SE+AM stitches together the principles and physiological frames of Somatic Experiencing© with the movement practice of Authentic Movement.

Somatic Experiencing© (SE) offers a physiological frame for how the human threat response effects and shapes our reflexive impulses, movement pathways, reactions and habituated patterns for connection and protection. Authentic Movement (AM) is an improvisational movement practice that uses the roles of "mover" and "witness" to explore what our bodies are moved to do when we center a relationship to our bodily impulses. SE+AM is the synergistic experience of exploring the relationship of impulses and patterns within and between a mover and a witness.

Anyone with a body is welcome to explore SE+AM. This work is for the curious, the open minded and the willing. SE+AM welcomes a range of ages, cultures, histories and genders and asks participants for an awareness towards personal responsibility and group care. There is no movement or somatic therapy experience necessary unless otherwise indicated. (Some series are for therapists and practitioners only). This work is not appropriate for folks in acute stages of crisis.

Practicing by doing is something we prioritize in each session. Rather than theorizing about how our nervous systems work, we get to experience, in our bodies, what happens in real time when we step into a relationship with our impulses. There’s certainly not a predicted outcome from engaging in this work, but many folks have expressed similar experiences of more ease in inhabiting their bodies, a greater capacity to take risk in being seen, a compassionate shift in how they witness others, a greater interest in entering spaces without a need to prove their value or assert their agenda, a strengthened capacity for slowing down and sustaining attention, deeper curiosity and attunement in to the world around them, more ease in authentic connection and a desire for more vulnerable encounters with others. Gaining trust in the impulse of aliveness within our own bodies and in the world around us changes how we meet the moments we are alive.

If you are breathing, you are moving. All variations of movement gift each SE+AM group with new possibilities for what it means to move and new understandings for what embodiment can look like. SE+AM is about expanding our limitations in how we see others and what’s possible for us. When we have the opportunity to be in a space with folks who move differently, the field we are in gains in richness. In-person sessions can accommodate most limitations but are specific to the limitations of the space we are using. For virtual sessions, a solid connection to wifi and zoom are needed. How you interact with that technology can be varied and we can accommodate specific needs, however, being able to see others and be seen during practice breakouts are an important part of participation during sessions.