UNDERWORLD - Shadow work

Last January I attended a training course on shadow work in the Czech Republic.

For nine intensive days, we explored our fears and hidden parts through embodiment practices, body awareness, authentic movement and other experiential methodologies. Rather than speaking about the shadow as an abstract concept, we were invited to meet it directly — to observe it, to feel it, and to notice how it lives in the body.

As emotionally demanding as this process can be, I’m grateful for the space I allowed myself to explore the defenses that were once created to protect me. Shadow work is not about eliminating these parts, but about recognizing them and deciding consciously whether they still serve us — and what place we want to give them in our present life.

One powerful realization many of us shared was noticing that some of the emotions we carry so heavily may not have originated with us. They can be inherited, absorbed, or internalized over time. When emotions cannot be expressed or processed, they often find other channels — sometimes through tension, symptoms, or patterns in our relationships. Understanding this brought relief. It allowed us to place certain pain where it belongs, instead of continuing to carry it unconsciously.

Through storytelling, psychodrama and archetypal work, we explored how our bodies react in different situations. Bringing automatic responses into awareness made it possible to observe how we treat ourselves and others when we feel threatened — and to recognize our defenses with more clarity and responsibility.

Alongside the intensity, there were beautiful moments of creativity and connection: improvising songs, turning experiences into poems and paintings, dancing by the fire, and using playfight to transform inner conflict into connection in a conscious way. These practices reminded me that psychological work does not only happen through insight — it also unfolds through the body and in relationship.

This experience was quite powerful both personal and professionally. It required openness and honesty with my own hidden spots, and it strengthened my conviction that meaningful psychological work involves the courage to look at what we usually avoid.

Meeting the shadow can feel uncomfortable, sometimes even unsettling. But it can also be the beginning of a more honest relationship with ourselves.

And that is where change starts.

Grateful to Czech INspire and to the group for holding such a grounded and generous space.

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