Ellen Stapenhorst

Ellen offers workshops, classes and individual sessions on creativity,
finding your voice, aikido principles and mind/body/spirit approaches
to sustainable, healthy living

Finding Your Voice
A mind/body/spirit exploration of creativity and expression

Explore your authentic, creative voice in many different ways:

Exercises and practices to engage mind, body and spirit in the physical voice—singing and speaking. Have fun while getting more comfortable with your voice!

Be at home on stage—how to get past the discomfort of being in front of an audience, and be present and enjoy each moment, whether singing, playing an instrument or speaking.

Creative, authentic expression through writing—whether it’s prose, poems or songs.

Singing and playing with others—the fine art of listening and offering, being present with the music and your partners in music.

Folk guitar—chord, key, picking and strumming basics for accompanying yourself and others.

The Way of Harmony
Mind/body/spirit principles and practices from the art of Aikido
An introductory workshop

Aikido (“the way of harmony”) is a martial art whose purpose is to redirect attacking energy so no one is harmed, not even the attacker. The mind/body/spirit practices of the art provide practical tools for everyday life, dealing and engaging with stress, conflict and relationship in healthy, harmonious and authentic ways.

This experiential workshop uses movement and examples from aikido to allow the participants to consciously access their connection to their own center, power, energy and compassion. The exercises are appropriate for any level of physical ability. We will also explore how these principles can integrate into and enhance our daily lives.

Aikido is a modern martial art which has the goal of rendering an attack harmless without anyone being harmed, even the attacker. Its founder, Morehei Ueshiba (O Sensei, or great teacher), was a master martial artist and spiritual seeker in the early 1900s who realized that the essence of the martial arts was loving protection for all of life. He reshaped many traditional martial techniques so that they honored and protected all the participants, and this quest became aikido. The Japanese word is made up of these characters: ai=harmony, ki=energy, do=the way. So it is the way, the practice of harmony, of blending energies. Its teachings are useful far beyond the martial art, and can offer profound insights and practices for how we handle the challenges of our daily lives.

Ellen Stapenhorst, workshop facilitator

Ellen has led programs in conflict resolution, creativity and aiki principles for over two decades. She has worked nationally and internationally in community, government, church and corporate settings. She has been an associate of Thomas Crum, AikiWorks founder and author (Magic of Conflict, Journey to Center, Three Deep Breaths) and a member of the AikiWorks staff for many years. Ellen holds a black belt in the art of aikido, and is also a musician, songwriter and recording artist, practicing the arts of harmony and expression in many forms.

Contact / Booking Information ellen@ellenstapenhorst.net