Beaut$y and Pain/Beaut$y and Hurt: The Consequences of Beauty and the Power of the Healing Arts Modalities

Live In-Person Workshop

Friday, July 7, 2023
10:00am-1:00pm
NYU Silver School of Social Work
1 Washington Square North, First Floor Parlor, New York, NY 10003

NYSED and ASWB/ACE approved for 3 CE contact hours

Co-Sponsored by NYU Steinhardt

From time immemorial, the word beauty has been celebrated in all kinds of ways, especially in the art circles with paintings, watercolors, jewelry, and interior decorations  Sadly this celebration was mainly reserved for the upper echelon of society. Other parts of the population barely had time for some joy. The overarching emphasis on "beauty" in our society has led to depression, sadness, anxiety, and trauma. This workshop will explore the phenomenon of beauty, looking at it from historical perspectives to the present time. Using healing and creative arts modalities, participants will explore their concepts of beauty and where these ideas originate. Participants will have the opportunity to explore creative work ways to help themselves and their clients in working through many of these cultural viewpoints on beauty.

As a result of attending this workshop participants will:

• Identify the importance of developing inner strength, self-acceptance, self-esteem, positive self-talk, media diet, media PAUSE; and mindfulness when it comes to helping their clients.
• Identify steps for themselves and their clients to become liberated from the media’s self-proclaimed beauty standards.
• Understand the historical and current views of beauty, and how these views have had a deep clinical impact on ourselves and our clients.
• Participants will identify at least one (1) healing arts creative modality to address these ideas.

Myrena Sint Jago, LMSW, E-RYT 500

Yoga/Meditation/Dance Instructor/Performer

Myrena, who has been teaching Hatha Yoga since 1996, is an Experienced 500hr Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) from Yoga Alliance. She has multiple Teacher Certifications from the Integral Yoga Institute in NYC, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and from the Yogaville (Satchidananda Ashram). She has taught individuals, groups, couples, in a variety of settings, like yoga centers (16 years at the NYC Integral Yoga Institute), corporations, birthing centers, health clubs, pregnant women and their partners; including women (some men also) who have survived breast cancer; and ovarian cancer at various hospitals.

Myrena continues to teach nationally and internationally on Zoom (Europe, Kenya and the Caribbean) via her Virtual Studio “RELEASE and RECENTER” and a few times a year in person in the Caribbean. She was a presenter and workshop leader at health fairs , workshops in Upstate New York, Curaçao, Oahu (Hawaii). As a co-Founder from Curaterra Productions, she organizes yoga/meditation vacation/retreats in Curaçao. The retreats include dance, art, soul writing, healthy eating, sunrise and sunset yoga, among other activities.

She has a Dance Pedagogue Diploma from the Scapino Dans Akademie (Amsterdam) Holland, where she lived, performed and taught for seven years. Myrena performed with different dance companies in NYC where she also taught different dance techniques and in neighboring states, also in Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire. She is the Artistic Director of a multi-disciplinary Dance/Theater company in NYC, Liberata Dance Theatre, Inc. (LDT) and a “daughter” company in the Caribbean. The motto of the company is “Reclaiming History, Reinvigorating Life”.

Myrena explores in her works issues that her colonial upbringing lacked to provide about her islands, the entire Caribbean region, African and African-America's rich history and culture. She also explores current events; works inspired by different social and global issues affecting everyone, regardless of race and culture.

Some of the works she has written and produced by LDT are “Season of Inner Light”; “A Circle of Light, A Sharing of Friends”; “Black and Women’s History Month Celebrations” with a grant of the New York Council for the Humanities; “The Cry of Mother Earth”; “Lucy”; “Diamond Heist” (Gambia, West Africa). “Papiamentu”, a dance/drama of pain, struggle, strength, survival and healing, with a grant of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC); “Muhe” (Woman); “Honra Nan” (Honor Them); ”Dunki”; Immigration”; “Curazao= Corazón=Curaçao, from the Heart of Curaçao to the Heart of New York City with Love”; directed by Ward Nixon; “Spring= Inspiration= Celebration”, directed by Luis Caballero. LDT was chosen for two consecutive years by the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs to perform in their Immigrant Heritage Week Celebration. LDT was also invited by City Hall and other venues to perform during their Caribbean Heritage Month (June); and at times through collaboration with others. Throughout the years, LDT was also invited to be part of different events or Ms. Sint Jago has been invited as a solo artist.

