Harmony in Health

in association with The College of Medicine and The Harmony Project

We have a rich programme to share with you which includes:

• Winter traditions in three different cultures; Norse, Polish, Persian
• Seasonal movements and aromatics
• Creative writing and drawing for connectedness, playfulness and harmony
• Visual representations in Persia during Shabe Yalda (Winter Solstice)

Sharing Traditions

with Julia Outlaw

Julia will introduce our three presenters and help us find out about the rich winter traditions of Poland, Norway and Persia

Nordic Knowledge

with Anne Andenaes

Anne invites you to a taste of mystical Norse dark midwinter tradition, where the spirits of the underworld come to life and play havoc if they are not humoured with food, drink and goodwill.

A time to put things behind one and be encouraged by the thought of the sun's slow return to the skies with a vision of a brighter future and new life.

Forty years of living in Norway's spectacular wild nature and extreme seasons has taught her some techniques to manage the dark and frozen nature - when time and life appear to stand still.

We will explore some of the ways the hardy norsemen and women, since pagan times, have managed the long harsh winters with quirky rituals and beliefs, and how small rituals can help us today to find light in darkness.

There will be some physical movement included, to help warm and lighten our way.

The Magic of Storytelling

with Małgorzata Jabłońska

"File:Dziady żywieckie 8.jpg" by Withevening is licensed with CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

Living in harmony with the seasons had a major impact on our health, spirit and social life in the past. The long winter evenings spent together by the fireplace, out of the need for protection from the cold,were conducive to the telling of stories. Creating a story has long been our way of keeping alive the memory of our ancestors, evoking reflection, planning the future, solving problems, social interaction and intergenerational dialogue. Because language and the way we speak is a very characteristic element of human identity, when encountering a text we can still hear voices long gone or criticize a certain point of view in comfort - all provided by a sheet of paper - dealing with emotions and bringing balance to our minds and hearts.

During this session we will explore the reflective and creative potential of working with a spoken and written text.

• ways and techniques to connect to our origins
• ways and techniques that allow us to self-reflect
• techniques and exercises for creative writing and storytelling to play with friends or children or even to start creating poetry.

The Slavs believed that from All Saints' Day to spring he veil between the worlds was thinner and easier to cross. This is why supernatural visitors were part of Zapusty - joyful, noisy, full of food and magical stories celebrations to mark the end of winter. Creating stories has long been a human way of remembering, reflecting, but also entertaining.

With Małgorzata we will explore the creative potential of working with text.

Persian Celebrations: Shab-e-yalda and Nowruz

with Sara Khoroosi

"File:Persian New Year Table - Haft Sin -in Holland - Nowruz - Photo by Pejman Akbarzadeh PDN.JPG" by PersianDutchNetwork is licensed with CC BY-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

Come and witness a taste of Persia as Sara, a British born Iranian member of our Team, shares with us a part of the history she grew up with from ancient Persia.

Shab-e-yalda is a winter solstice celebration that commemorates the triumph of Mithra, the Sun God, over darkness. The festival dates back to the time when the majority of Persians were followers of Zoroastrianism prior to the advent of Islam.

On Yalda festival, Iranians celebrate the arrival of winter, the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness. They believed that evil forces were dominant on the longest night of the year and that the next day belonged to the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda; an early monotheistic god figure.

Fires would be burnt all night to ensure the defeat of the forces of evil. There would be feasts, acts of charity and prayers performed to ensure the total victory of sun - essential for the protection of winter crops.

Iranians today all over the globe still gather in the homes of their elders, drinking tea with homemade sweets, reciting poetry, playing music, dancing and eating a veritable feast including pomegranates - the crown jewel of fruits native to Iran - watermelon and persimmon. We will also hear a poem or two from Hafiz, one of the most beloved poets of the Persians translated into English: a must-do ritual on this night.

Nowruz is the national New Year festivity celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, and throughout Central Asia. It is a springtime celebration whose activities symbolise rebirth and the link between humans and nature. The Iranian poet Saadi (1210-1291) wrote: “Awaken, the morning Nowruz breeze is showering the garden with flowers.”

​ While the two-week celebrations centre on seeing relatives, picnicking, travelling, and eating traditional food, Nowruz itself - which is Farsi for New Day - is steeped in ancient myths and fiction, as well as traditions and symbols.

Our Presenters

Anne Andenaes

Born in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, lived in Oxford before moving to Norway in 1975.

Former International swimmer, Great Britain and Wales; Physical Education teaching studies, Nurse (Bristol Royal Infirmary, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital, Oxford,)

Rudolf Laban Movement studies, Certified Pilates teacher, Lotte Berk Method, Natural Movement teacher, ASA swimming coach and teacher; International Federation of Aromatherapy therapist and teacher, Reflexology and Therapeutic Massage practitioner.

Care of the elderly and terminally ill with aromatherapy and natural movement.

At present running own research, courses and workshops to help liberate / enable free natural movement potential.

Małgorzata Jabłońska

Małgorzata Jabłońska - theatre researcher and doctoral candidate at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.

Doctoral dissertation: Towards body dramaturgy. The influence of Vsevolod Emilievich Meyerhold’s Theatrical Biomechanics on the concepts of actor training in the European theatre of the 20th century.

Her areas of interest include the history and problems of performer training, body-based non-verbal communication strategies in the theatre as well as the twentieth-century avant-garde theatre and the history of Polish alternative theatre.

Collaborator of Didaskalia theatre journal. A founding member of the CHOREA Theatre Association (Łódź, Poland) and co-author of the Trening fizyczny aktora. Od działań indywidualnych do zespołu (Physical Actor Training. From Individual Actions to an Ensemble) handbook.

In years 2007-2014 she led original practice-as-research workshops at the Jagiellonian University and the Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw in the area of a body dramaturgy and a prearranged experience in performer training.

She was the main organizer of 'Vsevolod Meyerhold's Theatre Practice' international conference (Wrocław 2013) as well as International Platform for Performer Training Wrocław 2016 edition.

Collaborator of The Grotowski Institute in Wrocław (The Theatre Olympics 2016), Teatr Próg, Studio Matejka. Member of The Polish Society for Theatre Research and International Platform for Performer Training.

Sara Khoroosi

Sara Khoroosi is the Alexander Technique Teacher for The Actors Centre (Covent Garden); DLD College, Music and Drama Department (Westminster); The Suzuki annual residential Strings at Ascot, and a Teaching member of The Alexander Technique Centre in Covent Garden.

She is a professional musician (Violin and Vocals), performing regularly with flamenco-jazz fusion band Clandestino, and recording with a number of contemporary composers.

Sara also works as a music workshop leader for vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied asylum seekers, refugees and children with disabilities. She is currently the Co-Musical Director for the I Speak Music Orchestra and the award-winning Orchestra of Unlimited Potential.

Sara has always had a keen interest in dance and movement having founded the Dance group Mambo Central, stemming from her studies in Vernacular Afro Cuban approaches. She now combines her knowledge and passion for music, movement and health, inviting us to explore these connections together.