In Workshops, Workshop-Retreats, individual & group sessions, we practice the many-splendoured BODY SENSE Arts of Natural Effortless Mobility, Alert Aware Mind, Poised Self-carriage, Ease, Supple Body, Relaxedness, Impeccable Attentiveness & Presence –
clear MIND – open HEART – supple BODY – free SPIRIT
BODY SENSE: OUR ORIGINAL INTEGRITY & WHOLENESS
RELEASE THE TENSION -RESTORE THE EASE! Quietening, centering, grounding, balancing - filtering through the entire body - nervous system steadying, becoming less reactive - anxiety, tension and effort drifting out - alertness, calm, settling in. Now we're ready to think and Be and Do.
Extended weekend in The Gardens of Temenos, McGregor
WORKSHOP-RETREAT October 29, 30, 31- 2021 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ‘MINDFUL BODY - EMBODIED MIND’ ~ MOVEMENTS OF MEANING & POWER ~ ~ ~ ~ a combination & aspects of
BODY SENSE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE + BODY SENSE TAI CHI/ QIGONG +
NATURAL, CONSCIOUS WALKING
Integrating movements, principles & practice of these significant Arts & Skills, Marguerite guides us into their shared perspectives in the way that they benefit, support and inform each other – letting go of strain and tension, force and effort, thus allowing the body’s natural EASE to operate.
YOU WILL TAKE HOME practical, gentle, self-care Life skills:
FINDING stability, groundedness, centredness, balance, upwardness & openness as you STAND with me. WALK with me. REST with me. MOVE effortlessly, gracefully in all that you do - BREATHING – SENSING – FEELING Beautifully POISED, mindfully ATTENTIVE, finding RESTFULNESS & PEACEFULNESS !
Moving In accordance with the majestic intelligence of Nature - enhancing our natural coordination, overall health, mobility, composure, and potential for learning. PAUSING the busyness & strain of the treadmills of daily life! Making room for KINDNESS!
~ MOVING with EASE ~ into HEALTH – WELLBEING - Peak PERFORMANCE – PRESENCE - POWER
TEMENOS - offers us its unique environment of quietude and restfulness, allowing us intimate connection and awareness of Nature’s Garden, and the space for a personal retreat. Abiding all Covid regulations.
Smatterings of delicious food, music, meditation, me- time, deep & creative relaxedness- all support the process. With time and space for what-you-will – wander The Garden, listen to the silence or the birdlife, watch clouds, leaves and ducks, meander, write, sketch, simply ‘be’, find yourself!
T’AI CH’I CHU’AN/ QIGONG – The ultimate exercise-Arts & training. Slow, flowing, balancing movements of specific Meaning & Power- beautiful to watch and to do. Lifelong movement practices that develop Strength, Suppleness, BodyMindEmotion Balance, and support our internal, inner functioning.
ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE - gentle, therapeutic, intelligent, absorbed courtesy of the Teacher’s hands-on guidance. Body knowledge of balance, tension & ease. Learning how to USE your body as Nature designed: with effortlessness, relaxedness, true alignment. Releasing tension, strain & stress to rediscover our natural ease in daily activity as we rest, sit, stand, walk, bend, carry, play the piano, do what we do…
NATURAL, CONSCIOUS WALKING – lithe, easy paced, rhymical - not far-fast-forceful-ungainly-damaging.
MARGUERITE - Internationally qualified, professional teacher of The Alexander Technique (3+ decades).and of T’ai Chi, widely studied in the fields of body, mind and spirit, Marguerite brings to her teaching an open, practical, holistic approach, respect the individual’s ability to build health and performance in a natural, effective way. She has long explored the intersections of the above Arts, in the way that they benefit, support and informs each other and inaccessible ways. A copy of her latest booklet ‘In Praise of T’ai Ch’I Ch’uan’ will be available.
PROGRAMME
Early morning: walks, meditation, Inspirational Mobility (T’ai Chi, QiGong, Body Sense…) Mornings & Afternoons: Individual /group sessions - guided through the gentle Alexander- hands-on process. Free own--time. Each participant has the option of a private session.
Evenings: quiet richness of music, poetry, story, whatever the evening calls … Meals: wholesome, delicious, beautifully prepared vegetarian Meditations: in The Well, The Little Way, Temenos Garden Cost: R4 450 - all-inclusive: single accommodation, all meals, facilities. Stay over Sunday night at no extra cost.
BOOKINGS/ENQUIRIES CONTACT
Marguerite: 028 271 4555;
Temenos: 023 625 1871, temenos@lando.co.za - www.temenos.org.za
Be free to contact me directly ( margsmerwe@telkomsa.net, 028 271 4555) to discuss anything in connection with this Workshop, with my work/ events/ sessions. Love to hear from you!
“ALEXANDER TEACHERS accompany people into their fluidity, spaciousness and poise, while ensuring that their feet rest comfortably on solid ground. We awaken people to a sensory world full of simple pleasures and knowledge. Our ART is HUMAN TOUCH, an inexhaustible resource for education, nurturance, growth…” BRUCE FERTMAN
MARGUERITE (OSLER) van der MERWE is a senior teacher of Body Sense Alexander Technique and Tai Chi, with more than 30 years of professional experience. She presents individual sessions, workshops and retreats countrywide. In June 2016, Marguerite was awarded the University of the Free State’s CHANCELLOR’S MEDALLLION “for exceptional service to South Africa and the world beyond our borders.” BOOKS: ‘THE ART OF WALKING—Path to Health & the Richness of Well-Being’; ’EVE-OLUTION—Enhancing Feminine Consciousness & Body Awareness’. ‘PRAISE-POEM’ BOOKLETS: ‘In PRAISE of T’AI CH’’I CH’UAN’ (2021); ‘READINESS IS ALL’; ‘PRAISE-POEM for the LAND’; ‘THE ART OF WALKING’; ‘POISE-PRESENCE-POWER’
It’s like this …
97% of people with back pain could benefit by learning the Alexander Technique – it is only a very small minority of back pain sufferers that require medical intervention such as surgery. — Dr Jack Stern, spinal neurosurgeon and founding partner of Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York, USA
I suspect – I know – that you are guru and teacher of lightness of being and skillful awareness to many people, including me.
Thank you for all you bring to the experience... your poise, your gentle example, your special spirit. I loved every minute and was grateful for the personal and profound shifts within the contexts of meditation, gentle movement and psyche.
Thank you for a most wonderful, constructive and uplifting weekend at Temenos! You truly have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to share and do so with great generosity.
I thank you for sharing your gifts with those of us who are gifted enough to be with you on your journey. Occasionally someone asked me how I manage to do what I do and be o.k I just thought of the times being in your hands and letting go and just not even needing to answer.
Follow a visual glimpse into BODY SENSE ALEXANDER & TAI CHI video :
www.greenrenaissance.co.za FB Green Renaissance page - click on ‘videos’, and ‘You Must Explore ‘ Marguerite van der Merwe
