I turned 49 on New Year’s Eve and my family lovingly asked, "What do you want to do for your birthday?" My answer was easy: dance. But more specifically, what I wanted everyone to be fully who they are in their bodies, together. And so we did, and my wish was granted. Everyone gathered at the studio. They laid down, they ran each other around on blankets, they did pushups, they twerked, they step-touched, they slid. They were wholly themselves. Permission was granted. I felt loved and loving. A good start to the last year of my forties.
And it had me thinking… permission has been on my mind a lot lately.
Permission suggests some power dynamic—someone or something granting or withholding the right to act how you want. I didn’t give explicit permission, I just let my body do what it wanted, and so did they. And I wondered what allowed us all to move so freely? What gave us internal permission? I think permission has a lot to do with what we see, what we are willing to be seen doing and how we take. And so I ask:
- Who or what am I seeking permission from?
- Is it necessary?
- Am I holding back because of an imagined rule?
Sometimes we assume permission, sometimes we wait for it, and sometimes we resist it altogether. I think when we see someone try something, explore something new or unknown, we gain some of the same benefits of having done it ourselves.*Witnessing expands permission.
When we see someone move authentically—stretching their back on the subway, joyfully skipping down the street, or embracing stillness amidst a world in motion—it can transform what we recognize as possible. Movement isn’t just personal; it’s relational. Our bodies respond to what we witness, subtly reshaping our own sense of what’s allowed.*This isn’t just philosophy—it’s science. Mirror neurons, or what’s now called the "action activation network," explain how observing movement impacts us. When we see someone move in a way we haven’t, it subtly teaches our brain and body something new. And that might be as simple as seeing someone with their eyes closed standing still before you. For someone to allow themselves to be seen is pretty charged for most of us.
Being seen expands permission.This idea is central to SE+AM (Somatic Experiencing + Authentic Movement). We move, and we witness. By moving and witnessing, we create a shared space where embodied risk, authenticity, and connection become possible.
This is a course about practice, not just theory. Together, we’ll:
- Explore where we’re waiting for permission, or following unspoken rules.
- Discover how witnessing others move authentically grants us new possibilities in our own bodies.
- Expand our capacity for relational courage through embodied risk and honest connection.
When we grant ourselves permission to move in ways that feel true, we inspire others to do the same. This course is your invitation to expand the boundaries of permission—for yourself and for your relationships.
- Permission to move the way our bodies want.
- Permission to embody our truths.
- Permission to risk being fully seen.
What if we granted ourselves the freedom to explore the impulses that arise within us—and witnessed how that freedom invites others to do the same?
This course is about expanding permission for and between us: for ourselves, for each other, and for how we show up together in our unique, awkward and wonderful ways. Because authentic relating requires permission to be who we are.