Wilhemeena Isabella Monroe
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workshops, events and retreats
- WORKSHOPS and EVENTS 2013/2014
APRIL 2013
20/21 April - AUCKLAND, NZ - RELEASE ME 2 day workshop - SOUL CENTRE
MAY 2013
19 May - OPENING TO PRESENCE - Shin Yoga, chi kung and Insight Meditation Day Retreat (with Erin Taylor) - SOUL CENTRE
30 May -2 June - Embodied Massage module 1 - SOUL CENTRE
JUNE 2013
15/16 June - RELEASE ME 2 day workshop - SOUL CENTRE
JULY 2013
25 July - 28th July - Embodied Massage module 2 - SOUL CENTREAUGUST 2013
7th - 11th Birth into Being 5 day Retreat at Mana (with Bella Munro)
27 August - 3rd September - SAMOA BLISS RETREAT(with Peter Fernando, Katherine Tate and Seonaid Lyons) - www.litiasinibeach.wsSEPTEMBER 2013
19 - 22 September - Embodied Massage module 3OCTOBER 2013
5/6 October - RELEASE ME 2 day workshop - SOUL CENTRE13th October - Insight Meditation and SHIN YOGA day-retreat (with Peter Fernando) - SOUL CENTRE26/27 October - RELEASE ME in MELBOURNE, Cecil Street Studios2014
NEPAL YOGA RETREAT
WORKSHOPS AND INTENSIVES - DETAILRELEASE ME
If you want to BE: More flexible, more fluid, more free, more at ease, more energetic, more relaxed, more spacious, more in harmony with yourself. Then this technique is for you.
Moving and being…being moved
Mindfulness, movement, poetic imagery, creative improvisation, dynamic postural alignment, hands on bodywork, deep relaxation.
Releasing postural tension patterns
Releasing the breath
Releasing energy flow
Releasing effortless dancing
Releasing creativity
A transformative movement, awareness and bodywork practice based on the Skinner Releasing technique. Classes unfold around the simple principle that when we practice letting go of habitual holding patterns we can move more freely, efficiently and powerfully.
“Nothing I’ve tried has done so much to bring me into physical and spiritual harmony with myself and others.”
I felt as free and at ease as I ever have. As if that kind of soft but total awareness, without aggression or fear, is my natural state of being. I felt unabashedly present.”DATES:
MELBOURNE -26/27 October 2013
Venue: Cecil Street Studios www.cecilstreetstudio.org.au
AUCKLAND - 20/21 April, 15/16 June, 6/7 October
Venue: SOUL CENTRE, Titirangi www.soulcentre.co.nz
Registrations essential by email willa@mswilla.com
BODYLOVE
Come and experience opening and enfolding in a new way. SRT bodywork is a profound way to get loved up, warmed up and allow your body to open softly, gently and with care. No need for partners - just come as you are with warm comfy clothes and be prepared to be body loved.
9th Jan, 16th Jan and 23rd Jan 2013
7.30-9.30pm
$20 per session
CONTACT IMPROVISATION
Contact improvisation is a hybrid art form that draws from Aikido and Tai Chi as well as an integration of many other mind-body movement practices. Through the immediacy of sensation, touch, and the subjective experience of gravity, these workshops engage us with the physicality of weight, force and momentum. Physical communication, listening, and a process of ‘letting go’ takes us into ‘the unknown’ of what emerges in the dance in the present moment. We negotiate relationship with self and each other building a sense of tuning to space and group presence.BIRTH INTO BEINGExperience the work of one of the world's renowned pioneer's of the conscious birth movement. These birthshops will touch, inspire and give participants the opportunity to lovingly transform their lives. Through this work we can alter our primal imprint and open to more ongoing joy and pleasure in our lives.“in our soft warm hands we are holding the keys to the thriving of our species! We have the capacity to enhance the quality of life in one generation through bringing our loving, conscious awareness into our people-making practices. Birth is a powerful initiation, a rite of passage for all involved, which enables us to create a beautiful life on this planet! it is our birthright!” ELENA
Release barriers to self-empowerment
Powerful transformative personal birth experience
Preparation for conscious conception and birth
Practical spirituality
SHIN YOGADrawing on the developmental postures of Shin Somatics, Skinner Releasing principles and somatic practice this form of yoga focuses on opening and lengthening the body and quietening the mind. Based on the founding principle of Yoga – to create balance - we begin with balancing the nervous system and endocrine system, using asanas and pranayama inspired for healing and inner reflection. Help manage stress, learn to wind down and create a space to just be in your body. This is a transformative practice. Also suitable for those new to yoga, recovering from illness or injury, those in the later stages of the life cycle, or those in HOLIDAY MODE, also helpful for post-natal mums. Shin Yoga will move gently through postures with a focus on healing, restoration and revitalization.
