Fittglitter and Neeka from Bound ♥ in Stockholm bring you two one-day workshops: one on self suspension and one on communication.

Fittglitter has been an active Kinbaku practitioners for 4 years. She has been on both sides of the ropes since the start, and has equivalent experience in being the person tying as to the person being tied. This is one of the biggest contributing experiences to her tying and on her journey.

For Neeka, rope is about expressing himself, conveying feelings, creating worlds and to emphasize our innermost beauty. His experience is primarily as a tyer, but he spends considerable time in ropes to learn more. He has a long history of education and training in different contexts and has been organizing qualified training since 2005 and in rope education since 2007. He's trained in teaching both theory and practice, with tools like coaching, experience based learning and reflective methods.

Day 1, 19.1. Self suspension - Nobody knows your body better than you do
This day is about exploring self tying as a way to rediscover your body in a pressure-free context and make it feel amazing. Regardless if you identify as a model, rigger or switch, this day will expand your understanding of your own (and other) bodies.

Self suspension can be compared to selfsex, because you have the full possibility to give yourself exactly what you want at the exact moment that you want it - or don't want it. Self suspension and self tying is a perfect way to explore the limitations of your body in a pressure-free context, so either if you identify as a model, rigger or switch this is a good opportunity for someone who wants to expand their knowledge and understanding of your own (and other) bodies better.

Intention and focus

The first priority or this workshop is to have fun and approach your body and rope in a easy and curious way. The focus will be on body awareness, creating and analysing both the techniques, patterns and rope together with management of doing self suspensions.

We are only experts of own own bodies, so it is encourages that everybody sees themselves as the teacher of this workshop. Nobody other than yourself can tell what works best for you (body and mind) in different situations.

You will be presented with a framework, tools, experience and a safe space; where you and the other participants will decide on what will happen in the ropes.

To summarize some of the subjects we will work on:

• Getting to know the anatomy and tying for your body


• Body management


• Self-tying safety


• Upline management


• Handling mid-air self-suspension issues


• Time and energy management in the air

Requirements

Beginner* or years of experience tying or being tied doesn't matter in this workshop, we will be working together and work from our own set of knowledge, bodies and safety.

*If you are a beginner and want to be taught specific patterns, techniques and for someone to have all the answers for you; this is not the workshop for you.

Equipment:

• Bring your own rope (6-10)


• Safety scissors


• Suspension gear. (Slings, ring or rigging plate is preferable. Only carabiners is non-preferable. Contact Helsinki Shibari if you need to borrow)

• Water bottle


• Quick sugars


• Note taking materials


• Comfort things for when you are drained.

Prerequisite patterns:

A single-column-tie, a hip harness of your own choice, and understanding of rope frictions. (Understanding of basic pattern mechanics will be useful but not required.)

Day 2, 20.1. Creating and sharing worlds - communication in practice
Connection, dynamic, co-creation. There are many names for the magic we share in ropes. Everyone talks about it, but how does it actually happen?

This is a workshop on the nitty gritty skills of communicating in a rope scene. How we experience the session and how we express ourselves in it. We will explore several ways to convey meaning and build a conversation, with and without words.

Starting from our own modes of communication, we will explore how we convey meaning, how we understand it and how we change it.

We will explore the framework on intersubjectivity, and practical skills on

• Body language and touch


• Words and sounds


• Toning, voice and pronunciation


• Movement and expression

Pre-requisites:

We do not have prerequisites on the form of rope experience or skill, but rather in maturity and a willingness to learn. We will (mostly) work hard with mental and emotional aspects of rope, please read the class description carefully and consider if it touches on topics you are willing to work on.

Equipment:

• Clothes you are comfortable in and that allow a free range of movement.


• Rope if you want to use it

• Water bottle


• Quick sugars


• Note taking materials


• Comfort things for when you are mentally and/or emotionally drained.

General information:

• This workshop contains about equal content for the roles of tyer and tyee.


• We do not presuppose any power dynamics, and also don’t oppose them
  However, most exercises are about communication in one form or the other - if your power dynamic restricts how you communicate with each other, please consider to ease that restriction for the best experience in our class.