Integrating Body-Mind-Voice: 

An Invitation to Thrive

 

Voice Movement Therapy is a ground-breaking practice that facilitates growth, healing and transformation by helping you to find and nurture your acoustic and metaphorical voice: ‘acoustic’ being the actual sound of your voice, and ‘metaphorical’ being your voice in the world. I help you to find and harnesses the full healing and expressive power of your embodied voice.
 
The voice and the body are integral to one’s sense of self, to wellbeing and personal empowerment. It is through the body and voice that we make our needs and desires heard. This is why body and voice are vital aspects of healing and transformation processes; being able to confidently and authentically express oneself is essential.
Voice Movement Therapy emerges from the fundamental relationship between voice, movement and the psyche.

Breathe – Ensoul

Find room to breathe in your body and life.

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When we can breathe freely and expansively we allow our emotions to find expression. It is through breathing that we can feel. Through breathing that we can connect to our body and our deeper levels of Self. It is only through connecting to our breath that we can find and have our full voice.

Voice – Sing

Your voice matters.

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It is our birthright to have a voice. We have the right to proclaim ourselves to the world to sing our own song. To vocally express our joys and sorrows, our frustrations and darkest fears, our deepest desires and multiple sometimes contradictory selves. I am here, listen to what I have to say.

Move – Dance

Trust your body to show you the way.

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Our bodies have an incredible knowledge and wisdom that can lead and heal us. By reconnecting with our body and becoming more consciously embodied we free ourselves from the restrictions of language so that emotions and movement flow into dance. All that is alive moves. Dance towards your Self.

Connect – Resonate

Become awake to Self and Other.

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The more we acknowledge and embrace ourselves the less fearful we are in connecting deeply with others. Through this work we discover new ways of connecting. We are energised. There is a multilayered resonance that becomes apparent; our bodies and voices are different, we are somehow more alive.

Nurture – Thrive

Self requires cultivation.

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Engaging with the ‘gold’ we have been gifted we find new and alternative ways of knowing our Self. The purpose of life is to be in it. To experience it, consciously. And, to Know Thyself through the body, mind (incl. images) and voice in relation to it.

A garden doesn’t thrive if you do not tend to it.

Have you ever felt upset or ‘charged up’ about something?
Do you feel you didn’t have your voice in that moment / relationship / environment? 
Do you think the outcome would have been different if you did have your full voice? 

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YOU CAN FIND AND RECLAIM

YOUR VOICE!

 

I invite you to experience a dynamic personalised process that taps into your body’s knowledge and your inherent creativity to establish and strengthen personal boundaries, boost self-confidence and expand your knowledge of self and self in relation to others. The process nurtures esteem, enhances communication skills and facilitates a deeper connection with self and others.

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The work we’ll do promotes emotional intelligence, resilience, self-care, a sense of being grounded, assertiveness and a deeper understanding of the physical and vocal manifestations of emotion. Through the process you’ll develop awareness and a layered understanding of habitual and limiting vocal, movement and behavioural patterns – where these originated from, and how they have served you. Together we’ll nurture your personal transformation and empowerment through the discovery of mindful and positive alternatives to these habits, thus expanding your sense of self and your ability to express yourself.

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I offer a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space in which to explore your deep layers and to acknowledge, embrace, heal and express all aspects of yourself. It’s an opportunity to be seen and heard in your full expression of self, an opportunity to thrive.

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Would You Like to Reclaim Your Voice?

My Principles
  

We start where you are at

No matter if you are familiar or unfamiliar with alternative, creative and or embodied ways of engaging with self, it is important to remember that you are unique. Our first session is set aside to discover where you are at. We identify your needs and expectations and from there your unique pathway begins to unfold. In addition, each subsequent session starts where you are at on that particular day.

A safe non-judgemental space

A sense of safety is of the utmost importance. I provide you with an open, supportive and non-judgemental space where you can feel safe enough to be vulnerable and to fully explore aspects of yourself that are perhaps silenced or put aside in your everyday life.

