Join Kim for an immersive retreat exploring embodied sovereignty through the study of Authentic Movement. Through daily practice and immersion in nature, nourish yourself in the serene beauty of Aldermarsh.

Moving with eyes closed in the presence of a non-judgmental witness, participants soften attention inward, allowing sensation, impulse, and inner knowing to guide movement. Spaciousness and silence support restoration, clarity, and the reclaiming of embodied authority—offering a nourishing return to self, work, and world.

This retreat is meant for clinicians, dancers and caregivers who are seeking to deepen their understanding of somatic processes in their bodies, facilitate nervous system regulation through intentional generous embodiment, and connect with authority that is grounded in the wisdom of the body.

Continuing education is available for counselors and therapists through the Embodied Education Institute of Chicago.

Authentic Movement & Sovereignty

Authentic Movement is a contemplative practice in which one moves in the presence of a nonjudgmental witness. The mover allows sensation, impulse, emotion and image to guide movement, and the witness remains present, holding a respectful container for the unfolding process. The mover then gives shape and words to the movement through creative writing, art and sharing.

Within the practice of Authentic Movement, we listen inward, allowing meaning to arise through the body in moments of spacious quiet, openness, and curiosity. Because the body itself is a portal to knowing—through thought, felt sense, emotion, and movement—it carries information and distills wisdom that can guide perception, decision-making, ethics, and action.

Embodied epistemology means recognizing the situated nature of all knowing, acknowledging that knowledge is always shaped by a particular body, location, and moment in time. Each person is unique, and as time moves, every body—human and more-than-human—continually changes.

In a time when our nervous systems and hearts are overwhelmed, and many bodies have been, and continue to be harmed or marginalized, we intentionally turn toward practices that ground and nourish from the bottom up, cultivating values of pleasure, integrity and communal care.

This supports authority that arises not from dominance or decree, but rather from attunement, resonance, and presence. From this foundation, sovereignty is born, as each mover reconnects with the inner teacher and navigates their place in the world.

Authentic Movement is rooted in reciprocity rather than hierarchy with an emphasis on witnessing and embodied authority. Both mover and witness are affected by the encounter. The mover is not asked to perform, explain, or justify what arises. The witness is not a detached observer; they are asked to remain aware of their own sensations, judgments, emotions, projections, and responses while staying present to the mover. Belonging emerges not from fitting in or conforming, but from being allowed to exist freely in one’s embodied authority. Authentic Movement can deepen empathy because it invites people to encounter another person’s humanity without fixing, controlling, or interpreting prematurely.