Expressive Arts

“When we live on the threshold where our inner and outer worlds meet, where darkness and light are understood and live in their proper relationship—it is in this luminous space where each reflects the other that soul and spirit are found.”

~ Daria Halprin – The expressive body in life, art and therapy

Expressive arts use the sensory modalities of image, movement, performance, and words to engage the imagination in dialogue with the unconscious mind so that we may explore our inner lives and personal narratives. As we work with the personal challenges and triumphs of our lived experience, we discover and develop the resources of creativity, awareness, and embodied expression. This process of resource building broadens our view of what is possible and facilitates the ongoing exploration of our life experience, allowing us to create meaning and actuate change—whether in healing ourselves, addressing challenges, or visioning our future.

Moving from one art form to another is at the foundation of expressive arts. Using divergent modalities helps us bypass the conscious mind, clarify our inquiry, and approach our lived material from multiple viewpoints. It helps us shake loose the memories and structures that keep us bound to a particular pattern while also providing a safe container to examine the wounded, ignored, or buried parts of ourselves. With deep listening, we begin to find the music in our patterns and personal stories, use our lived bodily experience to move at choice in the world, and nourish ourselves in every moment.

Movement-Based Expressive arts create opportunities to:

• Develop new personal and professional resources
• Experience a greater sense of calm and reduce reactivity
• Increase somatic self-awareness and communication skills
• Exercise our imagination to expand our creativity
• Expand your range of emotional and creative expression
• Create a more integrated, vibrant life
• Access your inner resources
• Express authentically

While the tools and activities associated with expressive arts include movement, drawing, and writing, no experience with these modalities is required.