Somatics is a practicable theory of change that can move us toward individual, community, and collective liberation.
Somatics is a field of relation involving the 5-senses, felt-sensations, emotions, thoughts, narratives, relationships with others, external conditions, actions & non actions, your historical timeline and our historical timeline.
My practice of somatics grounds within the lineage of sociopolitically Engaged Buddhism, Queer Dharma and Politicized Somatics.
To cultivate a felt sense of belonging
To connect with the body
To cultivate a presence with life’s difficulties & joys
To grapple with uncertainty, insecurity & shame
To cultivate a wise relationship with stress and discomfort
To cultivate sustainable awareness
To cope with mental or physical illness or difficulties
To cope with and transform harmful patterns
To increase agency in communications
To develop courage & grace
To cultivate lovingkindness & compassion
To widen access to empathy, joy & emotional wellBEing
For collective, community liberation
Also known as "Vipassana” or “mindfulness" meditation, Insight is the practice of cultivating non-judgmental and caring awareness of the here & now.
Meditation is a tool, technique and a skill to cultivate compassionate awareness and attention with ourselves and thus, our world.
While we cannot always control the life that unfolds around and through us, we can learn to attend to our direct experience in a skillful way that invites nurturance, increased access to agency, and a more resonant relationship with our body & world.
While there are some meditation practices that offer guided visualizations, Insight meditation is simply a practice in awareness + care. Sometimes we can no longer turn away from the sucky, painful stuff. Insight meditation provides a tool to tend and befriend, and YOU are always in charge of how and when this tool is utilized. I'm here to help you practice using the tool in a skillful and safe way that invites compassion & lovingkindness to ease suffering.
You do you boo! It is true that Insight or "Vipassana" is a traditional meditation practice of the Theravada Buddhism lineage which translates to "clear seeing." However I am trained in and coach secular Insight. At most we'll talk about nature, the four elements, and maybe stardust, and I'll definitely quote from the Buddha (because it's important not to plagiarize). My training lineage is also backed by the last 25 or so year of modern neuroscience (not that Indigenous practices need any "Western" backing, these practices are and will forever be pristine on their own). My certification is accredited from the "Awareness Training Institute” AND the “Greater Good Science Center," at the University of California Berkeley.