We work from a place of strength

When we begin therapeutic explorations from a place of strength (what is working for me, what do I know, where am I safe/successful/empowered) we are more successful in our attempts at self-expansion or in experiencing ourselves differently. And, the result is more empowering than starting from a place of weakness or lacking.

There are no ‘bad’ sounds

Many of us have had our voices silenced by others who have placed negative judgement on our vocal expressions of self. In Voice Movement Therapy there are no ‘bad’ sounds. Each and every sound is just as valuable as the next in expressing who you are. Voice Movement Therapy is not caught up in a particular way of sounding but rather aims to facilitate unlimited vocal range expansion.

We work at your pace

Although I will challenge you and encourage movement from stuck and habitual places, we will work at your pace.

My Skills
  
 
When I come to our sessions I bring with me bodymind knowledge and an acute sense of awareness of voice and movement and how these two work together to communicate.  Through this I am able to understand your voice and movement,  their deeper layers of expression and their story.  I can identify what areas of your vocal range you are using and not using by listening.  I can see how your body is moving and not moving by seeing and sensing.  I can identify where you are ‘holding’ in your body and voice.  
 
From this I am able to make suggestions and offer ways of working that will assist you to find fuller more satisfying expression.  We work together in the moment with what surfaces for you.  I also bring with me my artist creative self and through this, and the images and ideas that you offer, and what transpires moment to moment, we creatively tailor the session.  I also bring my imagination and ability to play, my ability to connect deeply, to be with, and to travel through the shadows with you.       
 
There is always a pathway, and a few other ways of working through material.   

Ways of Working

 

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PRIVATE SESSIONS

 

Individual sessions begin with a 1.5hr assessment session. We establish where you are at and start to unpack your relationship with your voice. We discuss your expectations and I’ll ask you some questions about your history and reasons for coming to Voice Movement Therapy. It is also an opportunity for you to get to know me and how I work, and to ask any questions you may have. From this session I identify our starting place and a way forward.

GROUP SESSIONS

 

Group sessions are an opportunity to explore various shared themes, ideas, life challenges/experiences through Voice and Movement. These are weekly classes and last between 1.5hrs and 2hrs. Each class provides a structure and way of exploring a life theme or an image or a current issue for example. ‘Drop-in’s’ are welcome at these sessions and no previous experience is required.

INTENSIVES 

Intensives run once a week over a number of weeks (6 – 12 weeks) with each session being 2hrs – 4hrs. These processes are focused and aimed at helping people who are facing similar challenges. For example, I offer a process for people who experience anxiety and depression, one for unpacking and understanding your anger, one specifically designed to empower women in the workplace, a stress management intensive, and others
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WORKSHOPS

Workshops offer you an opportunity to immerse yourself in a Voice Movement Therapy process. Workshops offered last between 1 and 3 days and can be residential. Like intensives, workshops are designed around specific themes or exploration areas and allow freedom within the workshop structure to explore your unique experience. Bespoke workshops that deal with specific themes or topics relevant to your community or organisation can be requested.

PRIVATE RETREATS

A private retreat is a deeply healing process. I specialise in private retreats that last between 3 days and 3 weeks. Taking proper time away from the distractions of everyday life makes deep transformations possible and gives you the time you need to explore, unpack, process and integrate the things you are dealing with. We will work together for between 4 to 8 hours a day, you will be my only client during this time so that I can give you my full attention. Retreats are curated especially for you and can include nature walks, therapeutic massage and other treatments too.  

COURSES

I offer courses in Voice Movement Therapy for people who would like to use elements of the modality in their current practice. Expressive arts therapists, psychologists, councellors, teachers, occupational therapists, special needs educators, bodyworkers, artists, performers, singing teachers. These courses are run over various durations. All courses over 80hrs are IAVMT accredited. 

To book your session

Call or email Gina

084 827 8481

gina@voicemovementtherapy.co.za