Take a step into a transformative journey!

I curate the playground,

You find your path.

Experience transformative learning experiences that ignite collective growth, rooted in individual experience.From the I to the WE to the WHOLE.With curiosity, compassion, and courage, embrace fresh perspectives and allow your innate wisdom to manifest through embodied expression, free from immediate interpretation.We are all inherently human, engaging with one another on shared journeys. I aim to empower individuals to reconnect with their inner wisdom, leading lives with integrity, authenticity, and adaptability.

SCIENCE-BASED

These learning journeys mix insights from psychology, dance and movement pedagogy, neuroscience, game design, and experience design.Through this rich blend, cultivate somatic awareness and foster nonlinear thinking.

FOCUSED ON 5 PILLARS

A PATH TO INNER LEADERSHIP

The journeys are designed to foster inner leadership grounded in principles of wholeness, flexibility, and congruence.The art of listening to oneself, by attending to the subtle messages from our bodymind, our emotions and intuition as an inner compass.

Testimonials

"Dancing with Ana in the 6 weeks course “MOVING FROM WITHIN” was the highlight of my week. No matter how stressed, hyped-up or disconnected I felt, Ana always managed to create a space where I could let my guard down and connect with all my feelings. I could let my body speak, express everything that I couldn’t find words for. I could dance my worries, my anger, my joy and my love. Ana taught me how to connect to my true authentic self, to connect with others, to find my boundaries and also to break them. It was a journey of pure magic, healing and joy!"

I.H.

• moving with ana - individual sessions
• move from within

Emotional Intimacy

• moving with ana - individual sessions
• move from within

authentic movement

As a contemporary mystical practice, Authentic Movement offers a ritualized space for the individual development of embodied consciousness and the emergence of a collective body.The practice of Authentic Movement is rooted in Jungian Psychology. Within its framework, we explore the relationship between movers and witnesses, between inner and outer witnesses, and between seeing and being seen.We invite the unconscious to become visible through movement and words and separate direct experience and perception to welcome the development of an individual "inner witness”.

next events

intro session

Saturday tba
10:00 - 13:00Kochgasse, 1080 Vienna

Cost:
- facilitation and organisation is donation based, from 10€.

• into the emptiness - evening group

Sep 23 / Oct 7 and 21 / Nov 4 and 18 / Dec 2

Mondays (every 2nd week)
18:00 - 20:30Institut Kama (1150 Vienna)

Cost:
- 6 sessions: 180,00€
- until 31st August: 120,00€

• Register Here

A drop of theory

From Movement in Depth to Authentic Movement

“Movement, to be experienced, has to be 'found' in the body, not put on like a dress or a coat. There is that in us which has moved from the very beginning. It is that which can liberate us.”

Mary Starks Whitehouse

When Mary Starks Whitehouse started developing a movement practice rooted in Carl Jung's Active Imagination, she called it Movement in depth.This method, born in the convergence between dance and psychoanalysis, aims at the integration of body, mind and soul.Janet Adler was one of the students that brought the practice further. Although it was born in the field of Dance Movement Therapy, it has been widely used for movement exploration or self-development.The basic components are very simple: there's at least one mover, and at least one witness. The movers close their eyes and move from their inner impulses. The witnesses offer a non-judgemental presence providing a safe space for the movers to express themselves. Often, there's a space for sharing verbally in the end.The duration and setting can be changed. Can often be combined with other expressive methods such as drawing or writing.

social presencing theater

"Social Presencing Theater invites us to tap into our natural creativity and ability to fully embody the "performance" of being human. My intention with this work is to offer movement practices that support people in recognising their own and others' embodied wisdom, compassion, and courage to act."

Arawana Hayashi, in Social Presencing Theater

next events

The collective body becoming conscious

with Peter Hoffmanntba
Vienna

• Register Here

Gain clarity over your future using SPT

tba

The collective body becoming conscious

When using embodiment tools, we often start by an exploration at an individual level.However, the potential is to tap into a deeper understanding of the social dynamics that are present in the collective body. Making the invisible visible in the network of a social field has the potential to provide insights into the unseen forces that guide behaviour and beliefs, even if not easily perceived at a cognitive level.

THE STRUCTURE

We will blend tools from Authentic Movement and Social Presencing Theater.No previous experience necessary. Ideally, participants know at least one of the methods.

DETAILS

tbaRoom cost is divided by all participants; Facilitation & Organisation donation based

• Register Here

sense your current field and move into the next phase with clarity

What are the seeds that you are sowing to create your future reality?Sitting in front of a blank paper and dropping your ideas and thoughts into words is part of the process, but not the only part. Theory U speaks of including an open mind, but also an open heart and an open will so that we can let the new emerge.In a small group (4 people), join me for an exploration of the Seed Dance, a practice of Social Presencing Theater, and Authentic Movement. Include your inner wisdom, by connecting with your embodied consciousness, in the preparation of your seeds!

THE STRUCTURE

I’ll offer a combination of the “seed dance”, an SPT exercise aiming to sense the field of the future and Authentic Movement. The session combines journaling, visualisation, movement and embodiment.No previous experience necessary. Ideally, participants know at least one of the methods.

DETAILS

tba

move from within

Book your individual session, or a small group session!

Beyond a dance class or a meditation sitting, go on a journey of self-discovery towards inner leadership through movement and body awareness!

Not a dance class.
Not a meditation group.
Not a ceremonial space.

move from within combines elements from all those contexts.

