Gestalt Practice and Principles: Cultivating Embodied Wholeness in Daily Life

Gestalt Practice at its core is an awareness practice, meant to cultivate embodied, present-moment awareness of the unfolding experience of the here and now on a journey toward authentic wholeness and radical aliveness.

Utilizing the Gestalt Awareness Movement and basic neuroscience, we’ll learn practices that support a more deeply embodied daily life and become increasingly aware of our habitual, reactive behavioral and emotional patterns — especially those that may no longer be skillful.

We will exercise our emotional and somatic intelligence in parallel to support, respect, and gently turn toward what arises moment to moment, and learn to allow more space and appreciation for silence, sensation, emotional expression, and communication.

During this workshop, we will explore the rich practices and principles of Gestalt Practice, apply them to everyday life, and begin to experience the simple yet profound potential for showing up more fully and authentically for the daily presentations of living an awake life.

Gestalt Practice cultivates curiosity, equanimity, and acceptance with greater choice for creative possibilities. Rather than focusing on “fixing”, a “cure”, or seeking “accomplishment”, this approach offers methods to encourage you in:

• Cultivating awareness and embodied presence
• Growing responsiveness, resilience, and choice
• Trusting in your organism’s inherent capacity for self-regulation and co-regulation

Together we will explore the foundations of Gestalt Practice primarily through experiential personal and interactive practices. Gestalt exercises will be done in pairs, triads, and groups, allowing participants to grow their awareness and learn how we can improve our relationships — to self and others.

Steven will make time for some students to experience classic Open Seat practice in one-to-one sessions with the leader in the roles of Initiator and Reflector while in the context of the group.

Through Gestalt, we bear witness to ineffable mysteries that can bring us to living life more fully. Participants are invited to show up, choosing to be present, pay attention to what has heart and meaning, and open to what life presents — letting life live through us.

The workshop is appropriate for all levels of experience. A welcome letter will be sent upon registration along with additional information about our time together.