Support Well-being Groups with Theatre of Awakening

Hi, we are Agata and Rooh from Theatre of Awakening

We run well-being groups for women, using theatre as a tool for healing and transformation.

We have worked extensively with women in peri-menopause and menopause and with women with physical and mental health challenges. 

Our work has been largely reliant on funding. Many of our participants can’t afford to pay the full fee needed to sustain the work. 

We seek support to keep offering our work to those who can't afford to pay full price, whilst our funding runs out this Autumn and we attempt to secure another funding bid.

We work with women of different ages and backgrounds, mothers, single professionals, women on benefits and those with on-going health issues. We hear again and again that our groups have provided crucial support , cultivating belonging and strengthening self worth, agency and emotional wellness. 

Our work supports values marginalised by the dominant culture such as emotional and body literacy, rest, play, yin, creativity and the disintegration of internalised oppressive systems. It is anti capitalist and decolonizing of the psyche, supporting and developing an animistic experience of life. A perspective we feel is vitally needed, to meet the challenges of todays changing world.

With deep thanks and appreciation,

Agata and Rooh

www.theatreofawakening.co.uk

Testimonials from participants:

"This is a gentle, compassionate and joyful approach to exploring painful memories."

"Through being part of the group I gained courage and confidence in my own ability, skills and leadership.

I loved the way Agata guided us through play and into depths of ourselves.

I feel that this course is paramount to navigating the transition of menopause and the gifts she has to bring.

This work is a wonderful creative mix of laughter and deep discovery. It took me into exploration of who I am in this world in a safe and nurturing environment."

"I loved the opportunity to explore menopause in an archetypal, mythic landscape with a diverse group of women- with different ages, backgrounds and experiences. I went from feeling like an outsider to being an insider."

"In my peri menopause and menopause I experienced physical, psychological and emotional symptoms that have been very isolating. Recently there has been more in the media but it’s still quite a taboo subject with a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding."

"To be in a group of women sharing, witnessing and being seen was

incredibly supportive and healing. Agata has created a safe container weaving together creative tools from theatre with therapeutic embodiment and somatic practices to allow women to explore their individual experience and essence as we go through this huge life transition."

"It is liberating to be able to begin to come out of hiding, to dare to express some of my feelings and private experiences in a safe space, to be witnessed and welcomed so warmly. I really like that it is embodied as much as possible.
It is a gift to meet such awesome women - and to have fun! It can be scary and I am grateful for your wise holding and encouragement. It is deeply healing.”

“I usually find that time of year (Nov/Dec) really challenging from a mental health perspective, and my experience this year was completely different, and I know that your course was a major contributor to my improved well-being.”

“The main things I gained from the course were

~ a safe space each week to show up exactly as I was

~ a sense of caring group and sensitive community that alleviated the alienation that I can often feel during the winter

~ learning something new that I had always been curious about but not engaged with. This was immensely satisfying and exciting 

~ learning through embodiment and deep sharing and being witnessed, which made the learning go far beyond "head" learning, and instead was the experience of receiving powerful and personal imprints of each of the female archetypes within my body and spirit.

~ it was also immensely enjoyable and great fun... and also challenging where each week I felt on the edge of my comfort zone, but the safety and support of the facilitators meant that these edges were able to be explored and mirrored. So each week there was a sense of "manageable" growth and expansion.”

“I’m someone who has been on my own and awful lot over the last four weeks, and it has been a real challenge to keep my mental health in a buoyant state. I was really grateful of the opportunity to be in a supportive space today, it’s made an immense amount of difference to my well-being. “

“I most appreciated a sense of community and connection with others. Seeing people’s struggles and strength helps me hold my own.”

"This is important work you are doing-especially the work of empowering woman to have a voice and to bring their beingness more visibly into the world. The space you hold is gentle and safe and allows a natural unfolding and easy uncovering of the rich story each of us carries. During these few weeks I have found a new lightness and playfulness in my relating to the world and I am delighting in seeing this life as a story that can be re-imagined."

 

"Transformational of inner life and community, connecting work with women of all ages and experience. Best piece of group work I have been part of for years."

 

"A very different women’s circle but so valuable I want to do this every week as I discovered and learned so much and brought such depth and richness to my life. Everyone should get a chance to do this work."