice expressing how, where, and when you feel in a safe and supportive environment.

About the Instructor

Chris Bodwitch

Chris Bodwitch is a performing artist and educator who has always used improvisation to explore the unspoken truths that the body communicates. To her surprise, this ability to notice and engage with everything in the moment is a source of humor, lightness, and empathy. Chris is thrilled to share how to learn from our brilliant emotions and bodies, and how to discover awareness, healing, and pleasure.

Chris is also the creator and instructor of the Discover Your Emotional Body mini-workshop here at Empathy Academy.