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Nature and animal work offers grounded, relational practices shaped by the seasons.
Nature and animal work offers grounded, relational practices shaped by the seasons.
Time with land and wildlife supports regulation, attentiveness, and a felt sense of connection in the body.
Time with land and wildlife supports regulation, attentiveness, and a felt sense of connection in the body.
Nature
Nature
Outside of the conformity of societal construction are New Zealand's natural spaces; the beaches, ocean, forests, rivers and mountains. These are deeply rich places that are available to us, and will guide and teach us exquisitely. What we receive is a reflection of our intention. Nature answers to it all.
Margaret is particularly captured by observing things how they are - the light, the wind, direction, lay of the land, plants, birdlife, hoof prints, clouds, and how it all feels as it changes. Walking barefoot allows more sensory information and stimulates the tissues and bones of the feet. Swimming in bodies of water allows a total immersion and somehow a taste of its nature, as well as having numerous health benefits, be it ocean or glacial river.
Whether it is tree climbing, boulder hopping, river crossing or bush walking, Margaret guides with wide open arms. She encourages curiosity and calm, bringing all she knows from her own continued adventures. She leads the group by stepping back and allowing the participant to be affected by the environment itself. For most of us, we just need time.
Nature is our guide.
Margaret is particularly captured by observing things how they are - the light, the wind, direction, lay of the land, plants, birdlife, hoof prints, clouds, and how it all feels as it changes. Walking barefoot allows more sensory information and stimulates the tissues and bones of the feet. Swimming in bodies of water allows a total immersion and somehow a taste of its nature, as well as having numerous health benefits, be it ocean or glacial river.
Whether it is tree climbing, boulder hopping, river crossing or bush walking, Margaret guides with wide open arms. She encourages curiosity and calm, bringing all she knows from her own continued adventures. She leads the group by stepping back and allowing the participant to be affected by the environment itself. For most of us, we just need time.
Nature is our guide.
The animal inside & out
The animal inside & out
Observing animals, without disturbing them, in their familiar and safe environments can offer gems of learning and discovery. They know time and space with every cell of their being. They know breath, voice and gesture intricately and honestly. They know comfort, in the deepest sense.
They play, fight, and rest wholeheartedly. They move with ease, grace and dynamic as individuals and as a herd, shoal, or flock. They also respect those who take clear leadership.
Different animals bring about different states of nature that we can embody and learn from. Whether it is prey or predator, each has a way of being that is responsive and sensory by nature, efficient in its movement, and dynamic in its relationship to constant change. When we drop down from the vertical stance, or physiologically backward from the frontal cortex, we have the potential to come closer to the spirit of the animal and thus become familiar with instinctual behaviour.
Margaret often guides these workshops in a natural setting where the complexity of the environment itself invites a more animalistic approach. It's all about opening the senses, recognising breath as an ally and as a reflection of one's state, and feeling free to drop down into the wilder parts of ourselves.
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