Introductory workshop

Core Strokes® is a comprehensive and evolutionary process that bridges psychotherapy, spirituality and bodywork in the service of self-development. Developed by Dirk Marivoet, MSc, after 35 years of experience in psychotherapy, psychomotor therapy, spirituality, shamanism and bodywork, this method focuses on creating a relational alliance that connects and grounds individuals in their Core, or “Center of Right Energy.”   Workshops and trainings provide participants with an opportunity to explore a personal development and therapeutic method designed to reduce pain and increase the likelihood of success in leading a productive, creative and fulfilling life.

Upcoming workshops

A Powerful Combination of Experiential and Didactic Learning Opportunities

An introductory workshop offers a comprehensive understanding of how blocked energy impacts you emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. You will experience a systematic approach to opening the flow of life force.

You will also discover the many unconscious ways in which you prevent yourself from being fully aligned, clear minded, alive, and joyful. This will be explored through:

• Self-diagnostic exercises to develop sensitivity to non-verbal communication
• Theoretical frameworks on human development and maturation
• Verbal and non-verbal psychotherapeutic and bodywork techniques and interventions

Through this transformative work, you will begin to let go of outdated psychological maps–beliefs, images, and perceptions that correspond with physical “holding patterns” and the protective “armor” of tensions in your body. Releasing these tensions allows for the creation of new, more satisfying body-mind maps, encouraging a deeper “yes” to life.

You will learn how your body and emotions are essential guides for discovering your purpose and invited desired change. The three phases of psychological healing in Core Strokes®, personal growth and spiritual practice are summarized as: Let be, Let go, let in.

Participants often report that this work helps them experience greater pleasure, satisfaction, meaning and connection.

For those looking to deepen their personal and professional growth, this workshop serves as an introduction to the professional training modules, which are offered in various countries and can be taken separately at a localition of your choice.

Liberate Your Heart and Find Your True Self with Core Strokes®!

Core Strokes® taps into the evolutionary process of the living soul by unlocking the hidden treasures of the body-mind. The “Core” refers to our Center of Right Energy, which is deeply connected to the goodness in our hearts. “Strokes” symbolize our capacity to both literally and figuratively touch and be touched by others in our Deep Soul. In this context, “strokes” represent units of recognition–the fundamental exchanges between people that involve verbal and non-verbal communication. Core Strokes® goes further by introducing myofascial strokes, which physically and symbolically touch the psychosomatic unity of our being.

At the heart of Core Strokes® is the belief that Love is the primary evolutionary force in the universe, and that every person is inherently good, possessing a loving heart.

All of us carries a genetic drive for self-realization– a yearning to become who we truly are, both in service to ourselves and others. To master all aspects of our physical and emotional being, Core Strokes® encourages us to explore and harmonize our genetic, neurological, sensorimotor, behavioral, and symbolic aspects. This process is approached with caution and care. Core Strokes® involves the body in the therapeutic process in a gentle way, allowing for the expression of emotions without force, and focusing on ego-integration. This creates a safe environment where you can connect with your unique potential.

Are you ready to live fully?

Are you prepared to claim your life as your own, independent of the conditioning and programming of family and society? To live fully, we must take ownership of ourselves—knowing in our very bones that we belong to ourselves. Core Strokes® invites you to step out of unconsciousness and into the world with free will.

In essence, Core Strokes® is a journey into the visceral, heart-centered world of your feelings. By becoming aware of your automatic, “old maps” and opening yourself to new experiences, you create “new inner maps” that guide you more authentically through life. This process allows you to embrace life naturally and spontaneously, in a way that is true to you.

What is Core Strokes®?

Core Strokes® is an integrative bodymind approach that bridges somatic practice, psychotherapy, and experiential learning. It brings together both theoretical insight and embodied practice into a coherent and accessible framework.

The method draws from established Bodymind Integration lineages, including Postural Integration®, Energetic Integration®, and Pelvic-Heart Integration®, developed by Jack W. Painter, PhD, as well as Core Energetics, created by John C. Pierrakos, MD. It is further informed by psychomotor therapy—particularly the work of Albert Pesso—and contemporary neuroscience, especially in the fields of emotion, memory, and trauma.

