The Basics
My passion is supporting others to expand their aliveness by helping them activate their Inner Agency, so they can access their aligned, authentic awesomeness!
I am a somatic empath and a spiritual pioneer. I cultivate and facilitate Presence, through awareness in and as the body. An inclusive partner dancer and "physical DJ", I have been active in the dance community since 1996.
I’ve been dancing, teaching, and ‘transmitting’ CI for over 25 years. I have developed simple exercises to help others quickly find the ‘felt sense’ of CI, what I call the CI ‘handshake’. I provide precise physical feedback dancing with my students and clients. Feedback that helps them notice how the way they are moving in the moment strengthens, or weakens their self-connection, and also strengthens or weakens the dance connection between themselves and others.
I’m a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, (a somatic movement-based learning modality), and am well-steeped in developmental movement patterns, relationship attachment theory, and trauma healing modalities. These, plus other studies and practices, give me a broad range of resources and avenues from which to approach teaching and the learning process for my students, clients and mentees.
I’m especially interested in exploring the intriguing intersection between touch-based and CI partner movement, and our capacity for healthy relational intimacy. I personally initially discovered CI when I was deeply confused about how to maintain my autonomy and agency while engaged in close interpersonal relating. Through my practice of CI, I learned the body energetics required to physicalize dynamic, interactive communication between individuals. This energetic template, this ‘embodied knowing’, applied to my social interactions, has helped me embrace and navigate even very difficult relationships with self-awareness, empathic attunement, clear focus and confidence.
I am a somatic empath and a spiritual pioneer. I cultivate and facilitate Presence, through awareness in and as the body. An inclusive partner dancer and "physical DJ", I have been active in the dance community since 1996.
I’ve been dancing, teaching, and ‘transmitting’ CI for over 25 years. I have developed simple exercises to help others quickly find the ‘felt sense’ of CI, what I call the CI ‘handshake’. I provide precise physical feedback dancing with my students and clients. Feedback that helps them notice how the way they are moving in the moment strengthens, or weakens their self-connection, and also strengthens or weakens the dance connection between themselves and others.
I’m a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, (a somatic movement-based learning modality), and am well-steeped in developmental movement patterns, relationship attachment theory, and trauma healing modalities. These, plus other studies and practices, give me a broad range of resources and avenues from which to approach teaching and the learning process for my students, clients and mentees.
I’m especially interested in exploring the intriguing intersection between touch-based and CI partner movement, and our capacity for healthy relational intimacy. I personally initially discovered CI when I was deeply confused about how to maintain my autonomy and agency while engaged in close interpersonal relating. Through my practice of CI, I learned the body energetics required to physicalize dynamic, interactive communication between individuals. This energetic template, this ‘embodied knowing’, applied to my social interactions, has helped me embrace and navigate even very difficult relationships with self-awareness, empathic attunement, clear focus and confidence.
My training
I incorporate experiences from training in the somatic arts, extensive background in psychology and child development, indluding a special interest in attachment theory, freestyle, conscious and contact dance, voice & the visual arts. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Communication from U.C. Davis, and am a certified Anat Baniel Method (Feldenkrais) Practitioner.
My coaching blends an organic assimilation & integration from my own investigations and life experiences. My teachers, and the systems I’ve studied and worked with include: Vipassana Meditation, Yoga, Dance Alive, Continuum, 5 rhythms, Contact Improvisation Dance, Authentic Movement, Watsu and WaterDance, Non Violent Communication, H. Steven Glenn (Developing Capable People), Maria Montessori teacher training, 12 step recovery programs, Osho, Abraham-Hicks, Anthony deMello, Eckhart Tolle, & Self-Revelatory Performance, among others.
"I believe Harmony has not only transcended fear about physically connecting with people; but has comprehended its positive nourishing and healing ability. She has an awareness of this that approaches mastery. She is among an elite cadre of folks who have put in their ten thousand hours of work towards an in-depth understanding —of how we can touch the core of our being thru the body’s physical experiences. She has developed an experience-based confidence in such core-access; she can flowingly connect in this manner, and moreover, is able to be self-reflective about it.
