Breath, Gravity, and Rotation (Part 1)

Service Description

Tuesday: Vital Breath By expanding the unified diaphragm, the breath's resonance softens connective tissue rippling through the body, allowing space for bones to move individually as a collective, fluffing sequential vertebrae pillows and widening foramen to create spinal tensegrity. Wednesday: Giving into Gravity We increase tone to the underside of body parts in order to reduce the unnecessary pull of the musculoskeletal system by surrendering to the natural labyrinths of movement developed from our primitive reflexes. Thursday: Nature’s Spirals Biomechanics constantly find frequency in response to the rhythms of breath, heartbeat / pulse, and environmental vibration - deep listening into the joint connections can release tension and allow us to move with ease and confidence. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Amal Elwardi received her BFA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before furthering her professional career as an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Fellow in New York City. She was trained and performed dance works by Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, José Limón, David Parsons, Bill De Young, Jean Issacs, Terry Wilson, and Marcos Duran, among others. Amal received her MFA from Saint Mary’s College of California, and her certification as an ISMETA Registered Somatic Movement Educator through Dr. Martha Eddy’s Dynamic Embodiment program. While developing grants for the Moving On Center School for Participatory Arts and Somatic Research in Berkeley, CA, Amal facilitates movement and writing courses at Saint Mary’s College of California and College of Alameda. She serves students with disabilities through the San Francisco Department of Rehabilitation and presents at conferences worldwide, including AAUW, BMCA, CDEA, Eastwest Somatics, ISMETA, and NDEO. In 2023, Amal became a board member of the Body-Mind Centering® Association . Amal’s life as a dancer has instilled in her teaching a mature understanding of anatomy and the effects of everyday toxicity. She promotes holistic health through creative, therapeutic movement applications and physiological strengthening. Amal encourages embodied participation to investigate epiphanies in the subtle mechanics of movement, the expression of musicality within, and the dynamics of gut, heart, and brain alignment.