The question of how to respond to the suffering inside and around is one that many are currently facing. The dismantling of systems and the resistance to this dismantling are colliding, creating suffering and opportunity. 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.

This workshop will explore how we can respond skillfully during unsettling and uncertain times. It will explore teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, Skill in Action and Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief. We will explore dharma—duty, and how we engage the practice of yoga to more deeply commit to our dharma. We will explore adharma—the cultural misalignment that causes suffering, and how to move back into alignment. We will explore how to connect with our grief and hearts as a pathway to heal. We will explore how to center relationship and accountability in our social change movements. Lastly, we will explore the importance of understanding our right role as we work towards creating conditions for liberation. The workshop will include meditation, asana, mantra, journaling and discussion.

In our time together, we’ll practice and engage in:

• Meditation

• Embodied practice and asana

• Creating culture: agreements and assumptions

• An explanation of how the Bhagavad Gita begins

• Principles from Skill in Action

• Dharma and Duty to intervene, disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression

• Meeting the Political and Cultural Moment with Spiritual Practice

• Collective Grief and Liberation

Wear comfortable clothing, have a journal and any other sacred objects nearby.