OPENING TO PRESENCE
Foundations of MindfulnessInsight Meditation, Chi Kung and SHIN YOGA day retreat with Wilhemeena Monroe and Erin Taylor19 May, 10-5.30pm$120SOUL CENTRE, Titirangi, AucklandWhen we are awake to the present moment we can fully experience reality, know truth and feel whole. Yet, we tend to waste our lives in painful cycles of craving, aversion and confusion, preoccupied with trying to think our way out.The practices of meditation and chi gong offer us a way to ground ourselves through sensing and feeling, opening to an awareness that is vital, profound and intrinsically free.
Chi gong and SHIN YOGA are powerful support for mindfulness meditation: relaxing the body, quietening the mind and helping to maintain awareness in the here and now.
This day-long workshop will include meditation, dharma talks and simple chi gong and SHIN yoga practices to balance and harmonise body and mind. It is suitable for all levels of health and fitness.
Erin Taylor teaches Insight Meditation in Wellington with the Original Nature Insight Meditation group, including Peter Fernando, Stephen Archer and Hugh Tennent. She explored different meditation traditions from her late teens in the 1970s and has practised in the Insight Meditation tradition for more than 25 years. She studied Zhineng Chi Gong in NZ and in China and taught it for ten years before deciding to focus on teaching meditation. Chi Gong had a powerful effect on her own meditation practice and she has recently been teaching the two practices together.
Wilhemeena Monroe is the founder and director of SOUL CENTRETO REGISTER FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE WORKSHOPS OR CLASSES PLEASE CONTACT WILLA at willa@mswilla.com
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weekly classes
- Weekly classes with Willa
Willa's current public weekly teaching schedule:
MONDAY: M-Body 6pm-7pm - SOUL CENTRE
TUESDAY: Chi Kung 9.15 - 10.30am - SOUL CENTRE
WEDNESDAY: Shin Yoga 6pm-7.15pm- SOUL CENTRE
WEDNESDAY: RELEASE ME 7.30pm-9pm- SOUL CENTRE (Bookings essential)
THURSDAY: Shin Yoga 6pm-7.15pm - Leys Institute Hall - Ponsonby
THURSDAY: RELEASE ME 7.30-9pm - Leys Institute Hall, Ponsonby (Bookings essential)
FRIDAY: Chi Kung 9.15am - 10.30am
Shin Yoga 6pm-7.15pm- SOUL CENTRE
WEEKLY COMMUNITY CLASSES
MON
TUES
WEDNES
THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
AM
9.15 –10.30am
Chi KungWilla
9.15 –10.30am
Chi KungWilla
PM
6-7pm
M-Body
Wila
6-7.15pm
Shin Yoga
Wila
6-7.15pm
Shin Yoga
Wila
PM
7.30 – 9pm
RELEASE ME
Willa
7.30 – 9pm
RELEASE ME
Willa
TO REGISTER FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE CLASSES PLEASE CONTACT WILLA at willa@mswilla.com
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things people say
- ABOUT WILLAABOUT WILLA AS A TEACHER/HEALER:"Willa's teaching is grounded, heart-full and alive with spirit. Her subtle, yet profound approach to yoga teaching, informed by her work as a somatic therapist, works on levels deeper than the physical. Being guided by her I felt held within a sphere of kindness and peace, attuned to the universal rhythms present within the bodily system. I greatly admire Willa's ability to reconnect her students with this powerful doorway into silence, presence and healing in the body and mind." Peter Fernando - mindfulness and meditation teacher and former buddhist monk, Wellington"Wilhemeena is an angel of enormous insight and passion, a true mystic and healer." Miranda Brown - Fashion designer, artist and sustainability icon, Auckland"To be honest I have never found anyone as dynamic as you in accessing and shifting my stuff." Brendan Devlin, LondonThank You Willa, for offering the beautiful gift of your intuitive wisdom and healing energy. In your presence I am able to relax and trust that you will support my body, mind and heart in the most appropriate unfolding at that moment. It is rare to come across someone who embodies the work of the soul with such full integrity that even a (ahem...) discerning client like me is willing to go where you lead. Abundant gratitude! Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga, Wellington
