What is Movement Medicine 4 Men?
“Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance“
What is Movement Medicine?
Movement Medicine is a refined integration of ancient ecstatic movement practices, psychotherapeutic wisdom, contemporary shamanism, and neuroscience. It teaches you how to stand up, grow up, play your role, and alchemize life’s challenges into the gold of your soul.
Movement Medicine is a modern practice that directs our awareness toward movement, thoughts, and feelings, supporting us in discovering who we truly are. It is an active, embodied meditation that opens the path to deep inner reflection.
Movement Medicine is a body based movement meditation practice that will reconnect you to the wisdom of living from the heart, the joy of knowing who you are and the satisfaction of making your unique contribution to life. It will deepen your connection to yourself, your creativity and the integrity and guidance of your own soul.
What is Movement Medicine 4 Men?
Movement Medicine 4 Men is a body of work designed by senior Movement Medicine Teachers and Apprenticeship Leaders - Keef Wesolowski Miles and Marold Emmelkamp, and inspired by the work of Ya’Acov and Susannah Darling Khan and The School of Movement Medicine. We offer a diverse range of classes, workshops, immersions, men’s circles, mentoring, INITIATION and APPRENTICESHIP for MEN. This includes a clear and distinct PATHWAY TO APPRENTICESHIP and for those who feel the call - PROFESSIONAL TRAINING with Ya’Acov and Susannah Darling Kahn, the founders of The School of Movement Medicine.
Our events are designed specifically for men and utilise dance, movement, ritual and ceremony to explore masculine roles, challenges and evolutionary opportunities. Everything is on the table to be explored including power, purpose, sexuality, sexual energy, addiction, artistic expression; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing; commitment, discipline, belonging, community and collaboration; soulcentricity, integrity, responsibility and reciprocity; rites of passage and initiation; ritual and ceremony; relationships with other humans - men, women, children, elders, family, ancestors - and other than human - and all of life, and death. A multitude of topics and themes are in the mix, that are both universally human and uniquely experienced though the filter of being a man in a male body.
Far from being prescriptive or dogmatic, this work is designed to be inclusive, encouraging and empowering. It celebrates diversity - unity and freedom - and is all about personal choice, collective endeavour, creativity, accountability and response-ability. The primary focus is on evolving humanity and mature and healthy masculinity and alchemising personal stories through conscious movement. The material offered is always placed in the space between us in the spirit of - always an invitation and never an obligation. The primary objective is about discovering, deepening and living the truth of who you are and who you may become - unapologetically, with conviction, celebration, love, respect and gratitude.
We all have, and have always had, a vast reservoir of resourcing, creativity, vitality and medicine available to us in any given moment that can nourish us through the inevitable cycles, waves and spirals that make up the terrain of our personal path as a human being. By following these threads of remembrance and by active participation with this human process as love-in-action, in all of our roles and relationships, we have a chance to fully incarnate.
This is work is perfectly practical and intended to develop a truly effective tool kit - or medicine bag - for living a more fulfilling life where the mundane and sublime are interwoven and we develop the skills for sustainable ways of being in the world that are congruent with our values and deep soul dreaming. This is a unique opportunity to explore, take responsibility, reclaim your power and rewrite the stories you tell about yourself in all areas of your life. By making peace with our past and those parts of our psyche that ‘protect’ us we can empower our present and dream into being the life we were born to live. All holes are holy in our wholeness. This is about coming home to wholeness and unveiling the unique mythopoetic essence at the core of your being.
Who is it for?
Movement Medicine 4 Men is for any man who longs to be the man whom they know - deep inside their hearts - they can be. It is for men who want to live a life of presence, power and purpose; a life of embodiment, courage, connection and authenticity — where leadership becomes less about doing and more about being.
Through our offerings, men learn to stand grounded, act with clarity, and inspire through the integrity of presence. Whether you are just beginning your personal or professional growth journey or have years of self-development experience, we meet you where you are.
Our intention is to present many portals of possibility for each man to craft his own personal journey and have creative freedom and autonomy regarding the rhythm, pace and depth of his dance with this profoundly resourcing work.
Why Movement Medicine 4 Men?
Movement Medicine is the foundation of our work and the cornerstone of our offerings. Whether you join in for a mentoring session or ultimately the Movement Medicine Apprenticeship, you will dance! Why? Because we recognise that we wouldn’t be the men we are today without the practices and teachings of Movement Medicine.
It is a set of conscious movement practices that reconnects men with their bodies, emotions, and innate intelligence. Through this men cultivate the qualities that define authentic leadership: presence, courage, emotional clarity, and grounded confidence. From what we have learned and who we have become, we truly believe in the wisdom of these words of Confucius -
“Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance”
By committing to this work you will receive
Opportunities for evolution. Portals of possibility and awakening potential. We can’t 100% guarantee what you will get out of working with us, because that mainly depends on your commitment to yourself. But we are committed to your growth and we will support you to commit to yourself, to take responsibility for your path and to cultivate a culture of accountability.
With this in place we are absolutely sure that you will - step by step - move away from a life of unsupportive patterns, habits, addictions, expectations, isolation and control, and move towards a life that is meaningful for you to live. A life that you know you are worthy of living. And even go beyond that.
You will also receive an ocean of love, respect, community, kindness and appreciation.
Intentions, Assumptions and Core Values
MOVING MEN - Moving with whatever is arising in our psyche, our soma and lives in general can lead to healing, wholeness, evolution and creative solutions to life’s challenges and opportunities. By listening deeply to what needs to be felt, what needs to be expressed, what is calling for change, evolution and creative exploration we can move away from our conditioned reactivity towards a deeper sense of healthy responsibility - the ability to respond creatively to whatever life is presenting to us. Our intention is to move and be moved - physically, emotionally, psychologically , spiritually and relationally.
