Seeking Equilibrium in Times of Change

June 6 – 9, 2024
Malinalco, Mexico

Las Suculentas Manzana 001, San Juan, 52440 Malinalco, State of Mexico, Mexico
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We live in a time of rapid change: personal, professional, digital, climatic, financial and political. This 4-day retreat will pose the question: “How do I navigate my journey through loss, joy, and the search for fulfillment, while maintaining kindness toward myself and others?” Taylor will utilize tools of somatic movement awareness—movement, embodied anatomy, meditation, and touch—to support you to find your own pathway toward equanimity. In the process you will work with:

• The Satisfaction Cycle (the capacity to move easily in relationship to the earth and the heavens)

• Ecosomatics: embodying your bones as earth, your fluids as ocean, and your breath as sky

• Connective and collective tissues: the sensation of internal fascial connectivity as a model for the supportive experience of community

The retreat is being held at Las Suculentas , a private retreat center in Malinalco, Mexico, that offers a profound engagement with the natural world, excellent climate, and a perceptible energy that is an ideal support for transformative change. In addition to the scheduled activities, Las Suculentas offers high-quality unprocessed food menus and amenities such as a stunningly beautiful studio, pool, temazcal, and beautifully decorated living quarters. Malinalco was named one of the “Pueblos Magicos” of Mexico, boasting a 16th-century Augustinian monastery with original murals depicting local flora and fauna, access to a hilltop Aztec ceremonial center, and the highest biodiversity in Mexico.

Conducted in English with Spanish translation as needed 

Private bodywork sessions available during breaks and evening hours:

Cecilia Molinar: Craniosacral Therapy, Massage Therapy, and Ayurvedic massage

Contact ayurvedasomatics@gmail.com

Maria Velez/Listening Hands: Functional Osteopathy, Thai Massage, and Zero Balancing

Contact mariaavelezg@gmail.com

Las Suculentas Retreat Center

Retreat Center Photos

 Mark C. Taylor directs the Center for BodyMindMovement, which provides certification programs in Somatic Movement Education located in the U.S., Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. A registered Master Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist, he is also a Somatic Experiencing practitioner, a teacher of Body-Mind Centering®, and has trained in cranio-sacral therapy and yoga. Taylor has guided trainings, retreats, and workshops in somatic movement practice for 25 years, in the United States and internationally. He has been influenced by his work as a dancer and choreographer, inspired by being the parent of a son with developmental disabilities, and supported by forty-five years of meditation practice. He is the author of Embody the Skeleton: A Guide for Conscious Movement (Handspring Publishing) and served as board president of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association.

The muscular system course includes muscle theory; hands-on and movement facilitation for supporting change of tone in muscles; initiation of movement from different aspects of muscle tissue; and the relationship of muscle to bone, tendon and fascia. Students begin to weave muscular awareness with other body systems to support change in the body.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The muscular system course includes muscle theory; hands-on and movement facilitation for supporting change of tone in muscles; initiation of movement from different aspects of muscle tissue; and the relationship of muscle to bone, tendon and fascia. Students begin to weave muscular awareness with other body systems to support change in the body.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

Beginning from the experiential anatomy of the entire connective tissue matrix, the course offers a special focus on the ligaments. Working from the fascial web, we focus on specific ligaments to repattern movement around the joints and facilitate the initiation of movement from the ligaments. The course introduces specific assessment tools to identify avenues for repatterning a client’s movement from a connective tissue perspective.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

Beginning from the experiential anatomy of the entire connective tissue matrix, the course offers a special focus on the ligaments. Working from the fascial web, we focus on specific ligaments to repattern movement around the joints and facilitate the initiation of movement from the ligaments. The course introduces specific assessment tools to identify avenues for repatterning a client’s movement from a connective tissue perspective.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The course covers the anatomy of the nervous system from a somatic perspective, covering the central/peripheral, motor/sensory, somatic/autonomic,  and sympathetic/parasympathetic divisions. It also introduces the intrinsic nervous systems (brains) of the heart and the gut. Attention is paid to balancing oneself as a practitioner and to the assessment of nervous system tone in others.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The course covers the anatomy of the nervous system from a somatic perspective, covering the central/peripheral, motor/sensory, somatic/autonomic,  and sympathetic/parasympathetic divisions. It also introduces the intrinsic nervous systems (brains) of the heart and the gut. Attention is paid to balancing oneself as a practitioner and to the assessment of nervous system tone in others.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The Endocrine System course addresses embodiment of the endocrine glands; approaches to repatterning through touch, movement and voice utilizing endocrine support and awareness; relationship of endocrine glands to skeletal system; sourcing and focusing endocrine expression; and enlivening the central channel of the head, torso and pelvis.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The Endocrine System course addresses embodiment of the endocrine glands; approaches to repatterning through touch, movement and voice utilizing endocrine support and awareness; relationship of endocrine glands to skeletal system; sourcing and focusing endocrine expression; and enlivening the central channel of the head, torso and pelvis.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The organs are the contents within the musculo-skeletal container, supporting postural tone and feelings, and giving volume to movement. Participants study and embody the internal structures that carry out the functions of internal regulation, breathing, nourishment and elimination. Organs are a critical habitat of our emotions and aspirations and hold cellular memories of our personal histories. Students learn to initiate movement from the organs and support their expression in others.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

The organs are the contents within the musculo-skeletal container, supporting postural tone and feelings, and giving volume to movement. Participants study and embody the internal structures that carry out the functions of internal regulation, breathing, nourishment and elimination. Organs are a critical habitat of our emotions and aspirations and hold cellular memories of our personal histories. Students learn to initiate movement from the organs and support their expression in others.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm

This course introduces the oceanic movement patterns, intrauterine movement, and primitive reflexes. We examine how our embryonic and fetal experiences have contributed to our current sense of self and apply developmental principles to the process of somatic movement education. Introduction to cellular respiration and cellular touch is utilized as the foundation for all subsequent hands-on work in the program.

Friday 5 – 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 6 pm