Mindful Changemakers is a 6-week somatic social justice program that will help you transform from ally to accomplice. This program will empower you with the tools and resources to start taking compassionate action for a more equitable world.
Grounded in community care and embodied mindfulness practices, Mindful Changemakers hopes to be a catalyst for you to awaken your inner social justice warrior. The program takes an intersectional, trauma-informed approach to better understand the oppressive systems we live in — and how they live in our bodies and consciousness.
You’ll walk away with the knowledge and insight on how to change the world with your unique super power.
What to Expect
Live call dates: 10/3, 10/10,10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7 (Tuesdays) at 8P-9:30P ET/5-6:30P ET
Investment: $600 / person
Full and partial scholarships are available. It’s vital to us to make this program as financially accessible as possible, and we are committed to not turning anyone away if finances are an obstacle for participation. Request one here.
When you sign up for the program, you’ll receive 12 hours of recorded video lessons on unpacking race, dismantling gender, embracing sexuality and honoring the body. All live calls will be recorded and uploaded for viewing and reference into the library afterwards. And you will be able to connect with others live and through a community platform to discuss the course, materials and what’s come up for you in the program.
Mindful Changemakers can either be taken live with a weekly interactive study group or independently at your own pace. We invite you to choose whichever form is best to support you and your learning journey.
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Guided Mindfulness Practice: Unpacking Race with Kim
Recording of Live Call
Kelley Nicole Palmer is a Black, Queer creative and community advocate. Kelley uses the practices and philosophy of yoga to guide her work in creating equitable and sustainable access to wellness for Black people. Along with teaching movement, meditation, and contemplative practices, Kelley leads retreats, hosts workshops, and contributes to multiple teacher training programs. Kelley is a writer and collage artist focusing that work on Black liberation, wholeness, and healing. Kelley serves as a founding member of The Sanctuary In The City, a Charlotte-based non-profit that has focused on equitable healing spaces for Black people all over the world. Kelley serves as the Communications Manager for NCBLOC, an NC formation composed of Black-led organizations, businesses, and community leaders who are dedicated to implementing community-based strategies focused on shifting the material conditions for Black communities in North Carolina. Currently, Kelley is also working inside of a restorative land project called Unshackled Alchemy.
Guest Speakers: Steven Wakabayashi (he/him) and Joyful Liberation Collective’s Board Member Liz Getman (she/her)
On Demand videos for foundational support:
Overview
Terminology
Gender vs. Sexuality
Sexual Expression and Liberation
Sexual Violence and Harmful Narratives
Action Items: Allyship + Self-Care
Guided Mindfulness Practice: Embracing Sexuality with Felipe
Recording of Live Call
Steven Wakabayashi (he/him) is a second-generation Japanese-Taiwanese-American, creating equitable spaces digitally and in New York City. He has studied mindfulness and meditation in six countries, sitting in silence for months with teachers such as Dalai Lama at Tushita and Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village. He’s the founder of Yellow Glitter, a podcast and support group centering queer Asian perspectives, founder of QTBIPOC Design, an organization empowering LGBTQ+ designers of color with education, mentorship, and networking opportunities, and founder of Stranger Creative, creating equitable human-centered digital experiences for clients.
Liz Getman, she/her, is a queer digital creator and community builder with 15+ years in marketing, social media strategy, and entrepreneurship. As Founder and Director of Inspiration at Rise Collective, Liz does her best to use her privilege and varying identities to contribute to the collective good both online and off. Passionate about mentoring entrepreneurs, burgeoning activists, and justice-forward marketers, Liz enjoys teaching others about online community building and inclusive language, particularly for wellness and marketing professionals. Her work has been featured in Yoga Journal and various other online and printed publications. In her free time, Liz enjoys COVID-safe travel, spending time in nature, yoga and meditation, and radical rest.
