Cath Burke

Combining the Open Floor Movement Practice with Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in trainings and residential retreats is my thing, my absolute joy and delight. I love how conscious movement and working with the Open Floor curriculum supports deep embodiment of the mindset, attitude and skills of communicating compassionately…Over and over I witness people having insights about their communication through their experiences on the dance floor.I discovered NVC and 5Rhythms about the same time in 2006. I realised on a meditation retreat that I needed to talk, and I needed to move, and shortly afterwards these two bodies of work came into my life, as if in answer to a prayer. Both were transformative and I wanted to share them with others so I certified as a trainer with the Centre for Nonviolent Communication (https://www.cnvc.org) in 2014 and qualified to teach Open Floor in 2017.I also spent many years addressing the difficult questions I encountered in life – what is my purpose, why do I have conflict in relationships, why don’t I feel alive, why am I stressed – through Vipassana meditation, a Foundation Training in Core Process Psychotherapy and ongoing therapy. These experiences have shaped what I offer, and now I am also influenced by the work I do with Movement of Being (http://beingmoved.com).I’m qualified as an Adult Education Teacher (PGCE) and work part time teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). I completed a degree in English and African Studies and an MA in Gender and Development. I trained and worked as a journalist for business and human rights publications. My first job was as a residential social worker for children in care.I count myself privileged to have travelled and worked in East and Southern Africa, India and South-East Asia.