“An emotion is your brain’s creation of what your bodily sensations mean, in relation to what is going on around you in the world.”

— Lisa Feldman Barrett

What if your emotions weren't wild forces that happen to you, but creations your body and brain make together? And what if pain, rather than something to push past, was actually trying to tell you something?

We’re thrilled to host a full-day Olio Immersive exploring the rich and complex world of emotions with Margherita Tisato. Her last Olio sold out and left us asking when the next one would be before the evening had even concluded. This time, we’re giving the topic the time and space it deserves with a day-long experience at the Lighthouse.

Educator and facilitator Margherita Tisato returns for a deep dive that’s part lecture, part somatic adventure, and part collective exploration. Blending insights from neuroscience, trauma research, and embodiment practices, we'll explore how emotions are both biology and biography—shaped by our nervous systems yet uniquely expressed through the lives we live.

Together, we'll trace how the brain predicts and constructs what we feel, what pain science reveals about coping and meaning-making, and how social norms quietly shape whose emotions get taken seriously and whose get dismissed.

Through lecture, gentle inquiry, and playful experimentation, we'll learn to listen to the body as a co-author of our emotional stories. Then we'll bring the ideas off the page and into experience through somatic activities, guided reflection, and genuine human company.

Throughout the day, we'll get curious about our inner lives, using both science and embodied awareness as guides. Along the way, we'll develop practical tools for understanding how emotions shape our relationships, decisions, and sense of self—and for listening more deeply to what’s happening within us.

The Olio closes with a collaborative group project: a chance to gather what moved through you during the day, transform it into something shareable, and teach it back to the room. We believe one of the best ways to deepen learning is to pass it on.

If you've ever felt at odds with your emotions—or simply want to understand them more deeply—this Olio offers a new map for navigating their terrain.

This day is open to any and all curious humans.

Rough sketch of the day:
We'll start the morning with a mix of lectures and interactive discussions on the nature of emotions led by Margherita to set the stage for the day. Breakfast and coffee are included so that you can just show up enjoy.

After lunch, we'll narrow our scope a bit and start to explore some of these concepts somatically and learn about emotions directly through the body with activities guided by Margherita.

Later in the day, we'll break into small groups, each with a shared challenge or question to explore. This will be our playground for curiosity, experimentation, and collective sense-making.

We'll wrap up the evening by coming back together for a round of group shares and teach-back giving us an opportunity to exchange insights, learn from one another, and practice one of the best ways to deepen understanding: sharing what we've learned.

Our Teacher for the Evening: Margherita Tisato

Margherita is a performer, an educator, a perpetual learner, and a subtle disruptor.

A dancer since childhood and an educator since their teenage years, their offerings now include experiential workshops in anatomy, pain science, embodiment, and trauma theory. Ever the movement enthusiast, they facilitate a wide range of experiences for groups and individuals, from meditation, yoga, and somatic movement to dance, Butoh, Shibari, and body suspension. They began teaching in jails and recovery programs in New York City in 2015.

In 2019, they co-founded Temple, a space in Brooklyn dedicated to the exploration of embodiment and community through kink and BDSM. They are also a founding member of All Queens, an organization providing peer-to-peer support and community for women and gender-expansive people impacted by the justice system.

Margherita has been a guest speaker at the University of Nebraska and the Transart Institute Creative Research PhD program at Liverpool John Moores University. They have taught dance repertory and technique at Loyola University in Chicago, Williams College in Massachusetts, and Ailey Fordham in New York. They also co-authored a paper on embodiment, new media, and addiction through the University of Nebraska RDAR program. They live in Brooklyn and are a proud cat lady.

What Is an Olio?

Think Olio is an ongoing experiment in lifelong learning.

We are a community of open-minded people who gather to exchange ideas with new friends and connect over art, literature, and philosophy.

An Olio is what we call the social learning events we’ve been organizing since 2015. Not quite a lecture and not quite an open discussion, an Olio is an intimate, interactive conversation led by a teacher who loves sharing their passions.

Our goal is to spark new perspectives, ignite curiosity, and enjoy ourselves socially—an alternative to typical nightlife options.

Photo by Zhi-Da Zhong

A Body of Emotions: Full Day Olio Immersive

A Body of Emotions: Full Day Olio Immersive