Meet Ya’Acov
Julia Ray
Last year’s Soul Seeds Gathering with the co-founders of Movement Medicine, Ya’Acov & Susannah Darling Kahn was a groundbreaking and historic gathering, bringing their 40+ years European-based dance modality to our Toronto community for the first time.
We are so thrilled to announce that Ya’Acov has graciously accepted our invitation to return to Toronto and lead us through another inquiry, this time related to our Power Stories.
Ya’Acov is the author of four books, including “Jaguar in the Body,” “Butterfly in the Heart,” “Shaman,” and “Movement Medicine.” He is known for his blend of strength, humility, and humor, and is acknowledged as a practicing shaman by people who work with him worldwide and by indigenous elder shamans and communities from the Arctic to the Amazon.
We warmly welcome you to join this rare opportunity to dance with one of the co-creators of Movement Medicine. We feel this will be a potent gathering for us all.
From Ya'Acov:
Our sense of self is a blend of unique essence with biographical, cultural and trans-generational history. On our journey towards integrating the dance into our day-to-day life, we must continually update the inner picture of who we are now. If we do not, we will continue to enrol each other into the undigested and unconscious stories of the past in a vain attempt to complete those unfinished gestalts. This causes all of us, and the life that we share this planet with, untold suffering.
Power Stories:
We talk about ourselves giving away our power, taking back power, self-empowerment, and others being over-powering, or a real powerhouse. In our lives we may feel powerful or powerless. But what do we really mean? For each of us, our relationship to power steers the course of our life experiences.
During this weekend we will look the subject of power right in the eyes and take the time to see as clearly as we can what our relationship to power is.
We will investigate power through the body, heart and mind. We will seek to find where we are denying or ignoring our power and sending it into the shadows. And we will take the time to release a few old stories that might be in the way of understanding the true nature of our power.
With clear guidance, great music and a safe and clearly held space, we will re-design our connection to power so that it serves us to live more deeply, mindfully, and creatively, bringing balance to our lives.
Being powerful is not only a state of mind. It’s a state of presence through which we can make a positive difference in the world. This weekend workshop will support you to find a more healthy, up to date and intentional relationship to the power you have inside you.
About Ya'Acov Darling Khan:
Ya’Acov Darling Khan, the author of the best-selling Jaguar in the Body, Butterfly in the Heart – the Real-Life Initiation of an Everyday Shaman (Hay House 2017), and the ‘Shaman – Invoking Power, Purpose and Presence in the Core of Who YOU Are’ (Hay House 2020), is known for his blend of strength, humility and humour.
He is acknowledged as a practicing shaman by the people who work with him world-wide and by many indigenous elder shamans and communities from the Arctic to the Amazon.
Travelling the world to work with groups delivering Movement Medicine, Ya’Acov has spoken to audiences across the globe at some on the most pre-eminent platforms driving the transformation of world culture and sustainability.
Ya’Acov’s message:
Shamanism, and a shift from society’s focus on acquisition to reciprocity, is a powerful key to restoring our universal connection and solving our interpersonal and world issues in the process.
Ya’Acov has devoted three decades of study and practise with spiritual teachers and Elder Shamans from the Sami (European tradition), and Achuar and Sápara peoples of the Amazon.
“Along the way I had to carve out a sense of normality and accept that this being’s soul, speaks the language of dance, ritual and prayer. I have come to recognise the fact that reawakening a sense of the magic, potential and splendour of creation in as many people as possible, is the blessing I am lucky enough to call my job!”.
His work is inspiring, contemporary and practical, and Ya’Acov’s audience includes people from all walks of life. In a time in which western society has become disconnected from ancestral and natural wisdom, much of his work is about education and removing the unhelpful mystique of the term ‘Shaman,’ meaning traditional healer.
His 32-year marriage and partnership with ‘Movement Medicine Woman’ and wife, Susannah, with whom he is Co-Director of The School of Movement medicine and Co-Author of Hay House published Movement Medicine, forms the loving foundation and union for a life dedicated to the transformation of our world.
“As a species, we are in a crisis. Our work? To reach as many people as possible and support them to know who they really are, find their purpose and live meaningful lives.”
