A Course in Embodied Alchemy 2023-2024

Registration still open for the solo journey until Tuesday, October 3rd

The process of death, rebirth, and transformation that alchemy describes is one of our most powerful teachers for meeting this moment of radical collective change. Embodied Alchemy roots the teachings of alchemy in the intelligence of the body and the more-than-human world. If you’re reading this, you might be looking for a solid, steady, psychoactive container for your next round of healing and personal growth. And you might be interested in deepening your lived understanding of the somatic healing arts.

This 8-month experiential course will cover essential philosophies and practices of ritual somatic meditation as an aid in personal healing and transformation. Using the spine as the spine, we will descend into the roots of our body and being, initiate a current of healing and liberation, and climb our way into greater consciousness and creativity. Results will be deeply personal. You might discover exactly what you need to know now about how to meet this moment in your own individuation and the revolution/evolution in the world.

Guided by Dr. Mindy Nettifee (doctorate in depth psychology and somatic trauma therapist) and Trinity Capili (yoga and embodiment teacher), you will be exquisitely supported in articulating and working with your own specific intentions for healing and learning. This course will be ideal for:

– Those interested in healing and strengthening their relationship with their body to support and accelerate their creative potential.
– Those working with plant medicines or those feel called to.
– Those healing from religious trauma who are seeking nourishment for the cultivation of a new personal philosophy and a grounded, intentional relationship with imagination/nature/the universe.
– Anyone seeking to deepen their understanding and experience with somatic/embodied approaches to facilitating transformation in themselves, others, and the world.

WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE? WHAT WILL WE STUDY?

This is an 8-month / 33-week course that begins in October and goes through May. The course is organized into an introductory/preparation month, and then one month exploring each of the 7 classic chakras or energy centers of the body as a structural through-line and guide to our somatic practices and alchemical studies. Sometimes it will feel slow and luxurious, sometimes it will feel dense and electric. Our main text will be Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith, an intercultural work that weaves together the perspectives of Indian philosophy and Western psychology. To accompany these readings, each week you will receive access to a recorded talk with Mindy Nettifee on special topics in Embodied Alchemy from the fields of depth psychology, traumatology, and somatic studies. Topics include theory of mind, dream work, non-ordinary states of consciousness, the elements of healing ritual, and more. You will also receive a weekly recorded experiential somatic practice with Trinity Capili to help you ground everything you are learning in direct personal embodied experience.

You will be encouraged to find your own style of engagement with the material, going towards what you need most and documenting your insights along the way. Each Tuesday at 4:30pm PST, the class will meet live on Zoom for 90-minutes. We get to reflect together on what comes up in the book, the lecture, the somatic practice, and the “text” of personal life experiences. You will get to be a witness and be witnessed by a small group of tender radicals committed to the same journey of discovery.

WHO ARE THE FACILITATORS?

Dr. Mindy Nettifee is a poet, artist educator, depth psychology researcher, and depth somatic practitioner with expertise in trauma healing and integration. In private practice, she specializes in supporting those who want to heal, develop, and fully reclaim their creative voice, and in the process, their power to know and express themselves honestly, share their story and connect with others, and ultimately discover and enact their calling. She is trained in the Somatic Experiencing® trauma resolution method, Dream Tending, and a variety of other depth somatic practices. In individual sessions and group workshops, she creates containers for safely accessing and engaging the unconscious through the body and imagination, leading to accelerated healing, greater freedom and joy, and more capacity for the work that is ours to do. She also teaches courses in creative writing and performance through Oregon’s Literary Arts and Free Delivery, and works locally in Portland with Back Fence PDX.

Trinity Capili is a movement therapist here to inspire a joyful existence and unconditional love for/through/with the human body. Her experience is wrapped in two decades of field work in movement, yoga, and self-awareness practices. Her specialty is opening real conversations between people and their own parts. After a five year hiatus from advising business leaders, teaching and training teachers, Trinity took to re-educating and reframing her body’s context in today’s world. She discovered more ways to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom techniques and day-to-day living. Trinity teaches body-positive meditations, holistic ergonomics, and facilitates embodiment workshops for businesses and educators. She is a teacher and demonstrator of the movement technique, The Thinking Body- The Feeling Mind®. Trinity offers one-on-one coaching for those seeking a connection or deeper conversation with their bodies. Trinity created Creaturepace® as a resource to help bodies be who they are and do what they love for longer.

THE COST & WHAT IT INCLUDES

The cost to participate is $200 a month for 8 months, from October through May. This offering includes the weekly recorded talk (30-45 minutes) and somatic practice (30-45 minutes) and the weekly live process group (90 minutes). Additional one-on-one sessions with the facilitators are possible and will be made available at a special student rate during the the length of the course.  You will need to have access to decent WiFi to participate, and will need to purchase a copy of Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith.

If you do not have reliable access to good Wi-Fi, or would like to go on a solo journey without joining the live group, you can register to receive materials and recordings only. The cost for joining for a solo journey is $960, or $120 a month for 8 months.

EXACT DATES AND REGISTRATION DETAILS

The course begins the first week in October. The first recordings drop on Wednesday October 4th and the first live process group meeting is Tuesday, October 101th at 4:30pm PST. Everything will proceed weekly from there, except for some breaks at the end of year and in early spring. The final live process group takes place on May 28th, 2024.

Live Group Journey Registration

Registration is now closed for the live group journey.

Solo Journey Registration

We are accepting registration for the solo journey until October 3rd, 2023.

Register for solo journey and pay tuition in full

Register for solo journey with the option to make monthly payments