Is this for you?

You enjoy your relationship with your romantic or acroyoga partner and you want to continue to build a foundation of connection and good communication. You value physical play and building trust in new ways.

You have some experience with yoga, partner yoga, or acroyoga, and you want to learn concrete tools for communication that will support your relationship long-term.

What is it all about?

Communication is much more than what you say and how you say it. Communication is about the way you orient to relationship—what you make a priority in the moment-to-moment experience of interacting with your partner.

When material things, preferences, and tasks take priority over the quality of connection, disconnect is likely to occur.  When this happens, you feel irritation about little things that your partner says or does. Or, you notice the hurt of perceiving that a computer screen is more important than connecting. Or, you feel lonely when you try to collaborate and you are not heard. 

You want to enjoy life and your relationship. Making connection a priority is fundamental to a joyful relationship. When you decide to make connection a priority, everything shifts. You naturally express caring and warmth and request it in return.

The tricky part is stabilizing your commitment to connection. External things, preferences, and tasks can be powerful distractions. It’s easy to get fooled into thinking that these things lead to joy. An abiding and fulfilling joy lies in your sense of connection to yourself and others. Once you reach a critical mass of joy from connection, it becomes easy to prioritize it. Until then, you need some tools.

Join us for this half-day workshop and learn simple tools for relating and communicating in a way that supports connection.

You will have an opportunity to learn and practice the first three competencies of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue while engaging in the playful and embodied practice of partner yoga.

In our time together, you will work with your partner in guided partner yoga exercises while practicing Appreciation, Empathy, and Honest Expression.  

Appreciation is a form of honest expression. It’s about noticing what’s working well and saying that aloud more often than expressing what’s not working. It’s a form of positive feedback: Appreciation is about expressing what works in clear and specific terms. It’s not about building someone’s self-esteem or giving praise. Appreciation practice lays a foundation for collaborative and vibrant relationships.

Empathy is a heart-based response to a heart-based expression from another. Empathy means giving your compassionate curiosity to another’s experience without having an agenda. When you can give and receive empathy, each person has a deep sense of being heard. Knowing you can be heard allows defensiveness to relax and connection to become possible. Empathy contributes to healthy differentiation, as well as to emotional security. With empathy, you can truly be a companion and provide support for another without taking on their struggles as your own.

Honest expression is a rich and subtle practice that empowers you to live in alignment with your deepest values. Doing so often feels vulnerable as it requires awareness and direct expression of your needs, explicit acknowledgment of interdependence through specific and doable requests, and negotiation with others. It helps you to truly collaborate with others while fully maintaining autonomy and self-responsibility.

Partner yoga is a practice of balance, strength, calibration, trust, and, of course, communication. Your muscles can relax and stretch while your partner’s resistance helps your limbs stay in a pose. Or, you can find balance and strength together. Because of your partner’s help, you’ll be able to try new poses and find deeper expressions of familiar poses. 

Learning to support each other physically is not only a great way to play together, it’s also a way to more deeply embody and enhance the care and connection you already have.

What to expect:

You will enjoy an afternoon of discovery, fun, and learning. You will have the opportunity to receive support from three highly skilled instructors. The three instructors will work together to model and demonstrate both communication skills and physical exercises. 

While there will be some presentation of content, the majority of your time will be spent practicing and integrating the skills presented. Instructors will walk around the room and support you as you practice. You will work with your partner, as well as with another couple if physical support with spotting is needed.

The physical portion of the exercises will be designed according to the skill and experience with yoga and acroyoga you bring. Rosa Ramirez is an experienced yoga and acroyoga instructor who will attune to you and what will be a fit for you and your partner.

There will be about 10–15 other couples in a large comfortable space with yoga mats available.

Prerequisite:

You and your partner have attended yoga or acroyoga classes before. You engage in some form of physical exercise and strengthening regularly.

Your Trainers:

Rosa Ramirez

As an autoimmune warrior and creatively capable athlete, Rosa has found acroyoga not only accessible but a great shift in perspective. Inspired by this playful movement, she values the opportunity it gives for communication, collaboration and community. Rosa is excited to share her skills and empower her students to see what’s possible.

Kakumyo Lowe-Chardé

Kakumyo brings several facets of his life to this workshop: He has lived as a monk at a Buddhist temple for almost 20 years, where he teaches meditation and Zen practice. He has had a lifelong study of movement, focusing on partner acrobatics over the last 8 years. He loves seeing people push into their learning edge.

LaShelle Lowe-Chardé

LaShelle is the founder and senior trainer of Wise Heart, which has been helping people with practical skills for personal transformation and creating fulfilling relationships for the last 13 years. The major parts of her formal training include: a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a graduate degree in school psychology (Ed.S.), 20 years of dedicated mindfulness and meditation practice, certification as a trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and three years of training with M.E.T.A. (Mindful Experiential Therapy Approaches).

LaShelle offers a playful and practical approach to learning and transformation. She contributes support and guidance to others from a place of deep gratitude, warmth, and care. 

Details:

• Trainer: LaShelle Lowe-Chardé, Kakumyo Lowe-Chardé, Rosa Ramirez

• Prerequisites: You and your partner have attended yoga or acroyoga classes before. You engage in some form of physical exercise and strengthening regularly.

• When: Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

• Where: Unfold, Sky Studio, 2370 SE 37th Ave, Portland, OR 97214

• Cost: $45 per couple
  

Register

This offering is sold out.

Want to stay up to date with our offerings? Subscribe to our Connection Gem.