WEEKEND WORKSHOP SERIES
Practice self reflection, yoga, journaling, storytelling + meet some horses!
Fri, Sept 21, 2018 from 6.00pm - 8.30pm
at the library in Trafford, PA (east of Pittsburgh)
Sat, Sept 22, 2018 from10.30am - 3.30pm
in Trafford, PA (we'll travel to 2 locations)
Sun, Sept 23, 2018 from 9.30am - 12.30pm
at a park in Trafford, PA (rain location = library)
Cost: for all 3 workshops = $150
just Friday = $35; just Sat = $75, just Sun = $45
We have by donation slots available too!
What stories do you tell yourself? What stories do you listen for? What role do certain stories play in your life? Stories can be as elaborate as the Harry Potter sagas taking our creative side for a walk (hello imagination!) or as simple as sharing the real life process of your morning routine (whoa, I never thought of my teeth
brushing experience as interesting before now!). Language we choose informs our values and beliefs and how we get along in this world. We can literally open our perspective and shift our entire personal and/or professional landscape by bringing awareness to language.
Our ability to categorize, group and make meaning of our experiences is amazing and allows us to build our stories - which are ever changing as is life. Let's turn our story writing ability into a super power by experiencing it in a particular way - in self reflection.
Self reflection can be incredibly liberating. Reflecting through journaling and speaking a story (or pieces of a story) in a herd can resonate deeply.
* This workshop SERIES can be taken as an entire series or in chunks. There will be a progression, yet it will be easy to jump in and catch on.
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*photos by Amanda Lyons
This workshop will provide prompts and activities for us as individuals and as a community. Whether you're thrilled to share your writing or that makes you nervous, there will be open opportunities to connect with those in the workshops and share your reflections (or not - as you wish). By witnessing each other's stories, we build resonance (connection or meaning) as we relate to parts of the stories we hear.
When you add the element of horse language, you're sure to have a memorable experience.
No prior experience needed for this workshop - just bring you! We won't be riding the horses, rather spending time with them in the paddock and on Rescue grounds.
REWRITE YOUR STORIES - CHANGE YOUR LIFE
rewrite the stories you tell yourself,
the stories you tell everyone,
the stories you tell no one
What will each workshop look like?
FRIDAY night, 6 - 8.30pm
We'll have some light appetizers, some free time to meet and greet and one or two little activities.
SATURDAY day, 10.30am - 3.30pm at the library + the Rescue
We'll practice listening, mindful writing, storytelling and begin to embody our stories with movement in nature. There will be small group conversations, journaling, time to meet the horses and yoga (not necessarily in that order). Lunch will be provided.
SUNDAY morning, 9.30am - 12.30pm in a local park (rain location at the library)
Over tea, coffee and light snacks, we'll stretch our imagination and write / rewrite a story we'd like to share beyond the workshop. There will be an opportunity to stretch our bodies, too, with a mini yoga session.
Shout out to our hosts and the herd!
We're super excited to host part of this workshop series at the fabulous Trafford Community Public Library. What better place to think about storytelling than in a library?! Thanks to our librarian, Jessica, and all the staff who work at the library for making this community space so welcoming. Libraries are amazing places that spark imagination and allow us to seek knowledge of all kinds. Check out their website to see upcoming events. traffordlibrary.org
Huge thanks to Pleasant Valley Rescue Ranch for hosting part of our experience in our Saturday workshop! A shout out for all the amazing work they do to care for horses and ponies who need a home. The Rescue Ranch serves as a foster home, orphanage, retirement home and palliative care retreat for unwanted horses and ponies, regardless of age, breed or condition. Whether horses stay a short while or permanently, they are amazing animals with incredible natural ability to help us humans build awareness. Check out the Rescue Ranch website to learn more. pleasantvalleyrescue.org
Can't make our workshop to experience these awesome places? Consider donating. Donations = love!
Creatively, Amanda + Emily
Meet your facilitators!
Amanda Lyons, MS
Lyons is an artist and facilitator hosting workshops, illustrating and drawing out as many reflections and visions as she can! With an MS in Organization Development, the eye of an artist and the capacity to make work fun in all its complexity, Lyons has been known to create meaningful experiences.
Emily Goodwin, LCSW
Goodwin is a social worker, writer, artist and equestrian bringing brilliant questions to help us process learning individually and collectively. Her capacity for managing many things at once while holding the bigger vision allows people to tend to the pieces they need to in order to be true to themselves.
DRAW. WRITE. REFLECT. WRITE. IMAGINE. WRITE. REFINE YOUR LANGUAGE. UNEARTH MEANING. REWRITE.
Wait, STORIES? Traditionally, there are oral traditions passed between the generations, narrative books for adults, children's books combining the word with images and many other 'stories.' For this workshop, we will define 'stories' as the thoughts (words, images and impressions) weaved together to form meaning based in our individual human histories and experiences. They reside in our heads as weaved quilts of language interspersed with beliefs and biases.