Healing Harm Through Accountability
A workshop to expand our capacity for discomfort and begin to take steps toward community healing.
In a world filled with harm, how can we exist in Right Relationship?
Right Relationship is a term I learned from Dra. Rocia Rosales Meza. It involves returning to integrity and living in harmony with the earth, ourselves, our ancestors, and each other.
In my experience, the first step to right relationship is admitting that we all cause harm.
In 2020 I had an identity crisis.
I was supposed to be the “good girl” and the "healed one” who exuded perfection, but thanks to anti-racist educators on Instagram I came to learn that not only was I causing harm through my unconscious bias, but I was swimming in some insidious harm within the wellness world.
Once I accepted that I was part of the problem, I began to rewrite my definition of “goodness” in connection with accountability.
You see, attempting to be seen as “good” (and especially as “perfect”) often keeps us from taking accountability and from holding others accountable.
But what if we began to see that taking accountability IS what makes us good people? Admitting we are human, admitting we make mistakes, admitting we cause harm, and then taking loving action to repair and do better - THAT is the kind of person I want to be and the kind of people I want to have in my life.
The next steps in my journey involved going to incredible teachers, leaders and humans like Reverend Jacqui Lewis, Courtney Napier, Dra. Rocia Rosales Meza, Desiree Adaway, Myisha T. Hill, Resmaa Menakem, Andréa Ranae, Jennifer Regina Murphy, Jennifer “Goldie” James, and more to learn, grow and heal - an ever-evolving process.
Why this workshop?
#1 - I realized my story can help others take the first step towards accountability.
Sharing my own admittance of harm and my own identity crisis humanizes this process of reckoning with truth. When we see others choose accountability and repair it opens the door for us to do it, too.
#2 - I realized I have a unique skillset that helps people stay embodied when faced with discomfort.
I am NOT an anti-racist educator, but I can share my story and some somatic tools to help you stay present as you start, and then, hopefully, CONTINUE this work beyond this workshop and throughout your life.
A note:
If you don’t need inspiration or tools to get started on this journey then please go straight to the people I mentioned above and give them your time and money!
What you’ll gain:
Brain Gym techniques to keep you present & embodied
If you’re new to Brain Gym, it’s a form of Educational Kinesiology that uses intentional movements to reduce stress in the body and reconnect areas of the brain. Founded by educators and authors, Paul and Gail Dennison, Brain Gym integrates wisdom from Psychology, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu (Japanese Acupressure), Traditional Chinese Medicine, Developmental Optometry, and more.
All the fun details of My reckoning with the harm in the wellness world
Spoiler alert: I discovered lots of white supremacy in the white wellness world! You’ll hear how I separated myself from some wellness businesses and how I’m attempting to find right relationship with others.
A few of my favorite insights & next steps
Resmaa Menakem’s book, My Grandmother’s Hands: The path to… was a gorgeous starter book for a wellness and somatic healing person such as myself. If you haven’t read it, go buy it now! I share a few small takeaways from this book. I have already mentioned the term Right Relationship from Dra. Rocia Rosales Meza. She also helped me connect to my own ancestral healing so I’ll be sharing more about that process and encouraging you to go on your own journey of discovery and reconnection. I’ll also share a few of my favorite book recommendations.
A chance to connect with other like-minded loving humans
Community matters on this journey.