Infusing Justice Into Your Life, Teaching, and Practice
As yoga teachers or students studying to hold space for others and teach the sacred practice of yoga, we have a responsibility to understand how to bring the larger cultural context into our teaching and practice. Many are wondering how to respond to the collective trauma caused by Covid-19, white supremacy and racism, and all forms of superiority and oppression. Many are wondering how to make space for their grief and liberation amid social isolation and distancing. Dominant culture wants us to continue to disassociate from ourselves and others, divide and conquer, maintain the status quo, and turn away from the heartbreak we may be feeling at this time. While we have questions about how to respond and be in this moment, I believe that we must respond with steadfastness and courageous hearts to the urgent concerns of this time. Spiritual practice invites us to lean into discomfort and truth, move through and with our emotions and grief, better understand the nature and causes of suffering, and transform in service of the collective good. Spiritual practice including meditation and yoga, allow us to work with sensation, toxic thought patterns, grief, cultural conditioning, overwhelm, and anxiety, through mindfulness and thoughtful care.
Skill in Action is a workshop designed to explore systems of power and oppression, the intersection of social justice and yoga, external and internalized patterns of oppression, power and privilege, and how we can respond to the current cultural and political challenges through practices of self-study, movement, pranayama, contemplation, and collective action. Through these teachings you will learn more about both how to create more inclusive spaces for healing and teaching as well as how to infuse your teachings with content centered on social justice. Throughout our time together we will practice asana (postures), meditation, mindfulness, pranayama (breathing), holding space together, and mantra work to sharpen our goals and visions for our work to change the world.
Some of what will be explored:
Meditation
Embodied practice and asana
Creating culture: Agreements and assumptions
Social location
Privilege, Power and Oppression
Racism, Internalizations and intersectionality
Cultural Trauma and Collective Grief
Spiritual Bypassing and Cultural Appropriation
Dharma and Duty to intervene, disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression
Meeting the Political and Cultural Moment with Spiritual Practice
Infusing Your Teaching with Social Justice Principles
Wear comfortable clothing, have a journal and any other sacred objects nearby.
For both accessibility and support, this workshop is being offered at 3 different investment tiers.
Contribute: $75
Support: $100
Sustain: $125
About the Facilitators
Shakira Be
Shakira (she/her) was born in the mountains of Colorado, but her roots run wide in the South. For her, North Carolina is home, a place where she weaves ancestral teachings with the rhythms of nature.
With a decade of experience as a certified yoga teacher and more than 18,000 hours of hands-on experience as a licensed massage and bodywork therapist, she brings a deep understanding of the body’s wisdom to her work. She guides introverts, deep thinkers, and mindful entrepreneurs through life’s transitions with a movement-based approach to emotional intelligence and connection.
She is committed to fostering soul-nourishing, introvert-friendly spaces, partnering with community organizations to provide quiet, meaningful gatherings where depth is valued and presence is enough. You can learn more about her at www.rhythmicbloom.com.
Raudhah Rahman
Raudhah (dia/she/her) is Southeast Asian person with Bugis, Java, Orange Laut, Malay and Thai lineage. I am a web designer who unpacks branding through an anti-oppression lens. My work and practice is primarily informed through the Taoist philosophy of Yin and Yang as well as the South Asian lineage of Yoga.
Raudhah has spent several years in the research of Pranayama witnessing Science catching up to the already known benefits of breath regulation on our nervous system. In 2015, Raudhah graduated from Corepower Yoga’s 200hr Teacher Training program and completed her 300hr Teacher Training Program with Adam Whiting Yoga. Since then, Raudhah has taken several trainings and been mentored by Michelle Johnson as a Skill in Action facilitator.
Raudhah is currently based in Charlotte, NC on Catawba, Sugeree and Waxhaw land. She also spends a couple of months a year with her family in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore.