Taos News

Taos welcomes a new Space for healing arts

By LIAM EASLEY leasley@taosnews.com

Space, a new healing arts location, is helping to bring breathwork to Northern New Mexico.

Stretched with long wooden flooring, the expansive room visually reaches at visitors and draws them into candle-lit meditations and breathwork before a sip of tea. Brightly lit walls are a reflection of the positive atmosphere cultivated by founders Alison Lancaster Beckner and Charlie Sallans, who opened Space for people to come, go and express themselves as they do so.

Officially opening on Oct. 1, 2022, Space is a community location for people to congregate and partake in what Beckner describes as “embodiment practices,” which include breathwork, movement, yoga and meditation. Teachers and practitioners at Space offer a range of healing arts modalities and workshops, which participants can enjoy in the 1,400-squarefoot studio.

But the studio is not just for scheduled classes and training sessions. Beckner and Sallans both want Space to be a center for creativity, advertising the option to rent the space for personal or business purposes. Being inclusive and welcoming is important to Space, and they will not close their doors on anyone. Space also has a pay-what-you-can policy.

“We really are trying to be accommodating of people on a financial level,” Beckner said. “We offer a scholarship auc

tion upon request for certain workshops and classes. Charlie does the sliding scale; mine is a suggested rate, and there’s always some flexibility. We’d rather people come than not come and not feel that there is a barrier in terms of the investment.”

According to Beckner, who has been a breathwork practitioner for about six years, Space is one of the only breathwork studios in Northern New Mexico, and it’s an art that Beckner thinks will be of service to Taoseños and tourists alike. Breathwork refers to breathing practices that help to release toxins from the body and alleviate stress, among other benefits.

“[One] thing that’s really interesting about breathwork is that it’s so, so, so beneficial for people who are traveling to Northern New Mexico because of our altitude here,” Beckner said, “and it can really help people acclimate and either avoid, or work with, altitude sickness. So, I think if you live here or if you’re visiting, it can be really helpful.”

Beckner went on to comment on the accessibility of breathwork,

noting that “it’s very effective and potentially transformational and in a very short period of time.” According to Beckner, all it takes is one hour.

“The other cool thing about [breathing] is that we’re all doing it,” Beckner said. “We’re all doing it, so you’re already starting with something that you can do. A lot of people think they can’t breathe, they’re not breathing right, they don’t know how to breathe, so we all have this really great common denominator at the starting point, which is we’re all doing it, how can we just do it

differently? It’s really fun; it’s really simple.”

Sallans, whose main practice is movement, is rooted in the Five Rhythms, a concept introduced to him in a class he took at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. After studying it for a decade, he opened Space with Beckner.

“Over the course of about an hour-and-a-half to two hours,” Sallans said, “you’re taken through what is called a wave, and each rhythm has an entry point for the body to get out of the head and get integrated into the body through

movement. An open floor takes it to another bridge, which is ‘relation with self’ and ‘relation with others,’ which is the context of dance or movement.”

Among the many healing arts they offer, Space is also full of amenities like tea and a seating area, which gathers around a fireplace. Oftentimes, Sallans added, they’ll bring in DJs to accompany movement sessions. He hopes to form a collective of DJs and even give training on it. Cough drops are also available since, according to Beckner, the body resists breathwork at

first, and coughing can result.

As for events, Space occasionally hosts local artists and music. They also have a poetry workshop. In the future, Beckner hopes to add a content creation dimension to the space to accompany her branding background.

Space is located on NM 240, next to Magical Tattoo overlooking the parking lot on Comanche Street. Their schedule depends on what workshops are being offered. See their website, spacetaos.com, for a calendar.

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2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://taosnews.pressreader.com/article/281840057798921

Santa Fe New Mexican