From ancient times, the womb has been considered the most sacred place where human life is created. Our first experience of home, safety, connection and love, which we carry throughout our lives - consciously or not. The womb has embraced us all, in all our precious variations of life. It is the place of life-death-rebirth and connection to the cycles of nature and life itself, which anyone can embody. This cycle is already visible in our breath, if we notice it. Breathing in is a movement of life. And breathing out is a moment of death and emptiness. This process is a cyclic movement of transformation, renovation, as nature shows us the whole time.

To all my relations is a ritualised performance, inspired by Pedrosa's personal experience of attending sweat lodges - also called Inipi, the Lakota term for sweat lodge, which means “to live again”. The sweat lodge symbolically represents the womb of Grandmother Earth and the steam supports the process of purification and healing. This ritual is also called: “The house of the breath”. As we enter the sweat lodge, we all greet the space with the sentence: “Mitakuye Oyasin” (to all my relations).

We invite you to come on a journey of (symbolic) life-death-rebirth, from the cauldron of the womb, through a ritualised performance and a guided meditation. Everybody between 18-100 years old is welcome, no matter if you have a womb or not. During the event, participants will be sitting on the floor for the most part of the time. If you have special needs, please let us know so that we can accommodate your needs. We won’t be wearing shoes so please bring warm socks and clothes.

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SUSANA PEDROSA is a Portuguese cis woman living in the Netherlands since 2009. She is a coach, trainer, mentor and the founder of We Rise - a coaching practice focused on healing, empowerment and co-creation. Susana has also regularly run workshops for students and staff of the PZI and WDKA in Rotterdam, some in collaboration with the Vitality department.

Pedrosa’s practice is influenced by the dance coaching method developed by Jaap van Manen, the conscious movement practice of the choreographer Gabrielle Roth, Gaga dance (a movement language created by the choreographer Ohad Naharin), the work of the choreographer Hanna Halprin (one of the pioneers of dance therapy) and ancestral rituals from diverse cultures around the world, which she has been studying for the last ten years. Her practice combines coaching, dance, systems, ancestral knowledge, and integrative health.

PART OF THE EXHIBITION

19.11.2022—22.01.2023
Where Shall We Plant the Placenta?