My son and I have been seeing Wilhemeena for Cranio treatment for just over a month and it is fantastic. It has made the difference in both of us being able to continue our training for Taekwondo and has certainly helped us make grading. We are both now black belts! - Tony Banks Photographer
Thanks heaps. You’re amazing! My hip and back are feeling really good, it's better than it has been for ages. Clare TylerHi Willa, I feel great after the cranio work we did last evening. My breath comes slow long and easy. Is this really how I am supposed to feel ?!? Thank you for making me feel comfortable and safe in this journey. GrahamWilhemeena is one of the top somatic practitioners in New Zealand and someone at the forefront of combining somatics with creative practice. Her work as a choreographer, somatics practitioner, and teacher contributes significantly to the development of dance and has been inspiring students and audiences for over a decade.Her centre in Auckland - SOUL, provides a hub for somatics and creative practice attracting artists and body workers from around the world. What sets it apart from other centres for somatic studies is the way in which it nurtures and supports professional creative practice. - Brenton Surgenor - Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Senior Tutor - University of Auckland, Tutor - New Zealand School of DanceABOUT WILLA'S ART:It was everything. My heart was blown open and all feeling awakened in floods of tears. Wilhemeena has a rare gift in performance to surrender her ego self and become a vessel of something greater, something that touches all who witness it unfold. We are moved by an immense healing power as she allows herself to be moved. My sense of what it means to be alive is heightened and my faith in the transformative power of dance performance restored. Thank you!
(Response to “The Gods of the Spheres” Wilhemeena Isabella Monroe, Shin Somatics Symposium Performance, February 2nd 2013)
"Aesthetically beautiful and articulately crafted, Wilhemeena creates majestic imagery and breathtaking visages with a gift for the strage, bizarre and extravagantly spectacular" The Human Agency"Wilhemeena is a gifted artist moving with beauty and elegance. her performances are strong and compelling with satiric wit. She has something to say with a sense of urgency. I believe she has a bright future and will make an artistic contribution to the culture in which she lives" Joan Skinner, Founder of SRTTMWilhemeena is the rarest of all dance artists. She is an exceptional dancer, choreographer, improviser, teacher and administrator. She is a professional in every sense of the word with the added extra-attraction of a warm and caring heart. Her studio in Auckland is destined to become a centre for creative development in New Zealand. It is a reflection of her sense of beauty and care for the human spirit and wellbeing of planet earth. Add her youth to the equation and you have the potential of someone who will be a positive influence for many people in the years to come" Al Wunder - Author and Founder of Theatre of the Ordinary"In her own movement, is a wonderful sense of genuine enquiry and the desire to explore both self and related concepts, which surfaces through a growing mastery of the sweetly lyrical, to the mischievous, to the deeply and sometimes darkly poignant. Wilhemeena takes both the benign and the frightening qualities of our existence - in all its vagaries, provides us with a feast for our perception and allows us to part with the knowledge that in New Zealand today, there is one artist at least, who is not afraid to demonstrate that artistry publicly, in a broad range of challenging situations." Mike Baker - Coriolis Dance Company"It was one of the best shows - if not the best - I have been to since writing this column" Butterfly Zoo 2008 - Bridgett Saunders, Sunday Star Times"One of the most superb arts events this city has ever seen. This performance extravaganza that held a very large audience spellbound over the whole evening" Portage Ceramic Awards 2008, Naomi McCleary - Waitakere City Arts AdvisorWilhemeena Monroe is an internationally reknowned dancer, choreographer and teacher...we are thrilled to have Wilhemeena as part of our festival this year! Monroe's work in