Annix To Esalen Institute Fundraising Campaign

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Meet Annix...

Annix is a 41-year-old nonbinary trauma survivor. As a child, Annix endured a pretty horrific childhood, one that many do not fully come back from. As an adult, Annix has channeled that experience into a mission to help others in crisis. Annix has worked with kids and teens in acute psychiatric crises and has dedicated their life to serving various communities as a firefighter, paramedic and EMT.

Though Annix has made great strides in their recovery, this is going to be a long journey. Annix has been in therapy from the age of 14 using various modalities such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Supportive Therapy, EMDR, Rapid Reduction Therapy, Bio-bed Therapy and 12-Step Recovery.

Disassociation is a common response to trauma, especially to those whose bodies were once not a safe place to reside and they had to “check out” to endure intense trauma. After working with licensed professionals for many years, Annix now feels well-equipped to learn that their body is safe now and they can learn ways to remain present and embodied even when under a great deal of stress. It’s now time for Annix to move to the next level of their healing journey and participate in somatic-style therapy. One of the ways Annix has already begun this style of therapy is through an amazing movement meditation called 5 Rhythms, which is exactly what Annix needs to fully integrate and be present in their body.

What the heck is 5 Rhythms?

“5Rhythms is a dynamic movement practice—a practice of being in your body—that ignites creativity, connection, and community.

While a seemingly simple process, the 5Rhythms practice facilitates deep and unending explorations, moving the dancer beyond self-imposed limitations and isolation into new depths of creativity and connection.



* The 5Rhythms:

* Flowing

* Staccato

* Chaos

* Lyrical

* Stillness

The 5Rhythms – Flowing Staccato Chaos Lyrical Stillness® – are states of Being. They are a map to everywhere we want to go, on all planes of consciousness – inner and outer, forward and back, physical, emotional and intellectual.

They are markers on the way back to a real self, a vulnerable, wild passionate, instinctive self.

Dancing the 5Rhythms is a practice—a dynamic way to both workout and to meditate in the same breath. They teach us that life is energy in motion, freeing us from any fixed notions about people, places, objects or ideas.
They say that a picture tells a thousand words. One deep dance tells millions.
In dancing 5Rhythms you can unearth a freestyle movement vocabulary rooted in unexpected, fresh ways of moving—visceral and highly personal.
In dancing 5Rhythms you can track perceptions and memories; seek out gestures and shapes; tune into instincts and intuitions. They reveal ways to creatively express aggressiveness and vulnerability, emotions and anxieties, edges and ecstasies. They reconnect us to cycles of birth, death and renewal and hook us up to the spirit in all living things. They initiate us back into the wisdom of our bodies and unleash movement’s dynamic healing power.
In dancing 5Rhythms the body becomes our spiritual path”. (5Rhythms.com)

How is 5 Rhythms helping Annix?

This practice is helping Annix move energy through their body and access places that commonly get blocked when triggered. It’s helping Annix access parts of the body that words cannot. A portion of Annix's trauma occured in pre-verbal stages of development, therefore a lot of trauma responses that Annix still lives with today are non-verbal, therefore it makes sense that the treatment would also be non-verbal. As Dr. Makoi says: “The issues are in the tissues”, and Van Der Kolk says: “The body Keeps Score”.

Annix just had the honor and privilege of earning a scholarship to attend a weekend workshop during their birthday in Sacramento, California called Connections with Lucia Horan. This workshop with Lucia was so impactful on Annix’s life and recovery. Annix reported: “I got more out this 3 day workshop then I have in 27 years of intense therapy!” Annix said it was hard to articulate with words what occurred during the workshop but that they had a visceral response of being rearranged and healed on an extremely deep and cellular level.

The connections workshop was a great introduction into how powerful 5 Rhythms can be, but it was just scraping the surface of some deep work to be done. Annix said: “I don’t want this weekend to end, I wish it was a week long.” Well as fate would have it there is a deep dive 5 Rhythms retreat called Mother Tongue-A 5 Rhythms and Trauma Informed Mindfulness Retreat happening August 28th-September 1st.

““Rhythm is the universal mother tongue. It is the language of the soul.” Gabrielle Roth

Silent introspection (seated meditation) and movement awareness (5Rhythms®) are both practices that support unlocking the gateways of healing, celebration, and joy. Together, we will build an environment that cultivates peace, balance, and well-being. Through sweat and stillness, we will ride the rhythms of the mother tongue and turn the heart toward self-realization.

The 5Rhythms dance method is focused on presence versus performance. It is a place where movement becomes the metaphor for all of life. It teaches us how energy moves and where it gets stuck. The rhythms of Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness help us to more skillfully understand and navigate the inner and outer landscapes of reality.

Trauma-sensitive mindfulness builds a container to hold both movement and stillness in a way that supports all that you are facing. This approach offers tools that allow you to both “work with” and “be with” what is present.

This workshop will include:

* 5Rhythms practice and theory (expect both gentle & vigorous movement)

* Trauma-sensitive mindfulness practice and philosophy

* Seated meditation

* Walking meditation

* Live music

* Sound healing

* Sharing circles

What is the Esalen Institute?

Esalen is the location where this course is being offered.  

  “Esalen is a holistic retreat and educational institute. Established in 1962 and considered the epicenter of the Human Potential Movement, we are a non-profit offering comfort and space for exploration, transformation, and healing within the wilds of Big Sur’s majestic mountainscape and glittering coastline. Our curiosity and research explores new ideas around creativity and the brain, body work, spirituality, leadership, Gestalt, plant medicine, citizen diplomacy, superhumanism, the survival of bodily death, Extraterrestrial intelligence, and more. Learn more about our story, mission, and vision. We welcome visitors with advance reservations for workshops and massages to our California campus. This 100-acre stretch of Mother Nature boasts cliffside natural hot springs, an organic farm and garden, serene, rustic guest suites, and more.”

  

Will you help us get Annix to this retreat?

Please consider donating to this life-changing event. Every dollar counts. Let’s work as a tribe and send one of our local heroes to get the help they deserve to help them continue to heal themselves so that they can continue to serve the community and others in crisis.