6-Day Dissection & Embodiment Experience

In this 6-day, hands on, unfixed (unembalmed) cadaver dissection, explore the fascinating intricacies of the human form with guides Alison Wesley and Ann Teachworth.

2024 Dates

• July 14-20, 2024

• October 6-11, 2024

Continuing Education

• Approved for 45 CEs for LMTs through NCBTMB

• Approved for 45 CEs for yoga teachers through Yoga Alliance

A Typical Daily Schedule: 

• Gathering at 9am to explore a movement/embodiment practice focusing on the layer we’ll be encountering that day in the lab

• Hands-on dissection until lunch

• Lunch is usually 1-1.5 hours followed by a short embodiment 

• Hands-on dissection until cleanup followed by a movement/embodiment practice

• We generally end by 5:45-6:00pm everyday

*Schedules vary day to day and there are gathering/special events a few evenings throughout

We have an optional group outing the day after dissection that includes a hike and a soak in a nearby spa. This is a beautiful way to reset after the intensity of the week, process with each other, and get you ready for your travels.

For those who work with the human body - such as movement educators and manual therapists - it is clear that the body is infinitely fascinating and forever unfolding. The body has stories to tell and lessons to impart, and our work is often fueled by a deep curiosity and a desire to understand and be understood.

Learning anatomy from books and apps is similar to learning an unfamiliar territory by studying maps and guidebooks. It is helpful and informative, but the 2-dimensional representations can never fully capture the 3-dimensional, multi-textured landscape that is the human body. As they say, the map is not the territory. And, like terrain, the body is always changing and morphing in response to its environment and experience. An anatomical drawing can only ever be a representation of an average of different bodies, but each body is truly unique. In this 6-day, hands on, unfixed (unembalmed) cadaver dissection, you will explore the fascinating intricacies of a human form.

With scalpels in hand, participants will discover the form texture by texture, performing the dissections for themselves with guidance from Institute for Anatomical Research anatomists. We will address the form as an integrated whole and observe how each tissue and layer is an integral, integrated part of the whole.

Each section of the course also includes experiential movement integration - embodiment practice - where we will seek to embody the information in our own forms for an even deeper understanding and application. This experience is deeply informative and especially moving as participants are guided to discover the shared experience that lies beneath our skin.

For individuals who work with the body in any capacity - massage therapists, bodyworkers, movement educators - there is nothing like actually discovering and exploring each texture and tissue in the body for oneself and observing how they all weave together to be the incredible, adaptive forms that we are. This increased experiential knowledge of the human form at the very least deeply informs one’s work though additionally has the potential to transform one’s work, image of self, and appreciation for life.

Held at the Institute for Anatomical Research in Colorado Springs, CO, the dissection is not just an academic experience. Along with the time in the lab and the embodiment practices, we have a few special events to help relax, restore, and enjoy the retreat-like experience in the beautiful setting with inspiring like-minded colleagues. 

What the journey entails . . .

We have the privilege and honor of learning from the best teachers - the bodies that have been donated for this experience. We treat each form with the utmost reverence and wonder as we unwrap the sacred gifts they have to share.

We’ll begin with the integumentary system, exploring epidermis and dermis. We’ll uncover the superficial fascia and enhance our appreciation and understanding of this incredible tissue, commonly discarded as merely packing material. Diving deeper, we’ll explore the deep fascia and perifascia, noting fascial expansions and connections that sweep in every direction, head to toe, front to back, side to side, superficial to deep.

Moving deeper through the textures, we’ll explore muscles in a way no text book or video can replicate. Participants discover, see, and feel for themselves muscular origins and insertions, bony markings, and the incredible connectivity of the whole system. We will appreciate the qualities of the different textures that are always underhand as therapists and movers.

An area often overlooked is the viscera. In this course, we’ll spend a day exploring the body cavities, the structures that inhabit them, and the expansive connective tissue scaffolding that invests these structures. With particular attention to how the viscera integrates into the rest of the structure, participants will consider the significant impact that the viscera can have on posture and function throughout the body.

We’ll expose the skeleton and joints, exploring the many structures that make up different types of joints, the variety of joint shapes, and the mobility available at each joint. And finally we’ll dive into the central nervous system, whose branches are woven throughout the whole form.

Throughout this journey, as we discover the qualities of each layer in the form, we uncover these qualities in ourselves as well.