With a calm sadness, we left Madrid after this heartwarming weekend of presenting, teaching, talking, and sharing.
Mono-no-aware. It was a true moment of it. Sad and beautiful same time.
We would love to stay longer and engage more with our friends Zor and Margot and the community around Madrid Shibari Dojo.
It was an intense weekend!
Together we taught “Emerging Patterns and Pivotal Points”, the first time in Spain, the second time overall. Also, Natasha gave a speech about “surrender” and her personal story in ropes (and outside of it) – her journey leading to writing her book “Somatics for Rope Bottoms”.
Emerging Patterns and Pivotal Points I, pictures by ZOR
It was our second encounter with the Madrid Shibari Dojo Community. Our first, very good impression, that we got from our visit last year in October (when we taught “Bodies under Pressure”) got only deeper.
Zor and Margot really created a beautiful space.
In the scene, we speak so much about community.
But what does this actually mean? It is about a group of people having the same interests, values, and attitudes. It is about sharing, I think the community is what people live. It is nothing abstract.
In this sense, we met a real community. People came earlier and stayed longer to help, to set up the space. It seemed everyone also really had a good attitude.
There are only a few communities we felt so safe teaching our content – content that is explicit and sometimes seen as conflictual.
Even Natasha became brave with her speech.
“Small is beautiful” – I wrote between 2021 and 2022. This was to set the intention… Intention to separate a bit from the general Shibari scene. Teaching where we are invited, where our work is valued. Stepping away from marketing classes to the general public.
Emerging Patterns and Pivotal Points II, pictures by ZOR
Madrid was small, beautiful, and intense. It was the right frame to address the topics we want to pursue: how to get out of the external framework of tying, the forms, the figures, the thinking from the “end” – the end which is much too often just a picture for Instagram. How to get into the process, into the communication of two somatic bodies, two human souls instead.
The workshop was about how the patterns emerge, and how the figures appear. And it was a lot about “MA”.
A study on MA (間) – space, time, void – creation, pictures by ZOR
In my speech at the end of the workshop, I talked about the habit of practice. Without practice – our bondage will never become better. Without practice – we will never be free.
I just wish you all practice a lot – so we can have more fun, and go deeper in October.
We are looking forward to it.