Harmony is able to welcome such experiences as play, as delight. So in some very real ways, such connections are of exquisite ease. Like falling of a log into water. While she may worry about emotionality, and about thoughts, she also knows that she and others can connect deeply and primally just by letting their bodies feel good together. Play at such a simple, innocent level, is exactly what can make our inner child happy and fulfilled."
--Hugh Tinling, human behavior scholar. 2016
My coaching blends an organic assimilation & integration from my own investigations and life experiences. My teachers, and the systems I’ve studied and worked with include: Vipassana Meditation, Yoga, Dance Alive, Continuum, 5 rhythms, Contact Improvisation Dance, Authentic Movement, Watsu and WaterDance, Non Violent Communication, H. Steven Glenn (Developing Capable People), Maria Montessori teacher training, 12 step recovery programs, Osho, Abraham-Hicks, Anthony deMello, Eckhart Tolle, & Self-Revelatory Performance, among others.
"I believe Harmony has not only transcended fear about physically connecting with people; but has comprehended its positive nourishing and healing ability. She has an awareness of this that approaches mastery. She is among an elite cadre of folks who have put in their ten thousand hours of work towards an in-depth understanding —of how we can touch the core of our being thru the body’s physical experiences. She has developed an experience-based confidence in such core-access; she can flowingly connect in this manner, and moreover, is able to be self-reflective about it.
Harmony is able to welcome such experiences as play, as delight. So in some very real ways, such connections are of exquisite ease. Like falling of a log into water. While she may worry about emotionality, and about thoughts, she also knows that she and others can connect deeply and primally just by letting their bodies feel good together. Play at such a simple, innocent level, is exactly what can make our inner child happy and fulfilled."
--Hugh Tinling, human behavior scholar. 2016
The Deeper Stuff
I have moved from a place of feeling terrified and hopeless about ever being able to lead my own life, about ever being able to experience genuine intimacy, about ever discovering or living my passion, about ever creating a supportive, collaborative community, about ever feeling free enough to express myself fully and openly, and about ever receiving acknowledgment, appreciation and love; to a place where I feel deep satisfaction, sacredness rich reward and new possibility in these areas. And the journey continues.
Some of the important resources and practices that I've discovered that inform and influence my work are: Meditation, Contact Improvisation Dance, Theater Improvisation, Speaking Circles, Original Play, 5 rhythms Dance, Ecstatic Dance, Dance Alive, Essential Motion, The Rosen Method, Feldenkrais, Authentic Movement, Body Tales, Focusing, Life Training, Non-violent Communication, Gestalt Therapy, Soul Motion, Breema, Shamanic Journeying, Buddhism, Taoism, and Abraham-Hicks.
My vision is to establish, support and grow a community of 'Embodied Loving'. In this inclusive community, we interact with each other with unguarded open, caring, curious hearts; with loving speech, loving thoughts, loving feelings, loving actions and loving touch.
I am passionate about sharing the Body-based wisdom I've discovered because I want everyone to experience the power and magic that I've found in these practices, and because I'm committed to cultivating companions that will join me in sharing this exquisite, supportive, intimate journey called life.
Some of the important resources and practices that I've discovered that inform and influence my work are: Meditation, Contact Improvisation Dance, Theater Improvisation, Speaking Circles, Original Play, 5 rhythms Dance, Ecstatic Dance, Dance Alive, Essential Motion, The Rosen Method, Feldenkrais, Authentic Movement, Body Tales, Focusing, Life Training, Non-violent Communication, Gestalt Therapy, Soul Motion, Breema, Shamanic Journeying, Buddhism, Taoism, and Abraham-Hicks.
My vision is to establish, support and grow a community of 'Embodied Loving'. In this inclusive community, we interact with each other with unguarded open, caring, curious hearts; with loving speech, loving thoughts, loving feelings, loving actions and loving touch.