the groundbreaking area of arts and ecology is unique for the whole festival.Monroe is a somatic trainer, movement artist and educator,as well as Director of SOUL CENTRE in New Zealand, exemplifying an unusual and inspiring blend of creative and socially-conscious work.In order for SEEDS to address global concerns of ecology, we are relying on the expertise of leaders from various regions to come together for dialogue, discussion and education. We have selected Wilhemeena to be amongst this international team of artists, scientists and educators. Wilhemeena offers a unique expertise, and can provide the SEEDS festival with a perspective that none others can share quite as articulately. - Margit Galager Co_director of Earthdance, Massachusetts, USA and Artistic Director of SEEDS (Somatic Experiments in Earth, Dance and Science)“From 2006-2009 Wilhemeena Monroe has taught several courses and has been invited to offer several guest lectures within the Dance Studies Programme, The University of Auckland. Wilhemeena has always brought her expertise, good humour and genuine enthusiasm into every session. Students and staff have appreciated her generous spirit and authentic practice and we all have great respect for her input into the New Zealand Dance Industry.”
- Associate Professor Ralph Buck, Head of Dance Studies Programme, National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland
“ She is an artist of the utmost integrity, both in the expression of her work and is scrupulous in her dealings with others. She has an innate sense of responsibility and commitment, and seeks excellence in every aspect of her work and life, the two of which I believe are closely intertwined. On a professional level, I have rarely encountered an artist as highly self-motivated and demanding of respect as Wilhemeena.” Lissa Meridan – Director of Electronic Music Studios, School of Music, Victoria University
“I have great admiration for Wilhemeena’s abilities as a choreographer to oscillate between intensely personal solo works to large scale works dealing with social commentary, and the courage and flair she has in dealing with her subject matter. Her work reflects very relevant and important issues to do with the battle of the sexes, within love and sexuality, from a woman’s honest and incisive perspective. Her sometimes grotesque parody and intensity is influenced by such internationally acclaimed and revered choreographers as Pina Bausch, and crosses the borders between dance and performance art to reflect and parade realities which pure dance cannot reveal. The importance of this kind of work in NZ dance cannot be enough stressed and the integrity of Wilhemeena’s work and practice is also rarely found here. The effortless ability of Wilhemeena to integrate, be it via collaboration or alone, the mediums of video and sound into her dance work, makes her a highly valuable and very informed interdisciplinary artist within the NZ dance community.”
Alexa Wilson, New Zealand choreographer, dancer and filmmaker - currently residing in Berlin
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wellbeing
- Founder and Director of the SOUL CENTRE, SHIN YOGA, and SOUL BIRTH
Wilhemeena Isabella Monroe BPSA, Dip CST, Cert SRT, Cert BIB, Cert SS, Dip TMHST, RMT
Wilhemeena Isabella Monroe is the founder and director of the SOUL CENTRE, and the founder of SHIN YOGA. She has been working in dance and holistic health and wellbeing for over 15 years. She is an established choreographer, director, filmmaker and dancer and has performed all over the world. She is also one of NZ’s top somatic practitioners and has a current practice at SOUL CENTRE combining, cranio-sacral therapy, massage, movement therapy, dance, yoga and meditation. She is one of NZ’s 2 SRT certified facilitators, a Shin Somatics Registered Movement Therapist trainer and is a certified Birth into Being instructor - she has taught somatics in many institutions, universities, training programs and communities, worldwide.
Willa teaches regular classes at the SOUL CENTRE, in Titirangi, Auckland. She is also a corporate wellness consultant and facilitates yoga and massage for selected businesses in the Auckland area.
