About ancestral connections
About
our Story.
0ur vision.
Ancestral Connections is the key to opening our connections to our ancestral roots through an integrative approach to constellations and movement.
It recognises the value of embodiment and community in our healing and personal growth. Our ancestors are acknowledged both as actual people who lived and breathed, and are at the same time alive within us on a cellular level. The focus in this work is on finding and receiving resources and gifts, and developing our capacity and resilience so that we may live our best possible lives and together build a regenerative culture. The primary resources we look to in Ancestral Connections are: the ancestors, ceremony, embodiment, the arts and community.
Dance, constellation, rites of passage practices and ancient stories form the language of Ancestral Connections. We come into community and conversation with the ancestors – biological and collective. Ancestral Connections enables us to return to the language of movement and music that is an age-old form of conversation with ourselves, our ancestors and the spirit of life. The Ancestral Connections rituals are structured on universal principles and co-created with the group in the ethos of inclusivity with regards to race, gender and diversity of belief systems.
A foundational aspect of Ancestral Connections is that we may live with dignity and receive life with gratitude. We recognise that we are the ancestors of the future and that we can connect back to where we came from and also connect to future generations so that we may live and grow towards the best possible future for all.
Sian Palmer
Sian Palmer is a Drama and Movement Therapist (MA University of London) with over 15 years of experience; blending creativity, embodiment, and systemic practices to facilitate personal and collective transformation. Since 2009, Sian integrates movement, storytelling, ritual, and systemic therapy to help individuals and groups build resilience, explore identity, recover from trauma, and deepen connections with themselves and others. Sian designs therapeutic experiences that are engaging, accessible, and meaningful across cultures, generations, and communities. She works with diverse groups in clinical, community, and organisational settings.
Sian founded a movement meditation form, Expressive Movement in 2009, and has been training facilitators since 2014. She is also Trainer and co-founded of Ancestral Connections ®, which combines systemic constellations with movement and ritual.
Her work has been featured internationally, with presentations across the UK, Germany, Austria, and South Africa. Sian has contributed to several publications, including a chapter in Arts Therapies in International Practice Informed by Neuroscience and Research (Miller & Torkington, 2021), and is a co-author with Tanja Meyburgh to The Story of Ancestral Connections: Dance and Constellations as Ceremony (The Knowing Field Journal, 2020).
For more info visit Sian’s website: www.lifemovements.co
Tanja Meyburgh
Tanja Meyburgh, author of Reclaiming Ancestors, in which she explores the personal and collective journey of rediscovering ancestral wisdom and its connection to trans-generational systemic work rooted in Southern African traditional lineage practices.
The book offers readers a powerful reflection on the lost harmony with nature and wisdom, guiding them on a path to reconnect with their own ancestral heritage. Her work incorporates embodiment and ritual into a path of self-development and personal leadership for her clients.
Tanja is also a renowned senior trainer, facilitator and supervisor specialising in family, land, collective and organisational constellations, with over two decades of experience in this field. She is the founder and owner of the training and consulting brand African Constellations which has trained hundreds of systemic work facilitators internationally, and REAL Academy which preserves the voices of the elders for generations of students to come.
Holding an MA in Narrative Therapy, Tanja’s work is deeply influenced by the focus on power dynamics and the voices of marginalised communities. She is widely recognised for incorporating land, embodiment, and the collective into her systemic practice.
“Tanja creates a creative, experiential learning space that fosters profound
connection to the soul and spirit, grounded in psychological theory and practice. Her expertise in self-growth, personal and collective rituals, and embodiment allows her to support clients in navigating their personal and professional journeys with depth and integrity.”
www.africanconstellations.co.za
www.tanjameyburgh.co.za