I am passionate about sharing the Body-based wisdom I've discovered because I want everyone to experience the power and magic that I've found in these practices, and because I'm committed to cultivating companions that will join me in sharing this exquisite, supportive, intimate journey called life.
My Healing Journey
I’ve come a long way from the isolation and disorientation of my early childhood. I was raised in suburban southern California. My mother was alcoholic, narcissistic, anxious, and depressed. I had seen 2 divorces by the time I was 13. I had 3 brothers. My older brother suicided at age 19. We had money, but little emotional connection. My mother’s moods dictated our lives.
Later I would come to understand what insecure emotional attachment means. I would find myself variously ‘diagnosed’ as bi-polar, depressed, anxious, PTSD. Much of my emotional disconnection manifested in chronic somatic symptoms. Probably extroverted by nature, what I experienced in the presence of others was extreme social anxiety and a deep longing for intimacy thwarted by a deep a terror of it. What I would come to realize was that what I was truly longing for was intimacy with myself. I longed to know, trust, and love myself. Once I learned to connect with my Essential Self, I became able, and even confident to share myself in relationship with others.
Later I would come to understand what insecure emotional attachment means. I would find myself variously ‘diagnosed’ as bi-polar, depressed, anxious, PTSD. Much of my emotional disconnection manifested in chronic somatic symptoms. Probably extroverted by nature, what I experienced in the presence of others was extreme social anxiety and a deep longing for intimacy thwarted by a deep a terror of it. What I would come to realize was that what I was truly longing for was intimacy with myself. I longed to know, trust, and love myself. Once I learned to connect with my Essential Self, I became able, and even confident to share myself in relationship with others.
So, my journey has been and continues to be about intimacy with self and others. About finding my True Self, my True Nature. And relating to the world from that Source.
My journey includes a BS in Communications from U.C. Davis, entrepreneurships as an artisan working with glass jewelry and cake decorating among other things. In my effort to resolve my chronic digestive distress, I’ve studied nutrition and hand crafted food, eaten every kind of specialized diet, (sprouting, raw, macro, vegetarian, vegan, and many others). I found myself in Hawaii for a year and a half and loved living there. I was especially nurtured by spending long days in pristine natural settings. But I remained mostly ungrounded in those days.
I joined a religious cult in my early 30’s. It took me to Montana, where I lived for 12 years. I was involved 24/7 for 3 years in the cult. That in itself is a big story. When I finally emerged, I still had no idea how to guide myself, but it was clear to me that I couldn’t hand this responsibility to anyone else. It was mine. And that’s when I began my healing journey of self-inquiry. I rediscovered movement and dance and after several years discovered contact improvisation dance. I was already doing bodywork, which allowed me to make genuine connection with others through touch, without having to be social/verbal. With the discovery of Contact Dance (CI), I’d found a way to relate mutually with another. I learned how to listen and how to stay connected to myself even while engaging another. It was huge for me and is at the foundation of the work I am so passionate about and continue to pioneer.
The Contact Dance passion brought me back to the Bay Area where I’ve resided now for almost 22 years.
As I keep coming out of hiding and showing up fully, (a strategy that protected me through my childhood), I continue to discover the delightful being that I am. And as I embrace myself more and more deeply, I am able to embrace others in turn. I am passionate about creating and participating in environments where we hold space for ourselves and each other in order that we may experience deeper intimacy in our relationship to our own selves and with each other. In person, I work primarily with partner movement, (informed by Contact Dance, Bodywork experience, Feldenkrais, authentic movement, and others) as a practice, and as an environment for self-inquiry.