She has facilitated workshops and classes in association with the Auckland District Health Board for Community Mental Health Facilities and in private dual-diagnosis programmes and has facilitated children's therapeutic groups for children in trauma at Starship hospital.
She was named a “woman spearheading Auckland’s business success” by Business to Business Magazine in 2006. And in 2008 was one of 6 NZ’ers chosen as a participant of ART VENTURE, an acceleration program for creative entrepreneurs.
In 2008 she was also requested as a guest lecturer at SEEDS (Somatic Experiments in Earth, Dance and Science) Festival in USA and was asked to lecture for the Sustainable Business Network and the NZ Department of Labour on Workplace Wellness in Auckland. She was selected as a guest speaker and facilitator at the Intersections: Dance, Health and Wellbeing conference in Auckland in 2007.
Willa is available for private consultations, teaching, speaking engagements and group facilitation.
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artist
Wilhemeena Isabella Monroe has been working in the areas of theatre, dance and interdisciplinary-media and art approaching two decades.
During this time, Wilhemeena has been involved in creating hundreds of events and films in New Zealand, Europe and the USA and as a dancer has performed for independent choreographers around the globe.
She has produced, directed, choreographed, performed and installed more than 31 of her own works, from solos to group extravaganzas with casts of over 200.
Her segue into the music industry has had her choreographing and designing music videos and live events for NZ artists such as Labretta and the Motel Six, Minut, Charlie Ash and The Mamaku Project and the closing ceremony and after party for the 2008 NZ Music Awards.
Other portfolio highlights include: Creative director/choreographer of The Butterfly Zoo, and Living Lounge at SPLORE 2008, Portage Ceramic Awards 2008; assistant director/choreographer for the Trash To Fashion Awards 2004- 2009, David Gunson’s short film Auld Lang Syne; singly choreographing events for Sculpture on the Gulf, Auckland Theatre Company, AMEX, SUBARU, SOLITON, Harveys, Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, DAWSONS, Nelson Festival and the opening for Miranda Brown’s collection at New Zealand Fashion Week 2004, among others.
In 2007, Wilhemeena’s short film Too Close was featured in the Nelson Arts Festival and in 2004 in the Body Festival in Christchurch. Her short film Asylum was chosen for the 34th International Film Festival in New Zealand, Pulse Field Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in 2002, and in 2007 also featured at Nelson Arts Festival.
She is a 2008 alumni for the ART VENTURE program.
In 2007 she attended the Ex-it 07 residency in Germany, representing NZ in a global butoh and contemporary dance symposium. She was chosen as a choreographer for the 2002 Choreographic Platform and continued as Co-director of Platform from 2003 – 2006.
She has taught improvisation, choreography, contemporary technique and SRT™ as artist in residence at Milton Academy in Boston, and has taught workshops in various locations in Australia and the USA, including company class for Dappin Butoh, Liminal Dance Theatre and The BodyCartography Project.
She has taught at The Performing Arts School of New Zealand, the Nelson Lakes Mountain Jam, Tempo Festival, Dance Your Socks Off Festival, the Tertiary Dance Festival and within the wider New Zealand dance community including company classes for Touch Compass Dance Trust. She was a part-time tutor teaching SRT™ and choreography at the Bachelor of Dance programs at UNITEC for 5 years, Auckland University for 3 years and taught master-classes at AUT dance program. She now teaches regular workshops and classes at her centre in Titirangi, Auckland.
Passionate about Ecology, Wilhemeena developed a new primary school curriculum combing ecology, fashion and performing arts and gifted the curriculum to the Cook Islands Ministry of Education to use in their schools. She traveled to Rarotonga and Aitutaki in 2009 to present and teach the curriculum, and it is now used by primary schools throughout the Cook Islands.
She was a dedicated volunteer member of the Board for TEMPO, New Zealand's Festival of Dance from 2000 to 2010. And now continues to focus on her own projects.
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connect
- Connect with Willaemail willa: willa@mswilla.com