Rather than combining techniques, Core Strokes® offers a living synthesis—an approach that understands the body as a dynamic system where breath, fascia, emotion, and relational experience continuously interact.

• A natural energetic cycle/wave model: Working with the Energetic Breath Cycle™, which includes phases such as secure, nurturing, exploratory, free, and orgastic breath—allowing the exploration of blockages linked to developmental and character patterns.
• A map of consciousness and a map of personality: Providing orientation in the therapeutic process and supporting the understanding of defense mechanisms, relational patterns, and internal conflicts.
• Embodied awareness and sensitivity training: Structured exercises that deepen perception, presence, and somatic intelligence.
• Dynamic body reading:Learning to recognize how posture, movement, and breath express underlying patterns of experience.
• The language of strokes: Exploring how recognition and contact—verbal, relational, and myofascial—shape the psychosomatic unity of the person.
• The development of the inner pilot and witness: Cultivating the capacity for self-awareness, regulation, and conscious choice.
• Experiential and relational work: Including Gestalt-based exercises, role play in pairs or groups, and guided emotional process work.
• Hands-on bodywork and myofascial integration
  Supporting the release and reorganization of segmental and fascial armoring

Through this integrated approach, Core Strokes® supports the release of long-held patterns and the restoration of the body’s natural capacity for flow, expression, and connection.

The work invites a movement toward greater coherence—where body, emotion, and awareness align more fully, allowing a deeper sense of presence, vitality, and authenticity to emerge.

Release and Transform your holding patterns, Defenses and armoring with ‘Hands-On’ Core Strokes® techniques

Core Strokes® supports the holistic growth of the entire person, a process that becomes visible in physical appearance and posture. Your body reveals much about who you are, and the techniques in Core Strokes® help to unlock this inner knowledge.

One key set of techniques in Core Strokes® focuses on the deep liberation of myofascial tensions within the body. This is achieved in conjunction with breath, movement, energy, and consciousness, all within the context of an interpersonal relationship. In a structured and systematic approach, different areas of the body are brought into awareness and rebalanced, both individually and in relation to each other.

We work with a powerful synthesis of methods, including:

• Charging and Discharging Breathwork techniques

• Gestalt therapy

• Body-mind drama

• Character self-analysis

These approaches are enhanced by connective tissue work, which addresses and transforms deep-seated physical tensions. Participants will have the opportunity to experience this work in a safe, welcoming environment, guided by experienced teachers and supervisors.

Through Core Strokes®, you can release long-held defenses and armor, creating space for personal transformation and a deeper connection to your true self.

What Will You Do and Experience During This Workshop?

In the Core Strokes® introductory workshop, you’ll embark on a journey of personal growth while also building foundational skills as a practitioner. This immersive experience blends experiential learning with practical skill-building to deepen your connection to the body, mind, emotions, and energy. Through a variety of methods, you’ll explore, experience, and learn how to facilitate transformation in both yourself and others.

Connection and Awareness

• Deepen Connections: Strengthen your ability to connect authentically—with yourself, others, and the group—through both individual and collective exercises.
• Body-Mind Exploration: Discover how your body reflects emotional and mental states (the “Mind’s Body”) and how your intuitive vision (the “Mind’s Eye”) helps you navigate inner experiences.
• Identification and Grounding: Learn to recognize, name, and ground your sensations and emotions in the body, fostering greater self-awareness and presence.
• Unlock the Bodymind: Through movement, breath, touch, and sound, you will release tension, open energy channels, and deepen the connection between body and mind, resulting in greater vitality and clarity.

Energy Work

• Grounding and Centering: Learn effective techniques to center yourself, contain energy, and create stability. These practices help you maintain focus, build emotional resilience, and establish healthy boundaries.
• Charging and Discharging Energy: Explore dynamic methods to shift energy within your body, such as slow-quick charges, surprise charges, and paradoxical breathing, to release stuck energy and restore flow.
• Sound Work: Engage in vocal expressions using sounds to shift energy, clear emotional blockages, and restore balance.

Work with Body Segments

• • Explore Body Segments: Release stored tension, energy, and emotions by focusing on key body segments, including the eyes, face, shoulders, pelvis, and legs. Each segment plays a role in expressing and holding experiences.

