Taking the Stage: Walking with love through the fear of performance -Heather Wertheimer, Vijay Shankar & Anne Shankar; Portland
Brief Description: “Taking the Stage” is designed to support people who feel inhibited by fear of performance and have a dream of sharing themselves more deeply with others through creative modalities such as singing, public speaking, teaching, or acting. It offers tools for performing in front of others despite feelings of fear, even if the fear seems extreme.
Full Description: This workshop is for you if you believe that performing in front of others is part of your life dream . . . and you feel held back by fear. “Taking the Stage” is about learning to do what you really want to do in front of other people, whether it is singing, speaking, acting, or any type of performance. It is about learning to accept the current stage of our own growth, to embrace our experience fully and with compassion, allowing ourselves to be challenged in new ways.
Throughout this workshop, participants will be led through a series of experiences based in mindfulness. The workshop provides opportunities to practice performing in front of others, to identify fears and goals, to study the role of the mind in creating fear, and to make a plan for manifesting performance possibilities in your life. “Taking the Stage” explores ways of walking compassionately with fear and finding meaning in the process. Participants have the option to participate in additional sessions of meditation, yoga, and singing as well as workshop activities.
There’s good news and bad news! The bad news is that we have to be willing to feel discomfort in order to pursue a path that involves performance in front of other people. The good news is that no matter how we feel, we can do the things in life that are really important to us and even be opened up more deeply to love in the process.
Topics addressed during the workshop:
• the role of the mind in creating fear
• living with fear in the body
• what to do when you feel afraid before and during a performance
• creating support through inner and outer resources
• developing a vision of what is really important to you and learning to focus on that vision as a source of inspiration
This workshop draws on the work of Steven Hayes and others who have developed a therapy method called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). It is also rooted in the mindfulness of meditation, as taught in Eastern religions for centuries and by Western teachers such as Jon Kabat-Zinn. Taking the stage is based on a belief in the divinity in all of us, as seen in our everyday lives as well as in our calling to self-expression on a creative path.
About the presenters:
Heather Wertheimer brings 20 years of experience as a therapist to this workshop, specializing in the areas of substance addiction, trauma recovery, and body-centered therapy. She taught yoga for 10 years and has a master’s degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University. Heather has been a full-time musician since 2002 and has been involved with music much of her life. Her desire to help others realize their dreams comes from being an anxious performer and from experiencing a prolonged stage of severe panic related to performance.
Heather and her husband Benjy lead kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide as the duo Shantala. They have toured in the U.S. and abroad with musicians including Deva Premal & Miten, Krishna Das, Steve Gorn, and Manose, and they have accompanied yoga workshops internationally with renowned teachers John Friend, Shiva Rea, Richard Freeman, and others. Heather’s debut CD with Shantala, “Church of Sky,” was named by New Age Retailer as one of the top ten albums of 2004. In April 2003, she and Benjy released “The Love Window,” a beautiful and well-loved collection of sacred chants.
Vijay Shankar is a Licensed Psychologist. Anne Shankar is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Anne and Vijay have a private practice in Portland, Oregon and have co facilitated a number of ACT intensive multi day workshops.
Please note that this workshop is residential (no exceptions). Please call Vijay or Anne at 503 297 2257 or email them at vadv@qwest.net for more information.
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