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 has worked across South Africa, Europe and the UK with elders, in hospitals, schools and prisons, helping people connect to themselves through movement and drama. Sian is passionate about a holistic approach to healing and growth; recognizing the importance of connecting with roots and ancestral lineages, being in community, accessing nature as a resource and tapping in to our innate creativity.
Sian Palmer is the Co-Founder of Ancestral Connections® and the Founder of Expressive Movement South Africa. Sian has practiced as a registered Drama and Movement Therapist (MA University of London) since 2009. In 2015, Sian trained in Family Constellations.
Tanja Meyburgh
Tanja Meyburgh, registered counselling psychologist, is the primary founder of the Systems Constellations training and association in South Africa, and has immersed herself and specialised deeply into this field since 2003. Tanja’s personal and professional journey in therapy has included her interest in narrative therapy, dance, story-telling, wilderness experience, and learning about lineage wisdom based in Southern African traditions. As well as private practice, Tanja has therapeutic and organisational consulting experience in NGO and corporate settings in South Africa, including organisations involved with HIV, trauma, political violence, adoption, addiction and community development. She has published and presented at conferences and international intensives on the subjects of Family Constellations, Land Constellations and Ancestral Connections. Tanja is particularly interested in embodied practice and soul work with the people that seek her assistance, and she is committed to practising with integrity, authenticity and in a way that empowers her clients.
www.africanconstellations.co.za
www.tanjameyburgh.co.za