psychology in movement
Stories
of the Earth and Body
Listening Deeply, Speaking Authentically.
Tuning Into the Body and Earth for Truthful Expression
Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
7. - 15. July 2025
Slovenia
is a 8-days Youth Exchange that explores deep listening and authentic communication through the wisdom of the body, the Earth, and artistic expression. We will engage in language of the body, movement, and creative practices to express our truths with vulnerability and presence. By connecting with our personal narratives through body, and art, we will explore emotional awareness and build meaningful connections with others. This project aims to create a supportive space for self-discovery, creativity, and a deeper sense of belonging.
If you want to join this course, send us your application.
"Stories of the Earth and Body"
"The story that you told,
that lives in the words you speak,
is the same story that is yours to find,
yours to discover and to hold
as it leads you into deeper places
you didn’t know were waiting."
David Whyte
About this training
How to share our stories from a place of authenticity and vulnerability in order to build more meaningful connections with ourselves and with others?
"Stories of the Earth and Body" is a 8-days Youth Exchange that blends somatic work, dance improvisation, ecopsychology, and artistic expression to help participants connect with their bodies, each other, and nature.
On this course, we will explore how to listen to our inner stories and the voices of others. We will discover tools that help us express ourselves authentically, while being fully witnessed in that expression. Through tapping into our bodies and connecting with nature, we will learn to honor these stories and bring them into the light.
Together, we will create a space to hear the stories that have already been shared, want to be witnessed, allowing them to continue their journey and inspire others.
Stories are more than words
they are living experiences that shape how we see ourselves and the world.
Stories have the power to shape our perceptions, shift our awareness, and weave new understandings of the world around us. When shared with presence and authenticity, they can open doorways to deeper relationships, helping us see ourselves more clearly. They become invitations to listen more deeply, to feel more fully, and to engage with life in a more connected and intentional way.
A story told with presence does not simply end, it continues to resonate, to inspire, to weave connections between people and place. It challenges us to reflect on how we relate to ourselves, to the Earth, and to each other. It becomes a guide, a bridge, a shared pulse of meaning that moves beyond the storyteller and into the collective space of those who receive it.
Why sharing stories?
Our beliefs are the lens through which we interpret and make sense of our experiences. According to Gestalt psychology, meaning is not something fixed or inherent in the world, but something actively created through our perception. This view suggests that we continuously interpret and re-interpret our experiences, drawing from our past and present perceptions. We actively "complete" meaning by organizing our experiences in ways that align with our beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us.
This training invites participants to explore how their personal beliefs and experiences influence the stories they tell. By tuning into the body, the Earth, and their emotions, participants actively engage in the process of rediscovering their stories from multiple point of view, exploring new layers of meaning that align with their evolving beliefs about themselves and the world around them. Therefore, this course encourages a deeper awareness of how we "complete" meaning in our lives, using storytelling, movement, and artistic expression to reflect on and reshape our perceptions. Through this process, participants can gain new insights into their own narratives.
Why to work with the body is important?
Somatic work is a powerful tool for inviting more neutral perception and supporting the process of seeing the world, ourselves, and others in a more grounded and open way. Somatic practices involve tuning into the body and the sensations we experience, encouraging a deeper awareness of the present moment. This process can be particularly helpful in developing a more neutral, non-judgmental way of perceiving our experiences, which is essential for authentic expression, storytelling, and understanding.
What stories are felt but never spoken?
What stories are seen but go unrecognized?
What stories are ready to be expressed,
but don’t know how?
Methodology:
Somatics - Dance improvisation - Artistic expression
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Through experiential learning, we will explore different ways of listening to our bodies and the earth, using tools for deep communication and artistic expression. The methodology integrates movement practices, somatic awareness, and ecological wisdom, supporting a deeper understanding of how our personal stories intertwine with the rhythms of nature.
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Artistic expression:
We will use materials from nature, like stones, leaves, and branches, to create meaningful connections between our bodies and the Earth in order to express ourselves and tell a story. We will also explore books, videos, and other resources to inspire our creative work.
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Dance improvisation
Dance improvisation boosts exploration and creativity by using specific techniques such as image work, playing with time, space, and rhythm, and exploring physical sensations.
Main questions for this course
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How do I live with more courage and self-support to express my truth?
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How can I listen more deeply to my body and the Earth to guide my authentic expression?
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What holds me back from speaking my truth, and how can I move beyond these barriers?
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How can I share my stories in creative yet clear ways that feel true to me?
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How can movement, somatics, and nature-based practices support my communication and self-expression?
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What role does storytelling play in personal and collective healing and empowerment?
Who can apply?
The "Stories of the Earth and Body" Youth Exchange is open to young people
aged 18-30 eager to explore their inner voice, develop creative expression, and cultivate more authentic ways of being in the world.
Each participating country will have one group leader, who can be over 30 years old, responsible for guiding and supporting the group throughout the exchange.
