Harnessing the Power of Strong Emotions.
A Workshop for Authentic Connection with Oneself and Others.
In a world shaped by trauma, polarization, and disconnection, strong emotions can feel overwhelming or out of reach. Many of us suppress, fragment, or misdirect emotional energy, limiting our capacity for deep connection—with ourselves and others.
This immersive workshop offers a transformational journey into the intelligence of emotions, integrating body, mind, and soul. By cultivating a conscious relationship with emotional energy, we can move beyond fear, guilt, and shame into a state of authentic presence.
Through a safe, creative, and experiential exploration of emotions, we reclaim our primal life force, access new levels of personal power, and foster deeper, more attuned relationships.
What You Will Gain
Expand Your Emotional Range – Embody a full spectrum of emotions with curiosity, playfulness, and self-compassion.
Uncover Hidden Emotional Patterns – Explore unprocessed emotions and their somatic imprints in a safe, supportive environment.
Release Core Blockages – Let go of emotional constrictions that prevent you from fully embracing life.
Reconnect with Vitality – Activate your inner rhythm and life energy through movement, breath, and sound.
Develop Emotional Resilience – Learn to self-regulate and co-regulate using tools from Polyvagal Theory and somatic psychotherapy.
Express Fully & Be Heard – Find your authentic voice and deepen your capacity for meaningful expression.
Set Healthy Boundaries – Learn how to hold your ground when confronted with intense emotions from others.
Process, Practices and Tools:
- Trauma-Informed Bodymind Practices: Somatic dialogue, conscious touch, and energy-based interventions (inspired by Core Strokes, Bioenergetics, Postural Integration, and Focusing) to restore body-mind coherence and emotional flow.
- The Neuroscience of Emotion & Polyvagal-Informed Practices: Understanding primal emotional circuits (based on Jaak Panksepp’s research) and nervous system regulation to shift from survival responses (fight-flight-freeze) to authentic engagement.
- Energetic Breathwork: A 9-step Energetic Breath Cycle, integrating Reichian and Tantric principles, to free and integrate stored emotional energy.
- Embodied Roleplay, Gestalt, and Archetypal Exploration: Stepping into universal emotional blueprints to uncover deep-seated relational patterns and rediscover primal emotional intelligence.
- Shadow Work & Integration: Reclaiming the lost and disowned parts of the self, working with lower self dynamics, and freeing the higher self’s capacity for love and authenticity.
- Conscious Movement, Dance & Sound: Unlocking your organic, instinctual movement, using sound and rhythm to amplify embodied emotional intelligence.
- Ritual & Ceremony: Honoring personal breakthroughs and transitions through structured, symbolic, and somatic integration rituals.
Structure of the Workshop:
We will move between:
- Individual and Collective Explorations – A dynamic balance of personal work and interactive exercises.
- Embodiment & Integration Practices – Practical tools for working with emotions in daily life.
- Guided Reflection & Sharing – Spaces for deep listening and community witnessing.
This workshop is for those ready to step into emotional depth, transformation, and authentic self-expression.
“I have returned with an energy, calmness, and enthusiasm for life that I haven’t felt in a very long time. I am so very grateful to you for helping enable this new sense of steady confidence and belief in myself.” – Debbie Francis, United Kingdom
“Une expérience hors du temps, un chemin d’apprentissage dans la douceur et l’amour qui me laisse un profond sentiment de paix et d’espoir à l’intérieur.” – Lucie Duchesne, Belgique
“I feel very influenced by my openings, healing and processes – the work we did together. I feel something is different IN ME. I feel deeper in me. definitely more ancred. Thank you Dirk, thank you all for witnessing and sharing the experiences with me. I am happy to continue the core-strokes with Dirk!” – Veronika Dozbabova, Luxembourg
The place in Villers-en-Prayères
This workshop is hosted in Villers-en-Prayères at 2h from Paris, in the “Domaine des 7 Vallons”. Built on 43 hectares of land with lakes, forests and meadows, the Domaine des 7 Vallons enjoys a natural setting conducive to healing, while being accessible by public transport. It is situated in the Champagne region in the heart of nature, a wonderful place with a large hosting capacity. For more details, see HERE.
What about the facilitator?
Dirk Marivoet, MSc.
is the founder and director of the International Institute for Bodymind Integration (IBI). He is an accredited psychotherapist (ECP) and a certified psychomotor therapist, having earned his credentials at the University of Leuven, where he served on the staff of the Psychiatry/Psychoanalytic Clinic for 11 years. Dirk is a Certified Trainer and Supervisor in Postural Integration, Energetic Integration, Reichian Bodywork and Pelvic-Heart Integration (as developed by Jack Painter, PhD), as well as a Core Energetics Teacher and Supervisor (under John Pierrakos, MD).
With 40 years of clinical and teaching experience in both academic and alternative fields of psychotherapy, Dirk developed the Core Strokes approach, which he now teaches internationally. He resides in Ghent, Belgium.
Practical information
Date and Location:
Date: from January 20th, 2027 (4pm) to January 24th, 2027 (4pm)
Venue: Residential workshop, at 2h from Paris, in Domaine des 7 Vallons (in Villers-en-Prayères).
Rates for accommodation and meals :
Between 49 € and 128 € per day, depending on your chosen option.
Reserve your accommodation directly via the online form:
Participation costs:
- Early Bird: 480 € (before December 20th, 2026)
- Standard Tarif: 520 € (after December 20th, 2026)
Languages used :
English (with possible translation into French and Dutch by Dirk Marivoet)
QUESTIONS?
Write to Solène, who is responsible for the organization : solenegarreau@posteo.net