Somatic (or conscious) dance is a meditative, freeform, unchoreographed, and non-performative movement practice where we step out of thinking and drop into our bodies. By putting the body into motion, we’re invited into feeling our emotions and moving through them. We go from feeling stuck or trying to “figure it out” towards meeting the truth of our inner experience. We go from pushing and fixing, to allowing and emerging. Through this practice we learn to integrate the parts of us we struggle to accept and to be with all of ourselves.

Because trauma is stored in the body, we use the principle of titration in this somatic practice, moving slowly and gently towards and away from sensation and energy stored in the body, so our nervous system doesn’t get flooded.

No matter what the energy is of the music playing, you will be reminded to go with and dance the energy of your body and system in that moment. If you’re tired, how can you move and dance to honour and meet your tiredness? Likewise if you’re angry, sad, numb, overwhelmed, joyful etc… we practice meeting the truth of our experience over and over again, and moving from there (rather than where we think we “should” be or want to be).

When we meet the truth of our inner experience and landscape and give it expression through movement and sound, whatever is there can start to heal and transform. It is in the resistance of what is here that we become stagnant and stuck.

This is for anyone who wishes to explore their deeper terrain through movement, no prior experience is necessary.

This is for any-body, there is no way to be "good" or "bad" at this practice because it's about finding your own dance, whatever feels authentic and alive to you.

All of you is welcome into the practice - resistance, nervousness, exhaustion, grief, excitement, anger, confusion, silliness, joy, serenity, stuckness, fear... and so on.

The name wellspring came to me after attending a weekend workshop of sensual lifedrawing. By the end of it I was tired but my soul was completely nourished, my cup was full again.

I realised how these spaces of embodiment, sensuality, eros, and feminine mystique are like wellsprings of life-force and belonging, in a system that wants to disembody and disconnect us from ourselves, eachother, and nature.

I go to these wellsprings to remember myself and be seen in my purest and most vulnerable essence, knowing that I will be tenderly held and received.

And then I come back into day to day life to integrate and practice being at choice of when I de-armour and open myself like a blooming rose, and when it’s appropriate for me to create boundaries of protection.

I realised that when too much time passes without meeting at a wellspring, something hardens and collapses within me.

We all need wellsprings and there are many out there. My hope is that this wellspring offers a you a refuge where you can simply be, and know that you are seen and welcomed exactly as you are.

Each month we will be following the moon phases and the Wheel of the Year (eight seasonal, modern pagan festivals) to build our relationship with the nature we are a part of. We use these external markers as reference points for the personal and collective shifts happening within us. There is also an invitation for women to map your menstrual cycle each month if you have one.

• Somatic dance: 6.00-7.30pm GMT on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.

• Group coaching: 6.00-7.30pm GMT on the 3rd Monday of each month.

In between dances, we have a call for integration. Through breakouts and group coaching, you will have the opportunity in this time to integrate your learnings from the dance. Because the dance practice is non-verbal, this is an important opportunity to be able to share your experience and be witnessed in your truth. The more we do this in spaces we feel safely held, the more yes energy we bring to our authentic, creative, sensual, wild selves.

Somatic dance:

These calls are 1.5 hours long, but we won’t spend much of that time looking at our screens.

We start with a short opening circle, then move grounding exercises to gently arrive into our bodies and warmup our voices.

The somatic dance will be around 45 minutes, and you will be guided throughout the whole process (think of it as a guided meditation, but with amazing music and you get to move your body).

We end with a reflective, creative writing practice, and a verbal checkout.

Each time we meet, we will dance to a different playlist, but generally follow an energetic arc of starting slowly, building up the energy, and then winding back down towards stillness.

Group coaching:

These calls are 75 mins. We will spend a few minutes arriving into our bodies and then go into sharing and group coaching. In each call we will be following whatever is alive in the moment. You may be invited to go into smaller breakouts to connect more intimately with one or two people. Everything is optional, nothing is mandatory.

You can join and leave Wellspring at anytime.

Each monthly payment gives you access to the 2x somatic dances and 1x group coaching calls in the month.

You can cancel your membership at anytime through the Stripe customer portal. You won’t be refunded for part of the month if you cancel halfway through.

The invitation is to show up exactly as you are and discover the dance that is true for you in the moment. This may or may not match the energy of the music being played, and that is where the practice comes in of dropping back into ourselves.

Some of the most profound dances I’ve had have been when I’m too tired to do anything. My movements are small, I might even be on the ground for most of it, but my presence is exponential.

Yes the somatic dance sessions will be recorded however the group coaching sessions will not.

Yes, if you would like more 1-1 support with Nikki in a coaching context, you can inquire with her about adding this in at an additional fee.