Body + Page: Creative Curiosity In Person

Dramatherapist, play facilitator and Somatic IFS therapist, Holly Stoppit is delighted to guide you through a series of invitations into movement, embodiment and somatic awareness, helping you get curious about the wisdom held in your body.

• 12 + 13 November 2026

• JUST ADDED! 6 + 7 February 2027 (special new year edition)

• 10am - 5.30pm both days

• In person in St Werburghs, Bristol

• Online version here

What's going to happen?

Holly will offer a series of invitations to help you connect with your body, heart and mind through meditation, movement, writing and artwork.

Examples of movement explorations

You can meet every invitation in whatever way feels best for you. You could explore the movement invitations with your full body or just with your hands, you could explore moving a pen across a page or you could just rest with full permission...

• We might embody the qualities of earth, air, water and fire, discovering the wisdom of the elements.

• We might explore movement practices from Claire Loussouarn’s ‘How To Be Feral’ and find our way back to our natural, alive, feeling, sensing bodies. 

• We might dance a 5 Rhythms wave, discovering what the qualities of flow, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness have to teach us.

• We might lie on the floor and make strange sounds together.

During the movement explorations…

• maybe you’ll notice sensations in your body

• maybe you’ll notice the quality of your breath

• maybe you’ll notice emotions, thoughts, images, memories or fantasies bubbling up

• maybe you’ll notice an inner critic who would prefer you to not be doing this sort of thing!

The aim of the game is to notice what’s happening, with curiosity and compassion.

Moving to the page

We’ll capture whatever we find on the page with pens and art materials. This could take the form of poetry or memoir or fiction or shopping lists or huge messy artwork or tiny detailed sketches. Holly will offer suggestions, but you can follow your own flow. 

The aim of the game is to get out of your own way and let your creative spirit flow.

Sometimes there will be an option to share a bit of your writing or artwork in the group and sometimes we’ll take the writing and images back into the body and move again, to help us understand what we’ve captured on the page, in an embodied way.

The format

We’ll spend some time together and some time in small groups or pairs. There will be periods when we will all be working alone in our own spaces, moving between movement and stillness, words and wordlessness, sound and silence, seriousness and nonsense.

Everything is invitational, and you can choose your own adventure throughout the weekend; following your curiosity, noticing what flirts with you, what surprises you, what makes you giggle, what makes you squirm, what wants to be captured and what refuses to be nailed down.

Who’s it for?

This course is for anyone (age 18+) who is drawn to it. You might be a creative person looking for inspiration, you might be a therapist looking for more creative and embodied approaches to weave into your practice, you might be a seeker, searching for insight and clarity. You do not need to be a mover, a writer or an artist to attend this course. The aim of the game is to follow your creative flow and be fascinated by what pours out.

Do I need to know what I'm coming for?

Nope! You can arrive with a question, a creative itch, a project you’re puzzling over, a part of yourself you’re curious to know more about, something that’s been bothering you, something you desperately want to bring into the world — or nothing at all. Your inquiry will unfold, moment by moment through the creative play.

What will I get out of it?

You may discover new art forms, new glimmers for creative projects, new connections, new ways of meeting your parts and your Self and a whole heap of A-Ha’s!

This is a creative experiment in listening to yourself through your body and the page. Come and see what’s waiting to be discovered!

November Edition

Dates: November 14th and 15th 2026

Times: 10-5.30

Venue: St Werburghs Bristol

Cost: £250 (standard) / £200 (low earning) / £150 (supported)

Participants: up to 12 people

Application form: Here or below.

New Year / Imbolc Special Edition

This workshop will take place around Imbolc, the pagan celebration of the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. Imbolc is a time for clearing out the old and welcoming in the new. There will be opportunities to work with these themes throughout the weekend. But you can use the space for whatever you need.

Dates: Saturday 6 + Sunday 7 February 2027 

Times: 10am-5.30pm both days

Venue: St Werbrughs, Bristol (more details on booking)

Cost: £275 (standard) / £250 (low earning) / £225 (supported)

Participants: up to 12 people

Application form: Here or below.

Application process

This course is booking on a first-come, first-served basis. We have an application form to gather a bit of information about you, so we can make sure you’re a good fit for the course and so we can tailor-make the course to participants’ needs.

After receiving your application, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can to let you know either way, via email.

About Holly Stoppit

Holly has been facilitating playful workshops for adults since 2007. Originally from a background in circus and clowning, Holly trained in dramatherapy (MA) in her 30s and has been fusing together play and therapeutic process ever since. 

Holly has been practising Fooling (a form of solo improvisation where the performer embodies their inner voices) since beginning her training with Franki Anderson in 2001. Holly’s work currently focuses on bringing together Fooling with Internal Family Systems (a parts-based system of therapy). Holly has trained in IFS (Levels 1+2) and Somatic IFS (Steps 1+2). 

For this course, Holly will be drawing on her own embodied writing practice, weaving together Somatic IFS, dramatherapy, Fooling, 5 Rhythms, contact improvisation, Authentic Movement, Feral Movement and automatic writing / image-making.

If you'd like to read more about the ideas behind Body + Page, check out this blog.

If you'd like to see some examples of Holly's embodied writing process, check out this blog.

ACCESS INFO 

Holly is a trained and registered dramatherapist (HCPC).

Holly creates a brave space where you can bring yourself and your needs. There is a space on the application form for you to tell us about the support you might need.

Holly is highly experienced in working with people who are neurodivergent and LGBTQI+, people of all ages and people with disabilities and chronic illnesses and mental health conditions. 

This course works for people with mild to moderate mental health issues. However, this course is not appropriate for anyone who is currently experiencing extreme mental ill-health or psychosis.

VENUE ACCESS INFO

The venue is fully accessible. There is a lift for wheelchair users that takes you up a small flight of stairs. Once you’re in, everything is on one level and is fully accessible.

The venue has 3 toilets - one is accessible at ground level, with a sink inside the cubicle. 

We have use of a staff room with comfy seats if you need to rest.

COVID CARE 

• There are still people who are vulnerable to covid and Holly wants everyone to feel as safe as possible in the space. 

• We can't guarantee a Covid-free environment, but we can do our best to minimise the risks for people with compromised immunity and/or those who are connected with immune-compromised people.

• If you have any covid-like symptoms, please take a lat-flow test and please don't come if you have tested positive. 

• All exercises can work with social distancing, if that is what you need. Please make sure that physical proximity is consensual.

• You are welcome to wear a mask if that makes you feel safer. Holly will not be asking people to wear masks. 

• We will be working with windows open for ventilation, so please bring extra warm layers.

• We will have an open discussion and make a group agreement on the first day to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable enough.

CANCELLATION POLICY

We are a totally unfunded organisation - the only income we make is through these workshops. We work hard to keep our prices as affordable as possible, and cancellations can make that genuinely difficult. If you need to cancel your place, we will do our best to find a replacement, but this isn't always possible. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

• A £10 administration fee will be deducted from any refund to cover the cost of processing your cancellation.

• If you need to cancel your place before the course begins, full refunds can only be given up until one month before the course starts.

• Should you need to cancel after this date, 50% of your payment will be retained, unless your place can be suitably filled (we may be able to find a replacement, but the closer it is to the workshop, the less likely this becomes).

• For drop-outs within one week of the start of the course, your full fee will be retained.

• Your place on this course cannot be transferred to a future course. Each cohort is selected individually, and acceptance on one course does not guarantee a place on another - any future application would be considered alongside all other applicants at that time. You may not transfer your place to another person.

• If Holly needs to cancel this course for any reason, you will be offered alternative dates. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled dates, then we will offer a full refund.