Life Moves: Human Dialogue in Nature
Three-day Meditative Movement Retreat with Mala Sikka & Terry Hagan
Sept. 18-20, 2026 - big happy land, near Cremona, AB
Hosted by Ruth Levin
“The essence of movement is not only expression but a form of transformation; movement from the state of being unaware to being aware… ”
- Suprapto Suryodharmo, Founder of Joged Amerta
For those who sense the power of movement…
Perhaps you've spent years exploring movement or a sitting meditation practice, you have danced, improvised, followed scores, studied somatic practices, discovered new vocabularies, and learned to trust the body's intelligence…
Or perhaps you are brand new to these things but you have a sense of the body’s deep calling and natural pull to healing through expression…
And yet another question begins to emerge.
Not: How should I move?
What is movement itself?
What moves before I decide to move?
What happens when movement is no longer only an act of expression, but a way of receiving what is actually speaking.
These questions lie at the heart of Amerta Movement
Founded by the Javanese movement teacher Suprapto Suryodharmo, Amerta is unlike most contemporary movement practices. It offers no choreography, no technique to master, no aesthetic to imitate, and no prescribed way of moving.
Instead, it invites us into a direct relationship with movement as it is already occurring.
Breath.
Gravity.
Another person's presence.
The changing light.
The ground beneath our feet.
We will explore how nature continually forms and informs us.
‘Reading’ and ‘writing’ through movement, we allow our natural movement vocabulary to emerge through the guidance and support of our facilitators and through the silent witnessing of the group.
We begin to discover that movement is not simply something the body does. It is the living field in which we already participate. From this simple shift, movement becomes dialogue.
Nature as Our Teacher
This retreat takes place in relationship with the natural world.
The landscape is not simply where we practice; It becomes our partner.
Working indoors and outdoors, alone, in pairs, and within the group, we explore how perception changes when the body enters into conversation with the living environment.
Without recorded music, the sounds of the land become part of the music of our practice. At times, voices, percussion, or simple instruments may arise spontaneously, not as accompaniment, but as another movement within the shared field.
Nature is not the backdrop.
Nature participates and informs; inner and outer ecology embodied….
Beyond Conventional Spiritual and Movement Practices
Many practitioners arrive from backgrounds such as Authentic Movement, Contact Improvisation, 5Rhythms, Open Floor, dance improvisation, yoga, martial arts, theatre, or contemplative practices…
Although there are points of resonance, Amerta asks something fundamentally different.
Rather than searching for new possibilities of movement, we begin by attending to what is already happening.
Rather than asking the body to perform, we allow it to respond.
Rather than expressing ourselves, we participate with the movement of life itself.
Over time, movement becomes increasingly precise. increasingly alive vitality itself.
The Practice
Throughout the weekend we will investigate:
• movement arising from perception rather than intention
• relationship before technique
• the body as a place of listening
• movement as dialogue
• awareness through contact with nature and human nature in dialogue
• the subtle relationship between stillness and movement
• discovering freedom through responsiveness rather than habit
The emphasis is never on achieving a particular state, but on cultivating the sensitivity to meet whatever is already present and letting that guide us.
About Your Teachers
For more than three decades, Mala Sikka and Terry Hagan have devoted themselves to the practice and sharing of Amerta Movement in Canada and internationally. Their teaching reflects years of study with Suprapto Suryodharmo and is informed by lifelong engagement with contemplative practices, nature, embodied inquiry, and healing arts.
Mala also brings many years of experience in Healing Shiatsu, deepening her understanding of the body as a living, responsive field of awareness. Rather than transmitting only a method, they support and guide participants in discovering movement directly through their own direct experience.
Their approach is spacious, attentive, and rooted in the understanding that movement Art can become a profound path of awareness and yet fully creative. Their teaching is grounded, spacious, warm, and quietly joyful.
An Invitation
This retreat may be especially meaningful if you feel yourself standing at the edge of your current movement practice, not because you need another technique, but because you are more interested in transformation.
Not how to move.
But how movement lives.
If that question feels alive for you, we would be delighted to explore it together.
Registration:
Sliding scale of:
$450 (bring your own tent / shared space / limited means) to $650 (private trailer accommodation / reasonable means).
Reduced rates and work-exchange options available for anyone who needs. Contact Ruth to discuss.
Registration includes course fees, accommodation on the land, meals, outdoor shower.
Accommodation is rustic but lovely. Trailer spaces do not have electricity. There is a hot outdoor shower and covered outdoor kitchen area with charging station.
Limited space to 15 registrants. Book now to ensure your spot.
Can’t make it for the full weekend? Try out the SPECIAL Friday only drop-in option - 3:30-6:30pm - $65-$85 sliding scale.
Register and reserve your spot here.
What to bring:
Comfortable, loose-fitting clothing you can move it
Lots of layers, warm clothing and footwear, socks, slippers and rain gear as we hope/plan to work outside as much as possible regardless of weather conditions
Water bottle and thermos for hot beverages
Some food or drink item(s) to share with the group over the course of the weekend
Musical instruments to contribute to the soundscape of sessions if/as/when that arises
Bedding + towel (if you are travelling from afar let Ruth know as this can be lent if needed).
Reach out to Ruth to save your spot today and/or with any questions or concerns.
Schedule: (Approx. and subject to change)
Friday, Sept 18:
Short video of Ruth doing Amerta Movement practice.
Arrival ~11am: Land, settle, gather, swim, rest, meet folks
1pm: Lunch, clean-up, siesta
3:30-6:30pm: Afternoon session
6:30pm: Dinner
Saturday, Sept 19:
8:30-9:15am: Breakfast
10am-1pm: Morning Session
1-3pm: Lunch, clean-up, siesta
3-6pm: Afternoon session
6:30pm: Dinner
Sunday, Sept 20:
8:30-9:15am: Breakfast
10am-12pm: Morning Session
12-1:30pm: Lunch, clean-up, siesta
2-3:30pm: Afternoon session
4:30pm-6pm - farewells and departure
