About Ayama

Centre for Re:connective Arts

Ayama is dedicated to the exploration, development and practice of Re:Connective Arts in service of a regenerative and reconnective culture, individual growth and collective transformation.

The development of late modern capitalist societies is one of ever accelerating disconnection and alienation. Many, if not most, lead stressful, unhealthy, anxious, toxic lives, disconnected and alienated from love, ourselves, others, community, nature, our environment, our bodies, our emotions, our work, our soul, our spirit, our clothes, our food, our government, etc. In short, we have lost the connection to who we are as individuals, community and humans and created a world and political economy that is increasingly hostile to basic human needs. We live in a culture where what is considered “normal” is often toxic, aiding trauma, suffering and disconnection. Some of this we even call “love”. And as Erich Fromm already assumed: “If it is true … that love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence, then any society which excludes, relatively, the development of love, must in the long run perish of its own contradiction with the basic necessities of human nature” (The Art of Loving).

During the last decades biopsychosocial conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction, psychoses, burn out, narcissism, ADHS, stress, feelings of numbness, meaninglessness and loneliness etc. have been steadily, even dramatically, on the rise. It is mostly our political economy, culture and society that has created these conditions, not individual failure or genetic determination. All of these health issues and many more point to one core issue: disconnection and alienation. The ever-increasing and globalized threat to human health and wellbeing needs a holistic, integrative approach towards healing and transformation and a rehumanized world. In other words, what is needed for the healing of our disconnection is a fundamental shift in the paradigm of how we live and love. Ayama is dedicated to exploring and developing new ways of being and becoming, of connection, of cooperation, of medi(t)ation, of self-realization and trust; transforming how we relate. For this, we focus on researching, developing, exploring, practising and teaching Re:Connective Arts.

What are Re:Connective Arts?

Re:Connective Arts is an integrative concept that encompasses a set of modalities, practices, methods, tools, techniques, approaches, spaces and (creative) modes of expression that are geared towards empowering human beings and communities to reconnect to the sources of life, their own being, their body and soul, their spirit, their inner parts and child, other beings, their surroundings, biosphere and communities as well as that which lies beyond – in loving, healing, liberating, humble, meaningful, mindful, co-creative, regenerative, playful and joyful – in short: reconnective – ways. At Ayama we draw upon and integrate a large variety of proven existing practices and approaches and develop new ones to create and share a toolbox for the applied art of reconnective living and loving.

At Ayama we focus our practice and the development of Re:Connective Arts on the following interwoven areas:

  • soul arts – e.g. (critical) psychology, socio-psychology, compassionate inquiry, self-awareness, -inquiry and -development, shadow and inner parts work, constellation work
  • relational arts – e.g. conscious relating, ethical relating, non-normative relating, conscious communication, community building, restorative justice and conflict resolution, peace work, forum, cultural inquiry and compassionate critique, boundaries and consent, sociocracy
  • embodiment & movement arts – e.g. somatics, somatic experiencing, yoga asanas, nervous system regulation, free movement & dance, contact improvisation, ecstatic dance, free play, “performance” arts
  • mindful & spiritual arts – philosophies and practices adapted from a variety of (spiritual) traditions, including breathwork, meditation, yoga, sweat lodges, swirling, ritual

Re:Connective Arts are a means to empower individuals and communities to (creatively) develop their potential, grow into their own awareness and consciousness, step into their own power, make visible and assist in healing their disconnection, shadows and traumas, and to live a connected, healthy, joyful, (co-)creative, meaningful, and ethical life.

At Ayama we believe that you yourself can be your best teacher and find the resources and answers for your own path within yourself. We can only offer presence, experiential spaces, inspiration, and guidance – where invited. We don’t follow any particular spiritual path, but we are inspired by some of them. We don’t believe in gurus or masters, but we believe in carriers of wisdom. We don’t believe in The One and Only Truth, but we believe in the multitude of human (spiritual) experience, expression and thought as pointers to another reality beyond the rational mind and common experience. We believe that humanity has a potential (for love) it has not yet collectively realized. We believe that in order to be able to co-create a reconnected future we need to heal our disconnection by radically shifting the ways we relate to ourselves, each other, the planet and our biosphere – we need to start here and now – we need to start with a truly radical act: living The Art of Re:Connective Loving.

Re:Connective Arts are non-dogmatic and open to everyone. They can be shared freely. We do not follow any particular political or spiritual doctrine. We are all on our own individual path, yet we are all connected in myriad ways and all here to learn, grow, exchange and relate; to love and be loved; to speak and to listen; to serve and be served; to support and be supported; to touch and be touched.

Our Inspiration

We wish to express gratitude to the reconnective modalities, approaches, techniques and influences that currently shape our work and minds. These include:

  • Compassionate Inquiry and the work of Gabor Maté
  • embodiment, somatics and nervous system regulation and the work of Peter Levine
  • shadow and inner parts work
  • aspects of the work by C.G. Jung, Wilhelm Reich and Erich Fromm
  • mindful, non-violent communication and the work of Marshall Rosenberg
  • sociocracy
  • The Work by Byron Katie
  • The Work that Reconnects by Joanna Macy
  • (Eastern) Philosophy, including aspects of Advaita Vedanta, Taoism, Tantra, Buddhism
  • Meditation, Breathwork and Yoga
  • Charles Eisenstein
  • Tamera and ZEGG communities
  • Forum
  • conscious play
  • (Systemic) Constellation Work
  • Critical Theory, Post-Structuralism and the work of Michel Foucault and Rainer Mausfeld
  • Circling

Learn more about Ayama’s Vision, Mission and Ethics by clicking below.

Vision, Mission, Ethics

Our work and Ayama are currently emerging and the concept and practices of Re:Connective Arts continue to take shape. For this we invite co-creators. If interested:.

Co-Creation