The Nourishment of Play and Rest

This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to nourish our nervous systems through the lifelines of Play and Rest.

Our morning will be enriched with somatic shenanigans as we dive into Experiments in Communal Play. An improvisational playground for collaborating in community through movement, theater, and humor. Our afternoon session will be dedicated to reseting our nervous systems through the practice of Nesting and Resting: A space to remember what it feels like to be held—by your own presence and by others. Through gentle structure and shared rest, we explore co-regulation, ease, and the tenderness of true togetherness.

Let me support you to reclaim the health and vitality of your nervous system through delicious doses of Play and Rest.

11-1:30pm Experiments in Communal Play

It has been scientifically proven how vital play is to our well-being.

Animals and young children are always playing which supports their nervous systems to be fluid and flexible.

Ever notice how contracted life can feel when we are taking ourselves too seriously?

Just a small dose of play per day can expand you into a state of awe of joy and aliveness.

How can we remember to play?

Let me support you!

This workshop is an improvisational playground for collaborating in community through movement, theater, and humor.

1:30-2:30: Lunch break. Bring your own lunch

2:30-5 Nesting and Resting: The Art of Togetherness

Your nervous system carries the weight of modern life. Constant connectivity, deadlines, and responsibilities create a cycle of stress that's difficult to break. That's why we've created Nesting and Resting: The art of Togetherness.

This workshop invites you to slow down, unwind, and experience the ease of being met just as you are. Together we practice presence, deep rest, and the nourishing art of true togetherness.

This workshop offers a restorative environment for slowing down, soothing the nervous system, and reconnecting through simple, attuned human presence. No experience is needed—just a willingness to arrive as you are.

5-6: Dinner Break Bring your own food

6-7:30: Contact Improvisation Jam with Live music. Scores provided for a sweet container vibe at the beginning of jam.

ABOUT SHANNON

Shannon Sahaja is a somatic educator and meditation guide who feels most at home in the woods, on a dance floor, in warm water or engaged in silly shenanigans. She holds a BFA in Dance from S.U.N.Y Purchase, and has 2 decades of experience as a movement facilitator. Shannon brings delight to the space with her unique ability to create safety while spicing things up with humor and spontaneity. She is well known for her loving approach to yoga that was developed during her 8 years of living and teaching at Harbin Hot Springs and through her mentorship with Angela Farmer.

In 2010, she founded: Being Danced.  Experiments in Communal Play! 

• A body of work designed to bring you embodied presence seasoned with playfulness.

• A safe place to revel in your inner child's creative genius.

• An improvisational playground for collaborating in community through movement, theater, and humor.

She has studied extensively with many of the early pioneers of Contact Improvisation, including Nancy Stark Smith, and loves articulating the mechanics of weight sharing for those unfamiliar with the form.

From 2017-2024, Shannon enjoyed being the manager and sacred space holder for Ecstatic Dance Oakland and was a resident Yoga and Contact Improvisation teacher.

Her personal dedication the last few years has been to deeply regulate her nervous system through integration, big doses of time in nature, and media fasting.

From this she birthed,  Nesting And Resting: The art of Togetherness.  ​

•  Container for healing your nervous system from overstimulation

•  Slowing down to receive ourselves in the company of others.  

•  A safe and structured environment for practicing and experiencing safe, platonic intimacy. ​

• An environment for rest and recalibration in a co-regulatory ecosystem of attuned humans.

She is devoted to inspiring students to experience their own essence through play, inner strength and nourishment.

Her passion is to bring presence and emotional intelligence into the field.  To show up as a safe space for the younger parts of ourselves to thaw out and open up. Shannon creates environments where people feel safe, seen, held, respected, and honored in their uniqueness.