Embodied Nourishment + Co-Regulation

This workshop will focus on feeling good in one's body and spirit and then taking that nourishment into connection through practices of co-regulation, or the process of cultivating pleasant and supportive states through relationship and embodied communication.

Space is limited, please sign-up on the SPP website to get secure your spot:

https://www.sexpositiveportland.org/events/8853

We will begin with a guided meditation and then move into practices of social meditation that facilitate emotional attunement between people. These practices will help you to cultivate nourishing states of being and develop relational skills that are not accessible through typical social scripts, allowing for intimacy to be developed quickly yet safely through authentic, present-moment connection. Through social meditation we will also explore more nuanced, micro-levels of consent practice through the real-time process of navigating emotional boundaries. You can expect to come away with deeper perceptual awareness of relational processes and tools that translate to all types of relationships.

As a practice, social meditation can be used for cultivating intimacy, navigating conflict, processing deep emotions, bursting into spontaneous dance parties or cuddle puddles, and more. Simply through the process of honoring our own experience and feeling how we reverberate with others in real time, we end up discovering where the connection wants to flow organically. Will’s facilitation style focuses on the art of invitation, specifically prompting all participants to honor what body, mind, and spirit are telling them moment-to-moment, and the practices involved aim to aid in the development of a broader range of embodied emotional awareness that allows practitioners to find their own unique voice.

Touch level for this event:

Touch is welcomed within social meditation practice but is not necessary as part of the practice. This event is a non-sexual space; if you find yourself engaging in touch with practice partner(s) we just ask that you minimize escalation of sexual arousal for self and others. The nature of this workshop typically doesn’t move towards the sexual realm; you’ll much more likely find yourself practicing in more restful/easeful forms of connection and pleasure.

Who can attend:

Anyone that signs up here

Clothing:

Wear comfortable clothing; pajamas, sweatpants, etc are all welcome. The space is centered around comfort/ease rather than formality or sensuality/sexuality, so keep that in mind when you choose your wardrobe.

What to bring:

Blankets, pillows, cushions, etc, along with anything else supportive of your body's needs to be comfortable sitting in shared space. We will have enough cushions and pillows for all participants but if your body has particular needs we may not be able to accommodate.

Facilitator

Will O’Connor (he/they) is an emotional and relational wellness coach who deeply values down-to-earth somatic practices for finding new ways of communicating towards intimacy and understanding. They were working towards a PhD in Counseling Psychology at Colorado State when they became ill due to COVID in their 7th year of graduate work, subsequently developing post-viral chronic illness that disrupted their planned life path. Since then Will has spent his time recovering and distilling his practices to the most direct ways of accessing nourishing states of being both on an individual and interpersonal level. Outside of his work he loves dancing, cooking, cuddling, and spiritual practice. You can follow his work through his website inventivewellness.com or on Facebook and Instagram (just search for Inventive Wellness).