The Chicago Alignment Workshop: What Happens When Restorative Work, Yoga, and Improv Walk Into a Room Together

Sometimes the best-laid plans take a detour.

Our Austin retreat had to be postponed when we lost our venue, but what unfolded instead in Chicago reminded me why alignment—true alignment—can’t be rushed or forced. It has its own timing, its own intelligence.

A couple weekends ago, Kristina, Meagan, and I finally brought our decades-long dream to life: a full day blending yoga, restorative circle work, improv, and even portrait sessions into one immersive experience. The Chicago Alignment Workshop was our first time offering this combination together, and it was nothing short of magical.

Why This Workshop Worked

At its core, the Alignment Workshop is about listening: to ourselves, to others, and to the invisible threads that connect us. We talk a lot about how trees communicate underground through mycelium networks—sharing nutrients, warning of danger, supporting one another. Humans are just as interconnected; we’ve simply forgotten the language.

This workshop helped people remember.

Each of us brought decades of practice—yoga, restorative circles, improv—but what made the day powerful was how these practices wove together like a living network, each strengthening the others.

The Circle: Our Oldest Technology

Meagan’s restorative circle and consultancy protocol guided participants in noticing triggers, practicing empathy, and engaging in problem-solving with curiosity instead of judgment. Concepts like “above-the-line/below-the-line” thinking and meaning-making gave them concrete tools to bring into work and life.

But beyond the tools, something more ancient was happening.

Circles are sacred spaces—humanity’s original conflict-resolution model. Our ancestors gathered this way to listen, witness, heal, and restore belonging. Sitting in circle activates something we know in our bones: we are not meant to do life alone. In Chicago, we watched strangers remember this in real time.

Yoga Nidra: Returning to the Self

Kristina’s yoga nidra created the kind of stillness where people could hear themselves again. Without the pressure to “perform” yoga, many found a new relationship to rest, embodiment, and attention. It helped create the internal spaciousness needed to meet others with presence.

Improv: Purposeful Play & Brave Connection

Improv lit up the room. Participants who arrived nervous or hesitant found boldness, humor, and shared vulnerability. They made faces. One-word stories. Silly shapes. They practiced “Yes-And”—not just as an improv rule, but as a way of relating to uncertainty, collaboration, and possibility.

Improv is often misunderstood as quick wit; at its heart, it’s trust. It’s saying:I’ve got you. You’ve got me. Let’s build something together.

Just like the forest.

By layering these practices—circle, yoga, improv—we created a space where connection wasn’t forced; it was remembered. And alignment stopped being an idea and became something people could feel in their bodies.

What Participants Took Away

Our post-workshop survey lit us up:

• Improv left people lighter, more playful, and more willing to take risks.

• The circle and consultancy protocol gave tools for deep listening, collaboration, and meaning-making.

• Yoga provided rest and embodiment many hadn’t felt in months, even years.

• “Presence,” “curiosity,” and “Yes-And mindset” became their biggest takeaways.

But the biggest shift we witnessed wasn’t cognitive—it was relational.

Throughout the day, people softened. Shoulders dropped. Breath deepened. Eye contact lasted a little longer. Laughter grew louder. People leaned toward one another, not away. It was a reminder that connection doesn’t have to be complicated; it simply needs space, intention, and play.

Lessons for Next Time

Even in a successful workshop, there’s always room to grow:

• Framing each activity in relation to the larger purpose helped participants integrate the experience even more deeply.

  
  

• Building in reflection time after exercises allowed insights to land and take root.

  
  

• Fine-tuning the balance between improv and reflection ensures participants leave with both joy and clarity.

  
  

These learnings are already shaping our next retreat—whether in Philly, Austin, Denver, or wherever the universe opens a door.

Why Alignment Matters

What strikes me most about this workshop is that alignment isn’t a perfect state. It’s not about “getting it right.” Alignment is a practice—of listening, risking, resting, laughing, softening, and tuning into the web of connection we exist within.

It’s relational, not solitary.

When someone in the room opened up, the whole group shifted. When one person took a risk, others followed. When someone softened, another exhaled.

That is the mycelium of human connection—quiet, powerful, alive beneath the surface.

Alignment is contagious.

And that’s why we can’t wait to bring this work to more cities—to build more circles, more playful rooms, more spaces where people can feel seen, supported, and connected in a world that often asks us to disconnect.

With gratitude, curiosity, and plenty of Yes-And energy,

Kat