Smash, Shout,
Shake it Out:
An Introduction to Core Energetics
with Robin Cameron
“Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.”
~ Derek Walcott, from Love After Love
Does it sometimes feel like you are a walking knot of tension? Clenched jaw, tight shoulders, back pain, throat in a vice? Did you know that these phenomena are rooted in chronic, primitive, unconscious tension patterns in your muscles and fascia? These tension patterns were created by a very small you in childhood as a way to stem energy flow. Their job was to prevent the expression of feelings that were too risky to feel in the presence of those you needed in order to survive. These patterns still inhabit your posture, your musculature, your fascia, your nervous system, your voice, your choices and your view of the world. You are not alone. We all did it.
Because they saved us, these patterns of tension (also called defensive body armor) are extremely precious to us, and however much we want freedom and healing, we do not want to let them go. Our mind can say YES! but our body holds on for dear life. This armor has become deeply unconscious, automatic, rigid, and impacts every facet of our lives.
Core Energetics, developed by John Pierrakos, M.D. in the 1970's, was designed specifically to physically, emotionally and mentally crack open this armor. Then, what has been locked away can be illuminated, explored and revolutionized.
Techniques like stomping, hitting a large foam cube, jumping, putting the body into positions to trigger spontaneous movement and expressive sound are utilized, as is the innate power of the group. These techniques move the mountains of our defenses and blow the dust off of parts of ourselves that have been keeping us stuck, small and bewildered.
Once the defensive armor begins to give way, the hard work begins. We are then faced with all of those big feelings that have been there all along, 'underneath' the armor, waiting. We might find pain, grief, rage, bliss (so much of what got stifled in childhood was bliss!). Whatever we find, we will look at it and talk to it and hold it all with love.
Robin does this work in groups for a reason: because witnessing, healing, laughing and crying with others are the most human things we can possibly do. It's how we are designed to heal. The result is the transmutation of all of those blocks; the armor, the stickiness and the rigidity into energy that can be utilized to support flow, connection, love, compassion and creativity. We are all rivers, endlessly seeking to reclaim our path after the storm.
*Wear loose, comfortable clothing
Armor Revealed & RELEASED, Self Realigned
MEET YOUR FACILITATOR
robin cameron
Robin Cameron was first introduced to the world of healing at 17, when a friend handed her Wilhelm Reich’s Listen, Little Man. Though not typical teenage reading, its raw message about the ways we chain ourselves to conformity and shut down love, freedom, and creativity struck a deep chord. The seed was planted.
A decade later, lost and searching, Robin stumbled into an acting class that used movement, sound, and energy work to crack open emotions. She felt instantly at home. That “strange method” turned out to be Core Energetics, a body-centered therapeutic approach developed by Reich’s student, John Pierrakos, MD. Robin dove in headfirst—getting sober, training extensively, and earning both her Master’s in Social Work from NYU and her four-year certification from the NY Institute of Core Energetics.
Since then, she’s built a thriving practice in NYC, taught and facilitated internationally, sat on the founding board of the NY Institute of Core Energetics, and introduced Core Energetics to professional organizations across the healing arts. Known for her fierce love of the body and nervous system, Robin helps people wake up to the fullness of their embodiment, reconnect with their deepest truths, and transform old protective “armor” into vitality, freedom, and connection.
Her passions now extend to creating supportive groups for parents of neurodiverse children, while also painting, cooking, exercising, and swimming in open water. At the center of it all are her husband, children, and dog—her daily reminders of love in motion.