During the Covid lockdown I discovered that this work can be very beneficial to people, even when we meet 'virtually' through the screen. I work with clients now through zoom, and have populated my YouTube Channel with a variety of video musings and teachings. You can find those HERE
I dance with the barefoot free-style and contact dance community 3 to 4 times a week. This is my meditation and spiritual practice. It brings me into my body fully, into the moment fully, and opens me for authentic connection with others. I am a dance igniter, a physical DJ and an open, welcoming dance partner. I love supporting others; calling them forward into deeper self-love, self-appreciation, & self-expression. Find my video Podcasts and other offerings on the HARMONYGATES YouTube Channel. Find the 'Road Trip to Fairfax' video Podcast HERE
My journey includes a BS in Communications from U.C. Davis, entrepreneurships as an artisan working with glass jewelry and cake decorating among other things. In my effort to resolve my chronic digestive distress, I’ve studied nutrition and hand crafted food, eaten every kind of specialized diet, (sprouting, raw, macro, vegetarian, vegan, and many others). I found myself in Hawaii for a year and a half and loved living there. I was especially nurtured by spending long days in pristine natural settings. But I remained mostly ungrounded in those days.
I joined a religious cult in my early 30’s. It took me to Montana, where I lived for 12 years. I was involved 24/7 for 3 years in the cult. That in itself is a big story. When I finally emerged, I still had no idea how to guide myself, but it was clear to me that I couldn’t hand this responsibility to anyone else. It was mine. And that’s when I began my healing journey of self-inquiry. I rediscovered movement and dance and after several years discovered contact improvisation dance. I was already doing bodywork, which allowed me to make genuine connection with others through touch, without having to be social/verbal. With the discovery of Contact Dance (CI), I’d found a way to relate mutually with another. I learned how to listen and how to stay connected to myself even while engaging another. It was huge for me and is at the foundation of the work I am so passionate about and continue to pioneer.
The Contact Dance passion brought me back to the Bay Area where I’ve resided now for almost 22 years.
As I keep coming out of hiding and showing up fully, (a strategy that protected me through my childhood), I continue to discover the delightful being that I am. And as I embrace myself more and more deeply, I am able to embrace others in turn. I am passionate about creating and participating in environments where we hold space for ourselves and each other in order that we may experience deeper intimacy in our relationship to our own selves and with each other. In person, I work primarily with partner movement, (informed by Contact Dance, Bodywork experience, Feldenkrais, authentic movement, and others) as a practice, and as an environment for self-inquiry.
During the Covid lockdown I discovered that this work can be very beneficial to people, even when we meet 'virtually' through the screen. I work with clients now through zoom, and have populated my YouTube Channel with a variety of video musings and teachings. You can find those HERE
I dance with the barefoot free-style and contact dance community 3 to 4 times a week. This is my meditation and spiritual practice. It brings me into my body fully, into the moment fully, and opens me for authentic connection with others. I am a dance igniter, a physical DJ and an open, welcoming dance partner. I love supporting others; calling them forward into deeper self-love, self-appreciation, & self-expression. Find my video Podcasts and other offerings on the HARMONYGATES YouTube Channel. Find the 'Road Trip to Fairfax' video Podcast HERE
"Harmony is a life-long explorer
of movement & subtle sensation.
I've watched her evolve this form,
and it is luscious."
- Marci Javirl
"I felt drawn to you
because it seemed
you were some one
who would want to dance
without....
there needing to be
any meaning behind
the moment
and two human beings
expressing themselves through it"
---Grace
of movement & subtle sensation.
I've watched her evolve this form,
and it is luscious."
- Marci Javirl
"I felt drawn to you
because it seemed
you were some one
who would want to dance
without....
there needing to be
any meaning behind
the moment
and two human beings
expressing themselves through it"
---Grace
"Harmony, I have never met
such a free soul in
such a loving personality.
You are wonderful.
fabulous. lovable, loving, harmony."
-- Jill From Option Institute Weekend:
'Radical Self Trust' 2011
"Nobody embraces me
as fully as Harmony."
---Billy Ray Boyd
such a free soul in
such a loving personality.
You are wonderful.
fabulous. lovable, loving, harmony."
-- Jill From Option Institute Weekend:
'Radical Self Trust' 2011
"Nobody embraces me
as fully as Harmony."
---Billy Ray Boyd