Participants should be motivated to engage in group activities, share their experiences, and embrace vulnerability in a supportive, collaborative environment. No prior experience in art, movement or storytelling is required,just an open mind and a willingness to learn.
Participants will be invited to:
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Discover the hidden potential of the body through somatic exploration, movement, and deep listening to both inner and outer landscapes.
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Bring their own artistic expression and a willingness to explore it.
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Trust the unfolding wisdom of the group process, co-creating a space of shared learning, presence, and connection.
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Engage in outdoor experiences, embracing physical activities in nature, regardless of the weather.
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Commit fully to the program with openness, curiosity, and adaptability.
We aim to have 27 participants from Slovenia, France, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Romania and Slovakia.
Participants must be over 18 years old and have a communicative level in English so that they can participate fully in the program.
This training course is funded through the Erasmus+ Programme, travel costs up to a specific maximum allowed amount will be fully reimbursed.
Slovenia: 28 EUR (56 EUR for Green Travel*)
Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, France: 309 EUR (417 EUR for GT)
Important notice before applying:
The training course is open to people of all experience levels. However, being open and interested in investigating this approach is important. We expect you to participate in the whole program.
It means coming later or leaving earlier is not possible.
Also, prepare for an intensive experience with at least 6 hours
of physical activities every day!
Our work primarily centres around somatic movement practices, comatics, contact Improvisation principles. Participants must be comfortable with giving and receiving touch as a means of learning.
Clarification on Course Purpose:
Please note that this training is not meant to replace psychotherapy or serve as a method of healing. Instead, it provides a learning opportunity for individuals to gain a better understanding and experience which they can later share.
Meet the team
Foto by: www.biankacsenki.com
Živa is an anthropologist, manual therapist and researcher of somatic practices and contact improvisation.
Her field of activity focuses primarily on developing and maintaining sensitivity and awareness towards oneself, fellow human beings and the environment, finding organic, creative and non-violent ways for the coexistence of differences and their mutual enrichment, which enables continuous transformation and personal growth.
She uses work with the body, touch and awareness of space as the basic tools of her practices.
"How do stories emerge when we surrender to not knowing? Where narratives, movement, and expression arise from deep listening rather than predetermined form? I am drawn to the space where sensation guides action, where self-expression is shaped through somatic practices, movement improvisation, and the natural rhythms of our surroundings. Rooted in posthuman anthropology, we invite the body to become both storyteller and listener—attuning to breath, weight, and the unseen forces that shape us. I am especially curious about the balance between structure and surrender—how we can hold space for discovery without forcing an outcome. My work is about being present with what is, letting movement and narratives unfold, and learning through the body’s deep intelligence. Moving beyond control into sensation, allowing stories to surface organically—woven from gravity, stillness, and shared presence in an invitation to let go, to listen deeply, and to express from the raw truth of emergence."
Nayeli is a psychologist working privately as a therapist with a Gestalt experiential psychotherapy approach. She has been a trainer in the field of non-formal education for more than 15 years. In the somatic and dance field, she is deeply inspired by contact improvisation, which has shaped her exploration of movement and its somatic approach beyond the dance studio. Having been actively engaged in the practice since 2017, she continues to investigate how this form expands her view on life.
"As a therapist and psychologist I am not so much interested in the content of the story.
I am interested in the way it is told.
By the way, it reaches my body when I hear it. What lands and where. What resonates and how.
I am interested in exploring how to speak from a place of inner contentment from deep inside the body. Grounded in what is a current reality of my truth.
How can listening and speaking become a spacious interaction instead of a room full of content?
How can we become witnesses of our own expression?
How can we listen with empty curiosity instead of a mind full of ideas?
Ema is a practitioner of the Ilan Lev Method—a bodywork-based somatic practice—and contact improvisation, with a deep grounding in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Vipassana meditation. With a background in cultural anthropology and a passion for non-formal learning, she spent years as a youth worker, trainer, and facilitator, creating spaces for exploration, connection, and self-discovery. Her practice is rooted in the intelligence of the body—how vibration, weight, and surprise can release tension, shift habitual patterns, and invite ease. She sees movement not as something to master, but as a process of listening and responding, allowing new possibilities to emerge. Deeply engaged in somatic practices, Ema is fascinated by how bodies communicate beyond words, how gravity and shared weight create dialogue, and how unlearning control can lead to surprising forms of connection.
"What if expression is not something we create, but something we uncover? A story stirs beneath the surface, felt in the weight of breath, the tremor of truth unspoken. Not shaped to fit, not censored—just received. Softness is not collapse. Structure is not rigidity. Honesty is not harshness. Authenticity is not a performance. Stillness is never still. To notice what is present, to stay with it, to express without forcing, without holding back. To meet another without losing yourself. I return, again and again, to what the body already knows— a whisper in the ribs, a shift in the gaze, a dance between revealing and becoming."
