Moave
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Stories
of the Earth and Body
Listening Deeply, Speaking Authentically
Tuning Into the Body and Earth
for Truthful Expression
Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
7. - 15. July 2025
Slovenia
It was an 8-day Youth Exchange that explored deep listening and authentic communication through the wisdom of the body, the Earth, and artistic expression. We engaged in the language of the body, movement, and creative practices to express our truths with vulnerability and presence. By connecting with our personal narratives through the body and art, we explored emotional awareness and built meaningful connections with others. This project aimed to create a supportive space for self-discovery, creativity, and a deeper sense of belonging.
"Stories of the Earth and Body"
"The story that you told,
that lives in the words you speak,
is the same story that is yours to find,
yours to discover and to hold
as it leads you into deeper places
you didn’t know were waiting."
David Whyte
About this project
How to share our stories from a place of authenticity and vulnerability in order to build more meaningful connections with ourselves and with others?
“Stories of the Earth and Body” was an 8-day Youth Exchange that blended somatic work, dance improvisation, ecopsychology, and artistic expression to help participants connect with their bodies, each other, and nature.
During the course, we explored how to listen to our inner stories and the voices of others. We discovered tools that helped us express ourselves authentically, while being fully witnessed in that expression. Through tapping into our bodies and connecting with nature, we learned to honor these stories and bring them into the light.
Together, we created a space to hear the stories that had already been shared and wanted to be witnessed, allowing them to continue their journey and inspire others.
Stories are more than words
they are living experiences that shape how we see ourselves and the world.
Stories have the power to shape our perceptions, shift our awareness, and weave new understandings of the world around us. When shared with presence and authenticity, they can open doorways to deeper relationships, helping us see ourselves more clearly. They become invitations to listen more deeply, to feel more fully, and to engage with life in a more connected and intentional way.
A story told with presence does not simply end, it continues to resonate, to inspire, to weave connections between people and place. It challenges us to reflect on how we relate to ourselves, to the Earth, and to each other. It becomes a guide, a bridge, a shared pulse of meaning that moves beyond the storyteller and into the collective space of those who receive it.
Why sharing stories?
Our beliefs are the lens through which we interpret and make sense of our experiences. According to Gestalt psychology, meaning is not something fixed or inherent in the world, but something actively created through our perception. This view suggests that we continuously interpret and re-interpret our experiences, drawing from our past and present perceptions. We actively "complete" meaning by organizing our experiences in ways that align with our beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us.
This training invites participants to explore how their personal beliefs and experiences influence the stories they tell. By tuning into the body, the Earth, and their emotions, participants actively engage in the process of rediscovering their stories from multiple point of view, exploring new layers of meaning that align with their evolving beliefs about themselves and the world around them. Therefore, this course encourages a deeper awareness of how we "complete" meaning in our lives, using storytelling, movement, and artistic expression to reflect on and reshape our perceptions. Through this process, participants can gain new insights into their own narratives.
Why to work with the body is important?
Somatic work is a powerful tool for inviting more neutral perception and supporting the process of seeing the world, ourselves, and others in a more grounded and open way. Somatic practices involve tuning into the body and the sensations we experience, encouraging a deeper awareness of the present moment. This process can be particularly helpful in developing a more neutral, non-judgmental way of perceiving our experiences, which is essential for authentic expression, storytelling, and understanding.
What stories are felt but never spoken?
What stories are seen but go unrecognized?
What stories are ready to be expressed,
but don’t know how?
Methodology:
Somatics - Dance improvisation - Artistic expression
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Through experiential learning, we explored different ways of listening to our bodies and the earth, using tools for deep communication and artistic expression. The methodology integrates movement practices, somatic awareness, and ecological wisdom, supporting a deeper understanding of how our personal stories intertwine with the rhythms of nature.
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Artistic expression:
We used materials from nature, like stones, leaves, and branches, to create meaningful connections between our bodies and the Earth in order to express ourselves and tell a story. We will also explored books, videos, and other resources to inspire our creative work.
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Dance improvisation
Dance improvisation boosts exploration and creativity by using specific techniques such as image work, playing with time, space, and rhythm, and exploring physical sensations.
Main questions for this course
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How do I live with more courage and self-support to express my truth?
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How can I listen more deeply to my body and the Earth to guide my authentic expression?
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What holds me back from speaking my truth, and how can I move beyond these barriers?
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How can I share my stories in creative yet clear ways that feel true to me?
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How can movement, somatics, and nature-based practices support my communication and self-expression?
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What role does storytelling play in personal and collective healing and empowerment?
For who?
The “Stories of the Earth and Body” Youth Exchange was open to young people aged 16–30 who were eager to explore their inner voice, develop creative expression, and cultivate more authentic ways of being in the world.
Each participating country had one group leader, who could be over 30 years old, responsible for guiding and supporting the group throughout the exchange.
Participants were motivated to engage in group activities, share their experiences, and embrace vulnerability in a supportive, collaborative environment. No prior experience in art, movement, or storytelling was required, just an open mind and a willingness to learn.
