Drooling with Saara Rei, Ph.D.

This workshop is frame to explore drooling and has been inspired by the magnificent work of Nordic artists, Saara Rei and Andy Buru. Maybe you will find it erotic, or shameful. Perhaps empowering, or disgusting. Either way there is only one way to find out. Let it pour.

What to Bring

People should bring a very juicy lemon to the workshop, precut into four slices. If they cannot have lemon for whatever reason, then another very sour fruit will do, or sour food such as sour gummie candy or a sour lollies. They should also wear as little clothing as they feel comfortable and be prepared to get a little messy. With that, they should also prepare the space they will participate in so that the a comfortable with the possibility that it might get a little messy, such as sitting on a towel or sit on a surface that is easy to clean after the workshop is over.

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Saara Rei is a performer, rope artist, and kink educator with a professional background in modern and ballroom dance, as well as teaching and public speech coaching.

Saara has been practicing kinbaku, or the Japanese art of rope bondage, since 2014. She believes that it's impossible for two people tying together to hide what is truly there between them, and that this guarantied vulnerability is what's truly special about ropes. Saara is a seasoned rope bottom, and has tied with many amazing riggers around Europe. She is grateful to have gotten the chance to tie with so many wonderful, talented people, who have taught her so much about herself and about being in rope. Her over ten years of dance experience has given Saara a strong base of body awareness knowledge and experience that transfers over to her rope practice and teaching. To dance is to communicate with your body, and with that, there is no question that we are all dancing with our ropes.

Through semenawa, or kinbaku that creates a feeling of helplessness and endurance, often with the use of pain and discomfort, Saara has come to understand that suffering comes from the comparison of what has been or could be to the present moment. And with that, one cannot suffer when they are truly present, in the now. This deep realization has been a main driving force for her when doing rope, and has aided her in maintaining deep peace in even some of the most difficult of situations. With the knowledge Saara has gained from the practice of semenawa, she enjoys teaching about how to use pain as a path to meditation, serenity, and pleasure.

As a conscious kinkster, power play has always been an important topic relating to sexuality and expression of self. She believes that hierarchy is always present in our interactions with others and that it should be embraced and understood, rather than resisted. Most of her experience with power exchange comes from a submissive perspective, and has a particular interest in using mindfulness meditation practice as a means of achieving body awareness while bottoming. She likes to strongly emphasize that the top and the bottom create a scene together, each with equally important roles and shared responsibility. Saara's experience as a modern and former competitive ballroom dancer has given her insights into non-verbal partner dynamics that she applies to her practice and teaching.

Having a strong sadomasochistic streak, Saara loves playing with physical pain as well as humiliation, shame, and fear from all perspectives. She believes that if one can truly sit with their darkest feelings and emotions then they can be understood and become familiar.... shining light upon them, so that they are no longer monsters unseen in the darkness. Learning to sit in these typically undesired feelings and emotions has been deeply healing for Saara, and with that she likes to encourage others to do the same, in a responsible, intentional, and safe way.

Saara academic teaching experience and training adds an intellectual flair to complement her dance-centric approach to bodywork. Playfulness and humour make up a big chunk of Saara's personality and approach to life, giving her workshops a very explorative and light atmosphere, even while approaching some of the heaviest of topics. With this, Saara's workshops are a perfect fit for anybody who likes to bring the child, the intellectual, and the dancer together.