As a Bilingual Licensed Master Social Worker (Fordham University) Myrena has worked in Out Patient Mental Health Clinics with various age groups and until recently for the NYC Department of Education with all grade levels, from Pre-K through High School. Myrena is very blessed and fortunate to have shared the beauty and passion for her dance, other creative arts modalities, and alternative healing techniques with people of all ages, abilities, physical, mental, and emotional challenges, as a dancer, dance and yoga instructor, choreographer, also as an actress, writer and sometime director. As a Social Worker she believes in integrating all of her experiences when working with patients/clients; to employ The Use of Self creatively: the use of “My Total Self to Their Total Self”, with each person differently and when naturally deeming appropriate, besides only verbal therapy. This last statement she was fortunately able to employ throughout her career.

Myrena has studied acting and directing at the Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio and (recently directed the first act of a full-length play “Seven Shitty Hombres” and “20x20”, part of Staged Reading Productions at HB Theater) and the Weist-Barron School of Television and Commercial acting. She also has received some acting opportunities in independent and featured films (as an Extra) and recently in a video about climate change, from a director in Peru.

For her total health, she continues to integrate her passion for dance, yoga, connection and respect for nature and her LOVE for words, for writing, into a combination flow of movement, relaxation, meditation, mindful living, healthy nutrition, positive energy and people, joy, laughter and remembering the interconnectedness of all living beings and things.

Myrena is honoring and thanking her ancestors and her spiritual parents, Jose and Julieta Liberata Sint Jago, on whose shoulders she is standing, all of her guides, angels, role models, her formal education professors, dance, yoga, acting, Social Work instructors, nationally and internationally, her husband and LDT co-founder Samuel Sherrod. To them all, to whom she is FOREVER GRATEFUL.

Samuel Sherrod, MPS, LCAT

Samuel Sherrod has over 23 years of experience in NY State service with various populations and age groups using art as a therapeutic modality to: explore intrapersonal issues, promote healing, increase self-esteem, improve socialization skills, enhance sublimation, and rekindle curiosity in learning and creative expression.

Military: Psychometrician for service personnel and families stateside; Also served in The Republic of Vietnam.

Independent Licensed Creative Arts Therapist: Obtained New York State License to practice Art Therapy in May 2006.

Co-founder and Secretary/Treasurer: Since 2005 Liberata Dance Theatre, Inc. (LDT) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit inter-generational company that produces multi-discipline performances. That includes Dance, Drama, Music, Song, and Spoken Word. LDT has an international board of advisors from Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, France, The Gambia, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, and Kenya. The advisors in Curacao since 2008, formed their foundation Liberata Dance Theatre Curacao Connection (LDTCC).

General Admission: $60.00

Available Discounts: 

• NYU Silver & Steinhardt Alumni (10% discount): $54.00
• NYU Silver & Steinhardt Current Practicum Educators/Practicum Instructors (10% discount): $54.00

If after registering, you determine that you can no longer attend this event, The Office of Global and Lifelong Learning will issue refunds on the following basis:

• Refund requests made on or before June 30, 2023 (by midnight): full refund
• Refund requests made on or before July 5, 2023 (by midnight): 50% refund
• Refund requests made on or after July 6, 2023: no refund

If this event is cancelled, all registrants will be fully reimbursed. To withdraw from and be reimbursed for this event, please complete the event withdrawal form.

NYSED and ASWB/ACE approved for 3 Continuing Education Contact Hours.

55 jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education provider in the states of New York (though NYU Silver is NYSED CE approved in NYS) and West Virginia, unless the event is outside of West VA. ACE only approves individual courses in New Jersey, though NYU Silver is CSWE-accredited and therefore accepted for licensed NJ professionals. Here is a full list of statutes related to social work CE.

NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, & Human Development is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapies. #CAT-0062.

Special Accommodations:
Students requiring accommodations have the opportunity to make these known upon registering or by writing to silver.continuingeducation@nyu.edu.

Addressing Grievances:
For information on our grievance and complaint procedures, contact 212.998.9099 or silver.continuingeducation@nyu.edu.

Note on Accessibility:
It is a priority to make our events inclusive and accessible. For any questions or to notify us of a request, please email silver.continuingeducation@nyu.edu at least 72 hours before the event.

NYU Silver School of Social Work
Office of Global and Lifelong Learning
285 Mercer Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003

Email: silver.continuingeducation@nyu.edu
Phone: 212.998.5973
Fax: 212.995.4497