Race Equity Through Somatic Lens
Examples of workshops that I offer include:
Embodied Anti-Racism: Integrating Mind and Body in Racial Justice Work
— Invitation to explore how racism affects not just our thoughts but also our bodies, emotions and sensations, and how we can befriend somatic practices to support and deepen our anti-racism efforts.Understanding Whiteness: A Somatic Approach to Anti-Oppression
— A workshop focused on supporting white participants in noticing, understanding and addressing the impact of whiteness and structural advantage on our thoughts, emotions, and bodies.Mindful Conversations on Race: Nurturing Compassion Through Grounding and Self-Regulation
— Invitation to engage in conversations about race and racism with mindfulness and compassion, using body awareness and breath to stay grounded.
Re-imagining Leadership: Leading with Integrity, Awareness and Compassion
— A workshop particularly helpful for leaders, managers and anyone who leads or supports others. It offers a space to explore, with hearts, minds and bodies, the effects of oppression and trauma in the workplace, encouraging somatic awareness to foster and nurture workplaces where people feel they belong.Is there any other topic or issue that you’re interested in? I would love to discuss that! Please get in touch and schedule a 30min free exploratory conversation.
Let’s work together
Those who worked with me describe my approach as reflective, interactive, welcoming and non-judgmental, providing connecting and honest spaces to discuss complex issues with compassion, empathy, and sensitivity to increase capacities to speak out and act.
My workshops and 1-1 sessions can be tailored to different audiences, including community groups, schools, universities and industry, and can vary in length from a 90min to multi-day intensives. They blend intellectual exploration and embodied, practical learning.
Somatics
Somatics as a practice and a way of life has been at the heart of indigenous and ancient teachings for millennia, and has only recently been incorporated by and branded as ‘new’ by Western approaches.
When we engage in somatics-informed work, we need to remember and honour those who came before us, those whose experiences were silenced in the past, and we need to notice whose voices are present and whose absent in the current ‘boom’ on somatics.
Somatics is also a method and a theory of change. To lead a life or an organisation that is welcoming, curious about difference, and encourages a feeling of belonging, we first need to remember that we are at home in our own bodies. To be rooted in your body can truly be revolutionary, not just in how you feel about yourself, but in how you show up for the human and more-than-human world.
We need to feel at home in our bodies and notice our embodied but at times unconscious patterns of thinking and acting, often impacted by the systems of oppression we live in, such as racism, heteronormativity, ableism or sexism. Nurturing the capacities to slow down and feel grounded in our bodies helps us to engage in breaking the cycle which leads to othering and harm.
To read more about somatics please have a look at the FAQ.
I specialise in bespoke race equity and anti-racism workshops and 1-1 sessions that suit different needs and budgets. Work with me so that I can support you and your organisation with empathy, compassion and care to truly move forward, grounded and purposeful, in addressing racism.
My sessions invite a re-connection with felt sensations in the body, as a beautiful grounding and orienting tool to make space for mindful reflection, and choices that disrupt white supremacy and other systems of oppression. These practices encourage befriending our nervous systems to notice when, where, and how we might be thinking and acting out of deeply ingrained fight, flight and freeze responses, or responses coming from an unsettled, jumpy nervous system.
My approach combines sociology, race equity psychology, somatics-informed movement, and trauma-informed yoga. This unique blend is often missing in race equity work, which can limit its effectiveness. Racism is ingrained not just in society but also within our bodies. We can't overcome it by simply intellectualising or ignoring our emotions—we need to reconnect with the language of the body to open up spaces for connection between personal and social change.