Seattle anti-freeze: A day of embodied practice and ritual to deepen capacity for
white anti-racist healers
Sunday, November 17, 2019 10 am to 4 pm $100
*** Thank you so much for your interest! This event has sold out and registration is now closed. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be notified for future offerings of this event. ***
How do we build a strong and engaged anti-racist culture as white bodied people? How can we come out of the global freeze and dissociation of white supremacy, and be fully present - not just cognitively, but somatically - with the harm that has been done to people of color for generations and in our names? How do we transform grief into healthy activation and engagement?
This daylong workshop will follow the spiral of The Work That Reconnects, and will include experiential and embodied practices. We aim for these experiences to support participants in moving out of the emotional and spiritual stuckness that is rooted in and maintains white supremacy (i.e., guilt, shame, constriction and numbness, lack of engagement). We also believe that practicing in community is necessary for unlearning patterned behaviors and building collective resiliency.
Too often, black, indigenous and people of color are asked to witness, educate and take care of white people as we do our work around anti-racism. This can be harmful and oppressive to BIPOC folx. Therefore while we will not turn anyone away, the intention of this workshop is to hold space for white bodied people to do our work with one another, holding each other in loving and honest accountability as we unpack the impacts of internalized and external white body supremacy.
What is The Work That Reconnects?
The Work That Reconnects (WTR), originated from root teacher Joanna Macy, and is a framework and collection of group practices that support people in transforming despair and apathy into embodied engagement with the social and ecological issues of this time. WTR draws from systems theory, deep ecology, and Buddhism. The practices in WTR continue to be adapted and created by people all over the world, and allow for discovering new perspectives and experiencing ourselves in new ways in relationship to each other and the broader world. Learn more about The Work That Reconnects here.
We ask that participants come to the workshop with a basic understanding of power and oppression, in particular around the historical and current context of racism in the United States. If needed, we have resources available for those who are looking to further explore the topics of oppression, power and privilege, before coming together in the group setting -- please email us if you’d like us to send you these resources!
A portion of proceeds from this event will be donated to The Chronically Undertouched Support Group, a program offered by Holistic Resistance. Please check out this amazing project that is addressing the impacts of trauma on young black men, interrupting stories about black men's bodies that impact racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and so much more through mindful, healing, and platonic touch, as well as support and community building. We are grateful to be able to support this important work.
Laura Hirsh I am a psychologist with a private practice in Seattle. As a white, queer, cisgender woman I have tremendous gratitude for the teachers and models who provide guidance in the lifelong practice of working to become anti-racist. I have completed two years of training in Somatic Experiencing and am also engaged in studying the impacts of oppression-based trauma, healing practices, and resiliency-building from a somatic perspective. From my background in ecopsychology and The Work That Reconnects, I believe in the value of connecting and being with the more than human world as we work to dismantle oppressive systems and act from a deeper sense of rootedness in the web of life. I love tracking the shifting seasons, being with my pets and loved ones, and experiencing joy and strength in my body while playing basketball.
Stacey Prince I am a white, queer, Jewish, striving-to-be-anti-racist psychologist and founder of the Living Room. I am invested in community building, supporting relational anti-oppressive healing, and assisting clients as they move into more liberation and freedom in their bodies, relationships and communities. I have recently been studying embodied, somatic approaches to healing trauma, including trauma stemming from the impacts and intersections of systemic oppression. As we work toward our collective liberation, I also believe in the importance of playfulness and creativity, and in my spare time I love to dance, paint and hang out with Gus and Maddow, two of the cutest chocolate labs ever.
How do we build a strong and engaged anti-racist culture as white bodied people? How can we come out of the global freeze and dissociation of white supremacy, and be fully present - not just cognitively, but somatically - with the harm that has been done to people of color for generations and in our names? How do we transform grief into healthy activation and engagement?
This daylong workshop will follow the spiral of The Work That Reconnects, and will include experiential and embodied practices. We aim for these experiences to support participants in moving out of the emotional and spiritual stuckness that is rooted in and maintains white supremacy (i.e., guilt, shame, constriction and numbness, lack of engagement). We also believe that practicing in community is necessary for unlearning patterned behaviors and building collective resiliency.
Too often, black, indigenous and people of color are asked to witness, educate and take care of white people as we do our work around anti-racism. This can be harmful and oppressive to BIPOC folx. Therefore while we will not turn anyone away, the intention of this workshop is to hold space for white bodied people to do our work with one another, holding each other in loving and honest accountability as we unpack the impacts of internalized and external white body supremacy.
What is The Work That Reconnects?
The Work That Reconnects (WTR), originated from root teacher Joanna Macy, and is a framework and collection of group practices that support people in transforming despair and apathy into embodied engagement with the social and ecological issues of this time. WTR draws from systems theory, deep ecology, and Buddhism. The practices in WTR continue to be adapted and created by people all over the world, and allow for discovering new perspectives and experiencing ourselves in new ways in relationship to each other and the broader world. Learn more about The Work That Reconnects here.
We ask that participants come to the workshop with a basic understanding of power and oppression, in particular around the historical and current context of racism in the United States. If needed, we have resources available for those who are looking to further explore the topics of oppression, power and privilege, before coming together in the group setting -- please email us if you’d like us to send you these resources!
A portion of proceeds from this event will be donated to The Chronically Undertouched Support Group, a program offered by Holistic Resistance. Please check out this amazing project that is addressing the impacts of trauma on young black men, interrupting stories about black men's bodies that impact racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and so much more through mindful, healing, and platonic touch, as well as support and community building. We are grateful to be able to support this important work.
Laura Hirsh I am a psychologist with a private practice in Seattle. As a white, queer, cisgender woman I have tremendous gratitude for the teachers and models who provide guidance in the lifelong practice of working to become anti-racist. I have completed two years of training in Somatic Experiencing and am also engaged in studying the impacts of oppression-based trauma, healing practices, and resiliency-building from a somatic perspective. From my background in ecopsychology and The Work That Reconnects, I believe in the value of connecting and being with the more than human world as we work to dismantle oppressive systems and act from a deeper sense of rootedness in the web of life. I love tracking the shifting seasons, being with my pets and loved ones, and experiencing joy and strength in my body while playing basketball.
Stacey Prince I am a white, queer, Jewish, striving-to-be-anti-racist psychologist and founder of the Living Room. I am invested in community building, supporting relational anti-oppressive healing, and assisting clients as they move into more liberation and freedom in their bodies, relationships and communities. I have recently been studying embodied, somatic approaches to healing trauma, including trauma stemming from the impacts and intersections of systemic oppression. As we work toward our collective liberation, I also believe in the importance of playfulness and creativity, and in my spare time I love to dance, paint and hang out with Gus and Maddow, two of the cutest chocolate labs ever.