embodied learning is vital to our future
Decolonizing the Body, the Mind, and the Classroom
Whether working with individual clients, teaching second graders, undergraduate students, professional actors, directors and educators, medical professionals, families or community members, our philosophy and core methodology is the same: we learn when we feel a sense of our own safety, belonging and dignity. Community, reciprocity, and a recognition of the gifts and medicines that each person brings allows us to go beyond the bounds of traditional schooling, to find the territory where we can transform ourselves and our world. Somatic practice, performance, storytelling, music and more all help us find our place in the ecologies of our local landscapes and the larger world.
learning in and with Community
We bring people together to learn about our environment, the impacts of climate change, social and environmental justice in embodied ways. We use song, movement, somatic practice, drawing, writing, and more, to help us connect holistically to the themes, histories, and science we engage, and the futures we want to create.
Vital Matters for Kids
Our kids programming is arts-based, inviting young people to creatively engage with the world around them and with stories, science, history and other topics. We seek to empower children and young adults, encouraging them to find their voices and to feel the support of community
The Vital Body
Vital Matters founder Michele Minnick is a somatic movement therapist and educator, who offers one on one and small group sessions, coaching and consulting.
Training for artists
Training in The Performance Workshop and Rasaboxes, Vital Matters Residencies for Colleges and Universities, and online learning in performance and climate change
Books for the Future
In 2024, we began a series called Books for the Future, which involves in person and online gatherings to discuss books that are essential to our time, that offer us visions and methods to make a future within and beyond the climate crisis