SOMATICS & FITNESS
MUSCLE AND BONE
I have been a regular teacher of M&B (Muscle & Bone / Mind & Body) at Wellesley Studios in Tāmaki Makaurau for a number of years now, as well as taking pop up outdoor sessions. M&B is a vigorous, rhythmic, dynamic movement and spatial training system; encouraging participants to experience the limit of their flexibility, endurance and spatial expansion.
The M&B workout is about understanding the depth of relation to the ground, working space together and the communal body. The classes are designed to be fast paced, physically rigorous and are structured for participants to experience full expansion of their external body in the space. Regular M&B training is an excellent source of overall fitness and strength.
M&B movement approach is one part of the Body Weather Laboratory (BWL) is a research forum, founded in 1978 by Min Tanaka; a demanding and thorough reexamination of the body and movement is a main theme in all aspects of the training.
If you would like an MnB class for your team, your creative project, or for your school, please be in touch via email.
SOMATIC FITNESS
If you are interested in gaining more flexibility, strength, mobility and ease in your body, then you may be interested in Somatic Fitness Sessions.
These tailored movement classes are able to cater for all levels of movement capability. They integrate a range of modalities and knowledge systems to offer whole-body activations and leave you feeling energised, connected and inspired. We work with a general pattern of listening to our bodies, releasing tension, connecting internal pathways, strengthening functional movement capabilities and integrating through improvisation.
Each session is different. We respond to the needs of the participants, and also take account of the environment in terms of the phases of Maramataka and the seasons.
You will gain new understandings of your body from Māori, Chinese and Western perspectives, and practical ways to integrate these ideas into your everyday life as well as your training. Some sessions will involve use of weights, others will integrate household items, and we will move in both inside and outside settings to access different surfaces and environments.
Sessions can occur via Zoom, or in person by appointment. If you would like to offer your organisation, team or movement project a Somatic Fitness Session, give me an email describing your needs!
"Kia ora Rachel!
Thank you for running Muscle and Bone classes, I've loved both the classes i've come to so far and i'm so grateful for the opportunity to be guided to move and learn <3"
HINEAHUONE EMBODIED ANATOMY
Classes and workshops exploring our anatomy as described through the pūrākau (story) of Hineahuone, the first woman, created from the sacred red clay of Papatūānuku. Sessions offer different movement pathways and images depending on the needs of the participants.
FOR GENERAL PUBLIC
This practice can be taught as a recalibration and diagnostic tool, to enable greater awareness of the location, function, state and potentials of our bodily structures, as well as practical movements that enable evolution towards greater ease and health in both physical and emotional levels.
FOR MOVEMENT PRACTITIONERS
Hineahuone Embodied Anatomy can be taught as a physical practice to enable greater articulation and movement clarity for those who already have a high degree of understanding and awareness of their body. This method of moving with and from the different structures of our body allows us to find new pathways and connections inside our body, as well as in space, and new connections to the elements that we are created from. We can also find insights into the potential of our bodily structures as powerful sources of emotional energy within performance contexts.
Research for a performance piece utilising Hineahuone Embodied Anatomy
TE REO
During the practice, we will be utilising Te Reo Māori terms for different parts of your anatomy, as well as learning the different Ātua (gods) who gifted them to us in this story. We will be listening to instructions given in Te Reo as well, as this is a part of the mahi I offer, to uplift our skills in speaking and thinking through Mātauranga Māori.
INTERESTED IN THIS MAHI FOR YOURSELF, YOUR TEAM, OR YOUR CREATIVE PRACTICE?
Drop me an email at rachel.r.m@gmail.com
"Kia Ora Rachel
I loved the class thank you. I am unravelling my body post-stagnancy (dis-ease / bedridden / chronic pain) and feeling into her anew, the movement and the story you offer feels good for me - a gentle enquiry. I can imagine more classes with you indeed."