On Friday night I made a trip to the Brackett Park Recreation Center for a round of Interplay hosted by Slow who uses all (he, she, they) pronouns. From their website: “InterPlay is a coming together of humanity’s most precious gifts: movement, stories, and wholesome connection through witnessing, listening, and play. Drawing on our inherent creative spark through a variety of fun activities, InterPlay is body-based and improvisational. It gets groups moving, laughing, and sharing experiences.” We had a group of 6 and we did exercises in pairs and as a large group. Someone has described it as “preschool for adults”, and after a stressful day at work, even though I was tired, it was refreshing to connect with others through that framework.

One question that arose through me for Slow, the facilitator, was, “What is the maximum-sized  group that you could facilitate?” and she responded, “there is no maximum capacity, as long as everyone can hear my voice, it can work.” And she hinted that it is fun to work with the challenge of large groups. Which gave me the idea to help her build this offering to reach the capacity of the room we were playing in. Or to spread out into the park.

I have facilitated different types of events, and am often thinking about what types of events I want to make space for on my personal calendar. I go through phases where I can be a maximizer and want to do it all, and there are other times when I need to wipe my schedule clean to take time for myself. One of the formats that I have most enjoyed facilitating are the 2-hour Mind-Body Skills Groups that I was trained to lead from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. In their format, groups of 8-10 are ideal, but I have found even small groups of 4-6 to allow greater depth of exploration with the types of exercises we do. Pushing beyond the limit of 10 is possible, but it can detract from the experience because it puts a strain on the amount of time for each individual to share and process what is going on for them, and pushes more of the members into a listening mode vs having the space to express themselves. It’s not that the exercises aren’t possible with groups of 15 or 20, and there are strategies like breaking the group into small units for sharing, but for the structure that those groups use, it is best to have the facilitator present for all the sharing and for the group to be in one space together.

As I think about the roles I am creating for myself hosting events at my home and for my community, I am thinking a lot about collaboration and how to work with others. I am exploring different titles for my home, including what came up last night sitting around the fire: “Community Healing Center.” I claim the role for myself as a “Community Healing Artist”, and I am working with exploring, participating in, and studying community embodiment practices. I write about my experiences here to help process and share the results of my findings. My mission is to develop and support community offerings that build a resilient and flourishing infrastructure and network for healing, growth and artistic expression.

I would like to help Slow fill up that Brackett Park Rec room to its maximum capacity. On Saturday and Sunday, Ahlay Blakely will be leading song gatherings at New City Center. She is a master at guiding groups through an experience with song, and I also want to help advertise and make sure my friends and community know what a powerful opportunity it is to be part of those events.

Read Ahlay’s description for what she is hosting on Saturday 6/21/25: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/minneapolis21

Read more about Slow’s Offerings here:

https://www.bodyconnectmn.org/offerings

On Friday night, I am hosting a potluck and “Listening Party” for the “Wails: Songs for Grief” album that Ahlay wrote and recorded in 2023. I was one of over 200 singers who travelled to a farm property near Seattle, WA for the experience of participating in recording that album. I returned in September 2024 to the Seattle area for the release party for that album, which was held as a sacred ritual or ceremony for the participants to experience together. My participation was deeply impactful, and I would like to share a bit with the group that gathers on Friday about my experience as we settle in to listen to the album together.

I created a Facebook event with the basic details, and I have wondered about the capacity for this event. There is rain in the forecast, and there is a different capacity if we are trying to listen in the living room and kitchen vs if we can spread out on the lawn. We could set up a few rain flies, and it might be beautiful to listen to an album about grief in the rain, and it could be possible that some listen indoors and others are outdoors for the same shared experience. So what is the capacity for this event? Since I will be working at the clinic in the afternoon, I didn’t want to invite “the public” to an event where my own resourcing may be limited. This album was written and recorded to help individuals and communities find ways in to exploring and processing grief and sorrow. Some of those feelings may be stirred and after the album is complete, I intend to facilitate a closing reflection group that could be brief or long, depending on the needs of the group. If there are 30 present, that will be much different to facilitate than if there are 5.

If you are planning to come, I recommend bringing a notebook to write or draw, blankets and pillows to make yourself comfortable, rain gear and tarps if you would be willing and enthusiastic to participate outdoors in the rain, and an intention to be fully present with the group experience even if that means you need to take space for yourself at times. We will intend to be silent during the playing of the album.

Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns, and please RSVP on the FB event to help me anticipate numbers. Thanks!