A SAFE HARBOUR - A safe harbour is needed, and is co-created through organic leadership and collective care and attention. A place of refuge and mutual support, confidentiality, inclusivity, nourishment and encouragement where we feel safe, valued, seen, heard, honoured and respected. Where our presence is felt and our contribution is invited and celebrated. This happens in the context of an evolving community of embodied, heart centred men who are inspired to live lives of meaning, purpose, reciprocity, creativity, integrity, response-ability, health, balance and fulfilment. Witnessing and being witnessed, authentic sharing from the heart and ‘power beside’ are golden keys.
EMBODIMENT RESOURCING - Happens through explorations of and inclusion of all aspects of our being human - physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and relationally. This is built on the fundamental resourcing of essential Movement Medicine® practices, processes and maps and through clear structure, heart sharing and embodied witnessing and listening. Together we develop our innate capacity to listen to and engage with the full somatic spectrum of how it is to be a living breathing human in a male body, whilst looking into the potent mirrors of a circle of brothers.
RECOGNITION OF RELATIONAL REALITIES - “No man is an island or a world unto himself”
RECONNECTION - Coming together as a circle of men, in a place of safety, inclusivity, non-judgement and ‘power beside’
COMMUNITY - Healing and Wholeness comes through cultivating community, connection, co-operation, collaboration, communication and creativity
BALANCE - We seek a healthy balance - between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’, between the rational and the mystical, between inner and outer worlds, physical and spiritual worlds, between our personal and professional worlds and between our courage and vulnerability.
ALL LIFE IS SACRED - We recognise that all of life is sacred and we strive to make choices in our thoughts, words and actions that honour our children, our elders, our ancestors and all of life.
COMMITMENT and COMMUNICATION - The more you put in the more you get out. Relationships require presence and the courage to show up whatever is going on. Simple. Life happens and you are free AND out of respect to yourself and the circle we ask that you commit to clear, kind, honest and authentic communication.
ARC OF INTEGRITY - We will always work with the arc of integrity: preparation-process-integration.
NATURE BASED - The work we offer is as nature and movement inspired guides to wholeness and self-healing.
AUTHENTIC HUMANNESS - Part of the power of this work is authentic humanness and the power of witnessing and being witnessed. Therefore, we are likely to be much more open about our personal life and experiences than, for example, a psychotherapist may be.
SELF REFLECTION - We invite you to do plenty of self-reflection, wholeness resourcing practices, explore deepening invitations and to wander in nature frequently.
WALKING THE TALK - We will only ever invite explorations that we have engaged in ourselves. For the duration of our time together, including between sessions and in dreamland, we will journey deeply alongside you.
ONGOING STUDY - We are committed to ongoing study and continuing professional development.
“The difference between you and a master, is a master has failed more times than you have tried”
Stephen McCraney
Key aspects of Movement Medicine 4 Men
We focus on the male experience of being human, movement as medicine, archetypal explorations, connection and community, nature and reflection, ritual and ceremony, and offer a wide range of international events and online opportunities.
THE MALE EXPERIENCE OF BEING HUMAN. Balancing strength and vulnerability. Evolving mature and authentic masculinity.
MOVEMENT AS MEDICINE. Movement and dance are the core tools we utilise for healing, wholeness, self-discovery, evolution and transformation
ARCHETYPAL EXPLORATION. We explore various archetypes - such as the Dancing Warrior, Dancing Fool, Wounded Healer, Lover, Inner Artist, Wild Indigenous One and Wise Elder - to bring a wider range of resources to our lives.
CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY. MM4MEN events foster a profound sense of brotherhood and community, which is essential for supporting individual growth and transformation.
NATURE AND REFLECTION. We invite quality time spent in nature to explore resourcing and reconnecting with natural life forces, cycles, seasons and rhythms, alongside opportunities for personal reflection and group support.
RITUAL AND CEREMONY. A wealth of rituals and ceremonies from many lineages are offered as portals of possibility and for awakening potential
WIDE RANGE OF INTERNATIONAL EVENTS. Including - Workshops, Immersions, Courses, Mentoring and Apprenticeship. We explore a diverse range of themes and offer coherent personal pathways and specific pathways towards Professional Training.
ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES. There are many opportunities for regular online practice, learning and community in the form of 1-1 Embodied Mentoring for Men, ManGroove Embodied Sharing Circles, courses and an archive of prerecorded classes on Patreon
Other shamanic work
Shamanism is at the core of our work and shamanism is fundamental pillar of The School of Movement Medicine. The recognition that nature is our true nature and all life is precious and sacred is central to our philosophy.
As well as being Senior Movement Medicine Teachers, we have also trained in multiple disciplines and are aligned with several lineages. Marold for example is deeply aligned with the lineage of Malidoma Somé and Keef is initiated as a Son of the Sun on the path of the Great Mother and the Four Elements as guided by shaman XamAM Alba Maria -Terra Mirim, Brazil. He has also journeyed deeply with several indigenous Brazilian tribes. Particularly the Huni Kuin of Acre.
We are both deeply inspired by the nature based soul work of Bill Plotkin and Animas Valley Institute. As such, alongside our Movement Medicine offerings we also incorporate, where appropriate, many other shamanic rituals and ceremonies including Vision Quest, Burial Ceremony, Cabana- Sweat Lodge, Emerging into Nature, Ancestral Work