Participants were invited to:
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Discover the hidden potential of the body through somatic exploration, movement, and deep listening to both inner and outer landscapes.
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Bring their own artistic expression and a willingness to explore it.
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Trust the unfolding wisdom of the group process, co-creating a space of shared learning, presence, and connection.
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Engage in outdoor experiences, embracing physical activities in nature, regardless of the weather.
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Commit fully to the program with openness, curiosity, and adaptability.
This training course was funded through the Erasmus+ Programme, and travel costs up to a specific maximum allowed amount were fully reimbursed.
"Numinous was Partner organisation for a wonderful Erasmus+ project in Smolnik, Slovenia, hosted by @moave_psychology_in_movement
The week was filled with intense activities on somatics, movement, storytelling and connection. We danced, we crawled, we jumped, we climbed, we walked.
And most importantly, we got deeply in touch with ourselves, reflected and worked on our personal development. While connecting to the other human and non-human beings around us.
„Stories of the Earth and Body“ was a fulfilling immersion, an amazing group of people with experienced facilitators Nayeli, Ziva and Ema leading incredible activities."
Lotta
This Youth Exchange was a shared learning process based on non-formal education and youth work principles.
It is important that young people have spaces like this because they offer time and safety to slow down, reflect, and connect in a way that is often missing in everyday life. In non-formal education settings, young people are not judged or measured, but invited to explore, express, and learn through experience.
In youth work and non-formal education, young people can learn by doing, sharing, and experiencing together. They are not judged, but supported to express themselves in their own way. This helps them understand their feelings, build confidence, and learn how to communicate and listen to others.
These spaces also help young people step away from daily stress and reconnect with their body, emotions, and nature. This can support their wellbeing and help them feel more grounded.
Most importantly, they create space for young people to feel seen, heard, and included. This supports their personal growth and helps them become more confident and active in their lives and communities.
The booklet shares the project’s approach, the flow of the week, participant reflections, and key learning outcomes, highlighting the importance of creativity, connection, and self-discovery in youth work.
Story created memories
Photos and videos by Nayeli Špela
Just be
by Lotte
Hey, I'm Lotte, and I'm here to share something with you.
Once, I heard an old man saying something that really touched my heart.
He said, what is magic to me is the feeling that my own heartbeat,
my own breathing, is a response to and parallel with a heartbeat and a breath
that is already out there. It's exactly that deep connection that I long for,
to my inner nature and to the living around me. What I hope for my life is to live
with all my senses, to unlock the potential of the instrument that Mother Earth gave to me.
My body, with all its possible movements and sounds. My mind, with its endless imagination.
I wish to liberate the wild source inside of me that allows me to discover this world
with the curious eyes and the playfulness of a child. Because whenever I reach that state,
there is nothing to do, just be.
Lotte, participant on Stories of the Earth and Body
Meet the team
Foto by: www.biankacsenki.com
Ema is a practitioner of the Ilan Lev Method—a bodywork-based somatic practice—and contact improvisation, with a deep grounding in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Vipassana meditation. With a background in cultural anthropology and a passion for non-formal learning, she spent years as a youth worker, trainer, and facilitator, creating spaces for exploration, connection, and self-discovery. Her practice is rooted in the intelligence of the body—how vibration, weight, and surprise can release tension, shift habitual patterns, and invite ease. She sees movement not as something to master, but as a process of listening and responding, allowing new possibilities to emerge. Deeply engaged in somatic practices, Ema is fascinated by how bodies communicate beyond words, how gravity and shared weight create dialogue, and how unlearning control can lead to surprising forms of connection.
"What if expression is not something we create, but something we uncover? A story stirs beneath the surface, felt in the weight of breath, the tremor of truth unspoken. Not shaped to fit, not censored—just received. Softness is not collapse. Structure is not rigidity. Honesty is not harshness. Authenticity is not a performance. Stillness is never still. To notice what is present, to stay with it, to express without forcing, without holding back. To meet another without losing yourself. I return, again and again, to what the body already knows— a whisper in the ribs, a shift in the gaze, a dance between revealing and becoming."
Nayeli is a psychologist working privately as a therapist with a Gestalt experiential psychotherapy approach. She has been a trainer in the field of non-formal education for more than 15 years. In the somatic and dance field, she is deeply inspired by contact improvisation, which has shaped her exploration of movement and its somatic approach beyond the dance studio. Having been actively engaged in the practice since 2017, she continues to investigate how this form expands her view on life.
"As a therapist and psychologist I am not so much interested in the content of the story.
I am interested in the way it is told.
By the way, it reaches my body when I hear it. What lands and where. What resonates and how.
I am interested in exploring how to speak from a place of inner contentment from deep inside the body. Grounded in what is a current reality of my truth.
How can listening and speaking become a spacious interaction instead of a room full of content?
How can we become witnesses of our own expression?
How can we listen with empty curiosity instead of a mind full of ideas?
