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Chicago Therapy Collective’s Healing & Wellness Series is a weekly space for trans, non-binary and queer community members to tune inwards, explore a variety of healing modalities, and build community. Classes in December will be Sundays at Cheetah from 1:30-4pm. There will one Saturday offering on 12/21.
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*Sign up for one or both classes. You must reserve your spot. Capacity is capped at 15 students for each class.
Program Vision:
Our intention for this Healing and Wellness Series is to offer our community curated healing and wellness practices across various modalities that collectively nurture us amid the tumultuous times we find ourselves in. Our goal is to disrupt the status quo of stress, isolation, and limited resources for accessible, inclusive health, wellness, and care by providing a wealth of sorely needed offerings. Through the series, we will strive to create an experience that rebuilds connections between mind, body, and soul.
Class:
Somatic Mobility w/ TBanks
1:30-2:30pm
SUNDAY @ CHEETAH GYM
BIO:
TBanks teaches that there is intuitive body intelligence and wisdom that can be tapped when we pay attention to the signals our bodies are constantly feeding us in the many states of our existence. Coach T guides people in understanding that we are our own source of healing and can access that healing when we move & feel connected. Coach T’s own health journey and ability changes has fostered a more feel and flow centered approach to working out and wellness overall. She is a seasoned fitness expert trained in functional movement science and inspired by the art of movement and how that it ties into our physiology as a whole.
TBanks empowers a healthy fitness mindset. She teaches that being fit is more than simply achieving a certain look or training status. It is a decision and lifetime commitment to actively pursuing optimal physical well-being. In other words, actively pursuing life – a journey that looks different for every single person! She uses her fitness journey as a testimony to motivate others.
Somatic Mobility Class description:
Mobility in the fitness world is essentially referring to global accessibility across a joint’s capacity. We’re talking about the ACTIVE control you have in moving around your joints, vs. PASSIVE flexibility. Adequate joint mobility improves the nervous system’s ability to relax and allow movement.
Ever hear bodyworkers say things like “mind-body connection” or “the body holds trauma and memories?” This is what somatic therapy addresses – the body’s experience as it relates to the mind. Somatic therapists use a body-centric approach in treating trauma and stress related conditions. Coach T will be merging tools from both mobility training and somatic therapy to guide your body toward release, reconnection, and relief. TBanks views the word “movement” as such an expansive term that is for ALL of us, not just able-bodied people or fitness enthusiasts. In this class, we will be using various movement modalities (modifications included) to create space in the body for improved energy flow, cellular oxygenation, and unlocking of those dormant tense corners of the body. You will learn tools, exercises, and resources you can utilize for self-administered body care for those times it’s not quite in the budget to go get bodywork done. If you read this far, thank you. Coach T wants to send you their guide to realignment e-book that goes deeper into somatic mobility training. Remind them to send it to you at the end of class!
Yoga w/ M . Haines
3:00-4:00 pm
SUNDAY @ CHEETAH GYM
M Haines, aka Tila Von Twirl, has been a Chicago area dance and movement professional for 20 years. M received their BFA in dance making with honors from Columbia College Chicago in 2006. Haines has performed and instructed professionally for Hurley and Dancers, Dance CoMotion, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Old Town School of Folk Music, Swing for kids, IdeaBox, as well as presenting as a guest artist for Iowa State University and adjudicator for Iowa State Dance Theater. M Haines has also set and performed work independently in the more formal concert dance world.
M Haines performs in the entertainment world as Tila Von Twirl, which has afforded them international travel, teaching and performance opportunities such as “Tomorrow” featuring Fleetwood Mac, “Sing” featuring Elton John, “Metamorphus” featuring Billy Joel, as well as set choreography for Lando Blaze and Narcissa which coined the term “stupidlesque” from Johnny Porkpie at Burlesque Hall of Fame’s show in Vegas. Tila has also received several honors and accolades from BHOF for their work with the acrobatic group, The Dolls of Doom. Tila is currently on staff at Newport Theaters CAMP, ushering in a new generation of burlesque performers and those that want to connect to their bodies.
M Haines/Tila Von Twirl currently produces and MC’s the queer forward event Embodiment, rotating weekly spots at the Newport Theater for PeekEasy, as well as hosting at Unbridled at Untitled and various entertainment nights at Bordel.
M tempers all of this with a love for practicing and teaching yoga, being a student of Thai Buddhadhamma, and an unfortunately dormant Thai massage practice. Most recently this has all evolved to serve private clients in furthering a relationship to their body that specifically serves them. M firmly believes a body moving is a body politic, all bodies are dancing bodies, and you are probably stronger than you think you are.