Please note this event has sold out. If you would like to go on the wait list please email bodymindcentering.oz@gmail.com. 

Come move, explore, study and play with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, the founder of Body-Mind Centering® and one of the great somatic teachers of our time, on her first ever visit to Australia!

A Body-Mind Centering® Approach to Developmental Movement: The Basic Neurocellular Patterns (BNP), 2-day Melbourne workshop with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

Our volitional movement is built on a foundation of automatic movement responses that begin developing in the womb, and continue appearing through the first year of life. The emergence and integration of these responses have an enormous effect on our movement; on how we relate to ourselves, others and the world; and on how we organize and process information. The experiential study of developmental movement allows us to consciously access and utilize these fundamental patterns and gives us a path to understand and embody the developmental base of all movement forms.

One aspect of this development is the Basic Neurocellular Patterns (BNPs)*. The progressive unfolding of these patterns in humans parallels the development of movement through the animal kingdom. The BNP are the words of our movement, the building blocks for the phrases and sentences of our activities. They also establish a base for our perceptual relationships (including body image and spatial orientation) and for our learning and communication. The BNP have extensive application in the areas of movement and psychophysical expression. Done in sequences, they can also form the basis for a deep and ongoing personal movement practice.

*The BNPs were previously called the Basic Neurological Patterns

Basic Neurocellular Patterns - Prevertebrate Patterns

• Vibration: universal resonance
• Cellular Breathing: internal respiration of the cells
• Sponging and Pulsation: gradations of internal rhythmic condensing and expanding
• Navel Radiation: radial symmetry
• Mouthing/Nosing/Analing: the beginning of bisymmetry
• Prespinal: organization around a central longitudinal axis

Basic Neurocellular Patterns - Vertebrate Patterns

• Spinal yield and push, reach and pull: distinguishing yielding as a basis for pushing, reaching and pulling; development of an integrated vertebral axis.
• Homologous yield and push, reach and pull: differentiating and integrating the upper and lower body; establishing midline orientation.
• Homolateral yield and push: differentiating and integrating the two sides of the body; establishing lateral line orientation.
• Contralateral reach and pull: differentiating and integrating the diagonals of the body; blending attention and intention in three-dimensional space.

In this workshop, we will explore the BNP, not as mechanical exercises, but as we absorb them at the cellular level, creating a fluid, dynamic continuity. No prior experience with Body-Mind Centering is necessary. You should have some experience with movement, bodywork, consciousness practice or other psychophysical discipline. Come and share with curiosity and a sense of inquiry about movement, the body and consciousness.

Copyright © 2016 Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Body-Mind Centering® is a registered service mark of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen.

Date & Time: 
Workshop runs Saturday March 25 and Sunday March 26, 10-12:30 and 2-4:30 each day. The studio will be open from 9am to 5pm. 

Tuition:
Early-bird registration for the 2-day workshop is $450, if paid by 31st December 2016. 
Full fee is $550 for registrations received from 1 January 2017.
Refunds will be given, minus a $100 administrative fee, for cancellations made before 1st March 2017. No refunds will be given after this date. 
This workshop is GST-exempt. 

Public transport, Parking & Food:
The Convent website provides comprehensive visitor information, including cycling paths, public transport options, and paid parking. Please visit them at abbotsfordconvent.com.au/visit/visitor-information. If you are new to the Convent you may wish to download the precinct map to bring with you. 

There are several wonderful cafes onsite at the Convent. It can get very busy on the weekends so there may be a wait. You can find a listing of all the options here: abbotsfordconvent.com.au/visit/eat-and-drink. You are welcome to bring your own food and enjoy it in the gardens or the courtyard.  

Housekeeping:
Please bring a mat and/or blanket for your own comfort as the floor is hard. Chairs will be available as needed. You may want to bring a water bottle, notebook and pen. Printed course material will be provided.

Please let the organizers know of any special mobility or comfort needs you may have and we will do our best to accommodate them. Rosina Auditorium is wheelchair accessible.

All mobile and wifi devices will need to be switched off or put in flight mode before entering the studio.

No photography or video recording will be permitted. Audio recording is allowed for your own personal use. The School for Body-Mind Centering may choose to video the event in which case participants will be required to sign a video waiver.

About Bonnie:
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen is a movement artist, researcher, educator, therapist and developer of the Body-Mind Centering® (BMC℠) approach to movement and consciousness. BMC is an exploration of how we embody our body systems, tissues and cells as well as our developmental movement patterns and embryological development. In 1973 she founded The School for Body-Mind Centering®. Her work has influenced the fields of dance, bodywork, yoga, body psychotherapy, infant and child development and many other body-mind disciplines. She is the author of the books Sensing, Feeling and Action and Mechanics of Vocalization, as well as numerous DVDs on dance, embodied anatomy, embryology and working with children with special needs. For more information, visit www.bodymindcentering.com.