Body + Page: Creative Curiosity ONLINE

Dramatherapist, play facilitator and Somatic IFS therapist Holly Stoppit is delighted to guide you through an online journey from the coldest, darkest part of the year towards the first signs of spring.

6 Wednesdays starting 6 January 2027 - 10 February 2027. On Zoom, 18.30-20.30 (UK) / 19.30 - 21.30 (CET).

Also works for USA time zones: 10.30-12.30 (PT) / 11.30-13.30 (MT) / 12.30-14.30 (CT) / 13.30-15.30 (ET)

In-person version here.

WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN?

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

We’ll start with a guided grounding meditation and check in, before gently finding our way into movement (examples below). We’ll take what we discover through the movement onto the page. There will be opportunities to share bits of your writing and artwork with each other (you don’t have to share anything!) and we’ll close together with another short grounding meditation.

Examples of movement explorations

The course will unfold week-by-week and 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 in the main zoom room and some time in breakout rooms. There will be periods of every session 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 sessions; 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.

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.

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.

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!

WHEN, WHERE, HOW MUCH?

6 Wednesdays 

Dates: Jan 6 - Feb 10 

Times: 18.30-20.30 (UK) | 19.30 - 21.30 (CET)

Also works for USA time zones: 10.30-12.30 (PT) | 11.30-13.30 (MT) | 12.30-14.30 (CT) | 13.30-15.30 (ET)

Venue: Online, on Zoom

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

Participants: Up to 15 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, 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.

INTERNET REQUIREMENTS

• This course will happen on Zoom.

• You need to have access to reliable internet.

• This course is best accessed on a laptop, tablet or PC - it’s possible to access via phone, but you may not feel so connected with the whole group.

• You need to be in a private space, as people will be sharing personal material and we need to protect each other’s vulnerability.

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.