A 7-week course to deconstruct, question, play with, and expand your idea of body image to befriend and empower yourself.
Breaking out of the 2D Body Image
As 2024 is coming to an end, your heart might be filling with disappointment. 2024 was another year where you couldn’t make your body fit a certain mold you envisioned for yourself. The natural consequence is that you, yet again, make a New Year’s resolution to finally, this year in 2025, break the spell and succeed in making your body look a certain way it hasn’t wanted to in so long or even ever.
But what if this year you don’t try to make yourself happy by changing the way you look but by questioning the idea of “body image”. A positive body image is preferable to a negative body image. However, it still leaves us attached to the duality of good and bad in the realm of the 2D image, stuck in visual culture. What if you can change the whole paradigm that keeps you stuck in an expected image and punishment or disappointment for not meeting said expectation?
This 7-week course is an attempt to soften our harsh attachment to body image so we can cultivate a much more multi-faceted, rich, and dynamic relationship with ourselves and, therefore, our self-esteem. Questioning beauty standards and advocating for more diverse representation is one side of the equation, but we also need to broaden the idea of ourselves to include more than just the visual sense, more than two dimensions, more than just the external perspective, and more than just a snapshot in time.
Instead of starting another diet, strict workout regime, or buying large amounts of supplements, let’s deeply befriend our bodies and spirits on all levels so we can start 2025 with a more resilient, compassionate, and wise outlook on ourselves and self-esteem that is rooted within the full breadth of our being.
Body Image Laboratory…
is a space where we come together and use different somatic techniques, gentle movement, breath, visualization, journaling, discussion, and more to break our attachment to body image. We get curious about how we can approach our self-worth from other perspectives than from a visual standpoint. We do NOT judge, discuss, or form opinions about desirable, appropriate, healthy, or “normal” ways of looking or presenting oneself. There is no denying we live in a visual world where looks matter, but if we can ground our sense of self in more than one dimension, we can start to pull strength and wisdom front that grounding that will affect our lives positively.
Please join me in this laboratory of discovery, compassion, surprise, and awe.
Schedule: Jan 11 - Feb 22, 2025
Saturdays at 11:15 - 12:30 CET Online and in Person at Sarasvati Yoga Berlin, Bundesallee 53
Week 1 | Jan 11: Questioning the supremacy of the body image. Grounding and embodying body image to include all five senses.
Week 2 | Jan 18: Becoming a majestic animal. Playfully channeling different animals to tap into their essence and sensuality.
Week 3 | Jan 25: Radical acceptance to plug into your power. Examining our relationship to strength, pride, and resilience.
Week 4 | Feb 1: Rediscovering beauty. Finding beauty in breath, movement, and constant change.
Week 5 | Feb 8: Sound and Stillness. Exploring the dimension of sound, energy, and frequency resonance in the body.
Week 6 | Feb 15: Beyond the Seen. Tapping outside the five senses and the dogma of black and white.
Week 7 | Feb 22: Bliss Body. The potential of joy, freedom, and bliss outside the cage of the body image.
*Course themes can change slightly according to group dynamics, needs, etc.
Outline of each session
Sessions are 75 minutes long and are held in person and online.
We start with a short talk to introduce the theme. We then move into the embodied section of the session, which may include breathwork, some gentle movement, relaxation, and visualization. We finish with a moment to journal before we open our circle to Q&A and sharing.
All sessions are recorded and can be accessed until March 31st, 2025.
Who can join?
Anyone with a body :) No movement or meditation experience is required.
Who is this course for?
This is for anyone who ever felt that their body was too ….. or too ….. and that they needed to change their body to fit some mold.
Price for 7 weeks & Access to Recordings
Early Bird (till Dec 31st):
69€ online
79€ in person
Regular:
79€ online
89€ in person
The online classes will be held on Zoom.
The first online class is for free! You can join by emailing me at hi@minalange.com with the subject “Body Image Lab.” After the first class, you can decide to join the rest of the course or not.
Sarasvati Yoga Berlin
If you want to join us in Berlin, you are invited to Sarasvati Yoga Berlin, a beautiful studio in Wilmersdorf, Bundesallee 53. The studio is equipped with yoga mats and props, so all you have to do is show up in comfortable clothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What if I miss a class?
A: No problem. You have access to the recording till the end of the year. However, I am only recording the 1 hour before the open discussion / Q&A, so if you want to feel the community vibe, please come to the live event in person or online. I will try to pick up some of the points and summarize them at the beginning of the next class.
Q: What do I need at home?
A: A yoga mat would be great, but you can also practice on a carpet. A couch to put your legs up, a wall that can support you, and some cushions and a blanket to make yourself comfy would be great!
Q: Do I need to turn on my camera?
A: Of course, you don’t have to, but I would highly recommend it. The healing factor within a community cannot be emphasized enough, and it is also great to practice “seeing” yourself and each other in a non-judgmental way. We always think we are alone in this, but we are not <3
Q: Can I join if I have an eating disorder?
A: Yes, you are welcome. However, this course is not a substitute for psychotherapy or psychiatric care. If you are suffering from an eating disorder, please find the proper support.
Q: Are we using movement to tone our bodies?
A: No. Movement in this course will be used to connect to ourselves and not as a tool to shape or change our bodies in any way. Movement is nourishment.
Facilitator: Mina
Mina is a survivor of eating disorders and narcissistic abuse. The themes of body image and self-esteem are very close to her, and she has spent the last twenty years healing and working through the ripples of these karmic imprints through yoga, dance, meditation, and various somatic modalities.
She draws on yoga, Buddhism, shamanism, Kabbalah, and other wisdom traditions that have assisted her on her path to weave them into harmonious tools of empowerment.
Mina is a yoga teacher of 12+ years, an IAYT-certified yoga therapist as well as a healing practitioner for psychotherapy (Heilpraktiker für Psychotherapie). Some of her specialty training include “The Role of Yoga in Eating Disorder Recovery (2023)”, “Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy Workshop (2021)”, and “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Immersion (2021)”.
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to send Mina a message at hi@minalange.com.
