Interdependence in Motion: A Continuum Retreat

July 2 – 7, 2023
Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Rhinebeck, NY
Register here!

Continuum gives us elegantly simple, practical, and relevant tools for experiencing the transformative power of wholeness. Creative movement explorations change our embodied awareness and perception, opening portals to the reality of interconnection.  Breath and sound practices, silent meditation, and community exchange enable participants to restore the broadest sense of belonging and acceptance of being with what is. 

As participants, we dissolve internalized patterns of resistance and physical restrictions providing ease and comfort in our bodies. The transforming experiences of this somatic workshop will inform all our relationships as we integrate them into our everyday lives. This retreat is pertinent to educators, health care practitioners, artists, activists, and anyone – regardless of physical limitations – who wish to sustain themselves from a fluid state of wholeness and well-being. 

Megan and Elaine will be joined by an additional faculty of Continuum teachers.

Co-Faculty List:
Robin Becker
Ellen Cohen
Melanie Gambino
Bonnie Gintis
Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell
Linda Rabin

Workshop organizer Elaine Colandrea explores how the somatic arts shape consciousness, informing and inspiring the creative process as well as fostering connections between self, others and nature that organically create a more humane world. Artistic Director of Watermark Arts, as well as a movement artist, Continuum teacher, somatic educator and massage therapist, her work has been deeply influenced by her association with Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum. Her abiding passion is bringing people together to directly experience the body’s transformative capacity. With Rori Smith, Elaine co-authored “The Elemental Body: A Movement Guide to Kinship with Ourselves and the Natural World.”  www.watermarkarts.org

Workshop organizer Megan Bathory-Peeler is an expert somanaut, fully engaged by the moving inquiry of what it takes to thrive in a human body and within the human experience in the 21st century. Her unique Somanautiko approach synergistically weaves together three decades of professional interdisciplinary study and practice as a teacher of Continuum, Certified Somatic Therapist/Educator, bodyworker, choreographer, performance artist, activist, and mother. Megan’s greatest pleasure comes from co-creating safe spaces that allow people of all ages to return home to themselves, reclaim the power of their own creativity, and find ease in the innate wisdom of their bodies. www.somanautiko.com

Robin Becker, MA, RSME, RSMT, is an internationally recognized teacher, dancer, choreographer, and founder of Robin Becker Dance. Her teaching weaves together her lifelong experience in dance; 30+ year study of Continuum with Emilie Conrad and Susan Harper; 40+ years of experience in meditation and contemplative healing practices; and 20 years of study with Gary David in Epistemics and Affect Script Theory. Robin was selected by Emilie Conrad to be an authorized Continuum teacher in 2001. Chapters from her master’s thesis, Continuum: The Alchemy of Movement, have been published in two anthologies on somatic movement practices. She currently teaches at Hofstra University and leads Continuum workshops nationally and internationally. Robin also works with private clients both online and in person.

Ellen Cohen has been investigating the mind-body-spirit connection her whole life. Body Synergy, her healing practice near Philadelphia, interweaves myo-fascial work, massage therapy, Gestalt therapy, as well as Continuum. Her life-long journey in improvisational dance has been informed by her respect for the sacredness of the moment and the wisdom that can emerge from the unconscious. Her passion is to welcome what is present for each student and synthesize that with the rich, vast possibilities of Continuum. There is always movement, even in “stillness.” The music of the spheres is ongoing, even in “silence.”

Melanie Gambino is a Continuum Teacher, a Registered Somatic Movement
Educator/ Therapist/ RSDE and former ISMETA Board Member. Melanie is also a member of WMA and CTA. Continuum is her passion and the basis of her life and her work. A performer from age 3, Melanie combines the performing arts with the healing arts and education. She is Resident Choreographer and Director of Dance and Somatic Movement/Meditation/Mindfulness in the Performing Arts Department at The Harvey School and teaches Continuum on the faculty at SUNY Purchase College, Conservatory of Dance.

Bonnie Gintis, DO, is an Osteopathic Physician, Continuum teacher, mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor, author, and podcast host. She synthesized her approach to transformative self-care through 20 years of study and teaching with Emilie Conrad, 30 years of osteopathic practice, and 50 years of meditation. She retired from private practice in 2009 and now devotes herself to teaching, writing, and exploring new ways to foster health and well-being. Author of Engaging The Movement Of Life: Exploring Health And Embodiment Through Osteopathy And Continuum, Bonnie is a graduate of New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and has taught osteopathic principles and practice, as well as Continuum worldwide.  

Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell is a seasoned somatic movement educator and expressive arts therapist who guides clients into the rich resources residing in their BodyMindSpirits. In addition to being a member of the Continuum Teachers Association and Tamalpa Institute’s faculty, Elisabeth also serves as the Co-Chair of ISMETA’s Research and Publications Committee as well as its Diversity, Equity and Justice Committee. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Utah as well, investigating the impact of interoceptive (somatic) awareness practices on anxiety in midlife women.

Linda Rabin is a pioneer of contemporary dance in Canada with over 50 years of experience as dancer, teacher, choreographer and somatic movement educator. As a Continuum teacher based in Montreal, she helps artists and individuals from all backgrounds realize their personal and creative processes both onstage and in their daily lives. She leads workshops across Canada and internationally, sharing her lifelong passion: exploring movement as art and creative research, as a transformational and healing process, and as the fundamental expression of Life.