Photo Credit: Jamie McHugh - http://naturebeingart.org/
“In developing the work of Continuum I have deliberately focused on the analogy of the cell/embryo as representing the movement of basic bio-fluid motifs, whether within the universe or what we call our ‘bodies.'
From this perspective the cell/embryo establishes the template of fluid movement and structure at its most primary level.”
- Emilie Conrad, Life on Land
Four-Day Retreat Series
The embryo is our teacher, embodying fluid dynamics and potential that we may have lost touch with but can access throughout life.
The mindful movement practice of Continuum naturally takes us into fluid states reminiscent of the embryo. Using the gentle breaths, sounding, and often subtle movement of Continuum, we find our tissues melting, our patterns dissolving, our thoughts softening. As we return to our natural fluidity, we can experience embryonic creativity, re-form and emerge renewed, refreshed, and ready for what life presents next.
This 4-day retreat is a special offering from Continuum teachers, Jane Okondo and Cherionna Menzam-Sills, to support those experienced with Continuum to deepen their practice further. The retreat format enables us to deepen further than shorter dives. We can immerse ourselves within our fluid field, either in person or online. Jane will be present to host you in person in London. Cherionna will be attending via Zoom, which you are also welcome to do if in person doesn't work for you.
In this retreat series, we will review embryological development and how it can be relevant for our health and well-being now. We will focus particularly on prenatal developmental milestones from the first four weeks: conception, implantation journey, implantation, and embryo folding. As well as images of how the embryo changes form at each stage, we will consider psychological implications, and how these also might affect our bodies and our lives. These stages will inform our sequence as we prepare to dive deeply together.
We plan to meet each morning at 10:30 a..m. We will take time as needed to check in, teach the sequence, and initiate a dive. We will have an extended dive where we let go of chatting between sessions and being in the Continuum mode of silence, beginning either Friday evening or Saturday and ending at 2 p.m. on Sunday, when we will come back together to share our experiences.
If you feel drawn to a deeply nourishing embryo enquiry and have been practicing Continuum and have had the equivalent of at least 5 days of experience with a Continuum teacher, please feel free to contact us to enrol.
“If we really want to understand fluid systems, water’s legacy, and the gifts it has to bring, we must merge our consciousness with it. No one really knows the immensity of the fluid that pulsates within. What we can do is fully enter, sensually and with love, the beckoning pool, wet our knees, our throat, until at last disappearing into the welcoming aquese, we sink far, drown well, lose our mind, and become the fluid, utterly and completely. You must love madly, utter its name at night, sing its praises in the morning. Its secrets will whisper in your heart. Enchantment awaits.”
– Emilie Conrad, Life on Land
Retreat Details
WHEN:
Thursday - Sunday
1 p.m. on Thursday until 4 p.m. on Sunday
November 9 - 12, 2023
January 25 - 28, 2024
May 9 - 12, 2024
NOTE RE THE SCHEDULE:
The times are not set in stone because it is meant to be like an in person retreat, and is for the for people who will be at Jane’s in person. We encourage you to practice as much as possible, or at least to keep you time free during the days of the retreat, even at times that we are not officially meeting for instructions. You can also have the intention to do whatever else you are doing with a kind of Continuum mindfulness.
We begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday to establish our field with introductions and beginning instructions for a beginning baseline/dive. We usually finish each day around 5 - 6 p.m. with some time to check in before we finish.
On Friday and Saturday we usually begins at 10 a.m. The idea is that we set up a dive, then take an extended time to practice it, then come together for questions, reports, and possibly to add in another piece. We usually meet in the early afternoon for that, then again at the end of the day.
On Saturday, when we are ready and everyone is clear about the sequence, we go into silence. This means that we begin an extended dive until 2 p.m. on Sunday, when we come back together to speak, share our experiences, and complete. We plan to end at 4 p.m. Sunday.
This is a general plan but the times may be a bit more fluid, depending on what the group needs.
WHERE:
In a small private studio in SE London and on Zoom
In person
Accommodation: there are plenty of airbnb’s in the area. If you would like ideas of where maybe the best location to stay and what would suit you, please contact Jane.
There is limited food storage and access to washing up at the venue.
Online: Zoom
COST:
Cost for single retreat:
In person: £480 (fees do not include meals or accommodation)
Virtual: £455