We offer a space that encourages self-awareness, growth, and connection by bringing these elements together. Participants appreciate having a weekly time to slow down, gain new insights, and improve their relationships with themselves and the world around them.

DETAILS

Wednesdays 10:00 - 12:00 | Kochgasse 1080 ViennaParticipants: 2 - 4 (registration until 1 day before mandatory)
Sliding scale: 15€ - 40€

• Register Here

A 1:1 session is a self-discovery session where all the focus is on you and your needs!

intro call

In a 20-minute online call, we assess how fitting it is to work together. There, we can clarify all your questions about the process.

30 minutes | free of charge | online

1:1 session

It’s up to you to bring the topics that you’d like to explore. The case may be a clear question or a general area in your life you’d like to look into.In this journey of self-discovery, I’ll assist you by bringing external inputs and leading the experimentation.

90 minutes | Tuesdays 12:30 - 17:30 | Kochgasse, 1080 Vienna or online

COMMITMENT

The sessions are based on somatic awareness, embodiment and movement, but also on conscious communication. We use different tools, especially from Social Presencing Theater, Authentic Movement, Holistic Dance and Embodiment Coaching.When people are not familiar with the tools, it’s recommended to plan at least 3 sessions to best benefit from their potential.

• Book an intro call
• Book a 1:1 Session

other playgrounds

move . play . connect

more info soon

Emotional Intimacy

Authentic Movement | Holistic Dance | Biodanza | Dance/Movement Therapywith Mafalda Vergueiro23rd November 2024

Women's Inner Leadership Development

more info soon

Join us, Ana Bernardes and Mafalda Vergueiro, for a transformative weekend of emotional exploration and self-discovery through movement, embodiment, and somatic awareness.

We are both psychologists who have found a way into more profound layers of ourselves through the exploration of a deeper connection with our bodies. For more than 15 years we’ve been exploring somatic practices to improve our relationships and offering that journey also to others.

What methods do we use?

"Emotional Intimacy" is an invitation to a space of self-experimentation and self-discovery through movement. An experiential laboratory using Biodanza, Dance Movement Therapy, Holistic Dance, Authentic Movement, Social Presencing Theater, and sharing circles.

Who is it for?

What can you expect?

Emotional intimacy:

Emotional intimacy involves being fully seen, heard, and accepted by yourself and by another person, creating a bond that fosters closeness, empathy, and mutual understanding.It can occur in various relationships, such as between romantic partners, close friends, family members, or even within therapeutic settings.It needs key elements such as Trust, full Acceptance of yourself, Open Communication, Mutual Understanding, Empathy and Emotional Safety.Emotional intimacy is essential for building lasting, meaningful relationships, fostering stronger connections, and enhancing personal well-being and a sense of purpose.

Emotional intimacy can benefit a wide range of people, including:

Mafalda Vergueiro

Psychologist, Dance/Movement Therapist and Biodanza FacilitatorOver 20 years ago, driven by a desire to understand myself, I embarked on a journey through psychology, yoga, dance, movement, and a greater connection with my body-self-relational (emotional, sensory, mental and spiritual). My passion for helping others discover their potential led me to yoga, Biodanza, and ultimately to study psychology.I work as a clinical psychologist specialised in Dance Movement Therapy and dynamic psychotherapies, supporting adults. I facilitate individual and group therapeutic sessions using movement and body awareness to achieve greater internal congruence (thinking-feeling-acting).I've been organising therapeutic retreats since 2016.
Previously, I worked for 15 years in finance following my degree in Economics.I believe that in everyone there is a healthy Self that wants to feel alive and the way to accomplish it is to go back to our BEing, relearn how to feel, and strengthen this Self-body in relationship.

Ana Bernardes

Psychologist, Embodiment Facilitator"The core of my work is to create spaces where people can grow. I guide learning journeys towards the development of inner leadership using awareness-based tools.By accessing body wisdom through conscious movement, somatic awareness and human connection, each person can promote the connection with oneself, improve the quality of relationships and rediscover creativity.I hold a degree in Psychology and I'm trained in Holistic Dance and Movement Pedagogy, Social Presencing Theater and Embodiment, which I combine with my experience of working in Business Consulting, Corporate Training, Event and Experience Design and Game Design, as well as 20 years of teaching social dances.My path made me a believer that only by bringing more consciousness into relationships and organisations we can create a lasting impact in living a purposeful and balanced life, both individually and collectively."

Ana Bernardes

In 1998 I started dancing and studying Psychology and I walked these 2 paths separately until they began to get intertwined.As a Vocational Counselor and Trainer, my career started in 2004 and focused on developing soft skills. This brought me into human resources consulting, training organisation and facilitation, and project management.After several years working in the corporate setting, in 2013 I discovered social entrepreneurship and experience design. Among other events, I co-founded a festival for innovation in education in Vienna (stEFFIE – Experimental Fun Festival for Innovative Education).In 2019 I started working in a game design agency, where I was responsible for people management, finance and organisation development, as well as for creating and hosting events and developing game concepts for companies.In what felt like a parallel world, my first class as a dance teacher was in 2000. For ca. 20 years I taught social dances, mostly ballroom and salsa, and I’ve learned many more partner dances, like tango or kizomba. In 2017 I came across Biodanza, which was the first step in using dance as a way of expression and healing.In the last years, I’ve added to my skills embodiment and dance practices such as Social Presencing Theater, Authentic Movement, Embodiment Coaching and Holistic Dance.