Breathwork

• Variety of Breathing Techniques: Learn and practice breath styles like Secure Breath, Nurturing Breath, and Orgastic Breath to regulate emotions and enhance relaxation.
• Specialized Breathing: Experiment with connected, staccato, and chaotic breaths to release energy blockages and promote emotional flow.
• Assisted Breathing: Use rollers or guided touch to deepen your breathwork, encouraging energy release and emotional processing.
• Breathing Blocks: Learn to identify and work through dispersed, collapsed, inflating, repressing, or rigid breathing patterns that reflect emotional defenses or trauma.

Myofascial Strokes

• Hands-On Techniques: Develop your skills in myofascial release using tools like fingers, fists, and elbows to apply touch at varying depths—helping to unlock tension and emotional blocks.
• Touch Dynamics: Understand how touch can communicate support, nurturing, or confrontation, and how it impacts both physical and emotional healing.

Movement Modalities

• Types of Movement: Engage in a variety of reflexive, involuntary, emotional, and voluntary movements designed to release stored energy and promote emotional expression. These movements help unlock tension held in the body, allowing for deeper emotional processing and a greater sense of freedom and vitality.
• Energetic Movement: Recognize and guide energy through physical manifestations such as yawning, perspiring, receiving, giving, and letting go. These movements help regulate and balance your emotional and physical energy.

Body Reading

• Reading the Body: Learn to interpret how your body communicates through posture, alignment, and energy flow, gaining deeper insight into emotional and energetic states.

• Tension Patterns: Identify belts of tension, blockages, and energy leaks, and explore methods to release these, restoring ease and flow throughout the body.

Verbal Expression

• Express Your Emotions: Use emotive language and sharing techniques to process and release emotions, fostering deeper awareness and healing.

• Phenomenological Exploration: Verbalize your physical and emotional experiences to gain a deeper understanding of your inner world.

Character Styles

• Recognize Healthy Character Traits: Explore grounded, expressive, joyful, and creative qualities that reflect a balanced and integrated self.

• Identify Defense Mechanisms: Learn to recognize common defensive character styles (schizoid, oral, masochistic, etc.) that may limit your growth, and develop alternative coping strategies that promote emotional resilience.

Transformation Through Practice

Through a combination of individual and group practices, you will witness tangible changes in your body, energy, emotions, and overall mindset. Many participants report feeling more alive, connected, powerful, and joyful. Core Strokes® helps replace pain with joy, fostering a sense of meaning, fulfillment, and connection.

This workshop provides a safe, supportive space for deep personal transformation and equips you with practical skills that you can apply in both your personal and professional life.

Is this workshop for me?

This workshop is ideal for anyone seeking personal growth and transformation within a supportive group setting. Whether you’re from the general public or a professional in the field, this integrative workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore and deepen your connection with your body, emotions, and energy.

Bring your curiosity, openness, and a willingness to grow as you embark on a journey of self-discovery. Whether you’re looking to enhance your personal development or considering professional training, this workshop provides the foundational experiences you’ll need to “move forward” in life.

For those interested in pursuing professional Core Strokes® training, attending this introductory workshop is highly recommended. You’ll get a thorough introduction to the methods and principles that are central to the training modules.

Who are the facilitators?

Dirk Marivoet, MSc. is the main facilitator of this workshop. He is a certified psychotherapist (ECP) and a licensed psychomotor therapist (University of Leuven), director of the International Institute for Bodymind Integration. He is also a certified trainer and supervisor for all methods of Bodymind Integration (Postural Integration®, Energetic Integration® and Pelvic-Heart Integration®) and a teacher and supervisor of Core Energetics®, a Body Oriented Psychotherapy modality. After more than 35 years of working and teaching, both in the academic, alternative and complementary fields of psychotherapy, he created the Core Strokes® approach, which he offers worldwide.

Dirk Marivoet may be accompanied by another facilitator depending on the place.

Join an introductory workshop Core Strokes®!

You will find below all the upcoming workshop worldwide. If you don’t find any in your country and want to host one in your place, do not hesitate to contact us. 

What next?

Those individuals and professionals who are looking forward to improve their skills with this integrative approach to personal development, growth and therapy or who want to acquire a deeper understanding of the process, methods and techniques of Core Strokes® can apply for the longer certifying training modules of 7 days each.