As acclaimed choreographer Liz Lerman notes, “Resistance is information.” In academic settings, contemplative practices can offer doorways into the information and insights that lie behind forms of resistance that often impede learning (including anger, shame, blame, boredom, frustration, burnout, lack of motivation, self pity) and facilitate both individual and group resilience. This workshop explores ways to recognize the wisdom behind experiences of resistance—in ourselves and our students. Contemplative practices that engage both movement and stillness can facilitate learning and responding to needs rather than falling into distraction, shame, blame, or avoidance behaviors. Through contemplative dance exercises and reflective writing practices, we will explore methods for being with and moving beyond both physical and metaphorical forms of resistance (no previous dance experience is necessary) as well as discuss the applications of these methods across disciplines.