Guided Mindfulness Practice: Honoring the Body with Linda
Guided Mindfulness Practice: 61-Point Meditation with Tisha
Recording of Live Call
Evelyn Maria Dia, is a Holistic Health and Wellness Practitioner, NASM Fitness Trainer, Actress, Speaker, and Mentor. Evelyn, former Master Trainer at ShaktiBarre, a barre-yoga studio and women’s empowerment hub located in Harlem and Williamsburg is best known for helping people redefine their relationship with fitness so they experience healthier, happier lives. As a former Division 1 Track & Field collegiate athlete, Evelyn encountered a struggle that led to full blown bulimia. The eating disorder ended her Track & Field career and put her on track to heal and redefine her relationship with faith, food and fitness. Since then, Evelyn has grown to serve people through teaching Mindful Movement as a vehicle to self discover and redefine their true power and potential. Read more of her story here.
Evelyn Maria Dia has been featured with WholyDose (Virtual Expert Series), featured trainer for THE GETLIFETV, speaker for NYCWIC, and has led Group Movement workshops for brands CISCO, THE CHURCH, and HOMEMAKERS INC.
Guided Mindfulness Practice: Radical Self-Acceptance with Felipe
Guided Mindfulness Practice: Taking Action with Sunaina
Recording of Live Call
Race
Sexuality
Gender
Body
Race
Sexuality
Gender
Body
Who is this Program For?
This program is for you, if you:
Are not afraid to be a changemaker;
Feel tired, frustrated and helpless with the world;
Desperately want things to be different but feel constantly powerless;
Have a bookshelf full of how to be an anti-racist and an ally but are unsure of what to do;
Feel alone in the world because of the identities you hold;
Want to heal from the systemic oppression that lives in your body and consciousness;
Then this program is for you.
If you’re at the beginning of your journey, we recommend you start with the self-study program first to familiarize yourself with the basics of social justice by learning the terms, history and nuances that come with it. You can sign up for that program here.
Values + Takeaways
Deepen the connection with your body, consciousness and emotions
Awaken your inner social justice warrior
Walk away with knowledge and insight on how to change the world with your unique super power
A practice space to build confidence on speaking about social justice topics
Find like-minded folks who value working towards a more equitable world
Be supported and uplifted by community care
Investment: $600/person
Scholarships / Financial Support
If you are in need of a scholarship, please request one below in the form. Feel free to email support@joyful-liberation.org if you have any questions.
Weekly sessions will all be virtual and hosted via Zoom. The Zoom link will be shared prior to the start of the program. If you have to miss any of the sessions then the video and audio recording will be made available.
Our approach is to guide participants through exploring systems of oppression and understanding how we are socialized within them. We ask participants to socially locate themselves to discover their proximity to power, privilege and begin to notice how these systems impact their lives. We’ll then further break down and explore Joyful Liberation Collective’s four pillars (race, gender, sexuality, body) so that participants can explore their relationship with each pillar, the intersectionalities, understand dominant culture’s effects and our role based on our unique social location, dominant culture narratives, biases, and notice how this impacts their relationships with themselves, others, how it affects their existence in the world, and learn how to take action to create change for a diverse, inclusive, and equitable world. We incorporate mindfulness techniques and experiences through the program to help participants process, reflect, and regulate their nervous system.
We recommend the LIVE COHORT for someone who is somewhat familiar with social justice terms but wants to build their confidence and community in this space. If you are at the beginnings of your journey and are not familiar with terminology or have questions like “What is ableism” “When should I use pronouns” or are surprised that racism is embedded in our American legal system, we recommend you start with the Self-Study program and join us again for our LIVE COHORT next year. Sign up for the Self-Study Program here.
It’s both! We believe in an interconnected world, meaning that our personal actions and thoughts and the way we show up affects all of us. So that means that we cannot create a more equitable world if we are not examining our role in it — the way we think, speak, act and show up every day. So Mindful Changemakers dives deep into the belief systems we have internalized and examines if they are serving you and our collective. Mindful Changemakers is an immersive, hands-on and expansive version of our membership offering.
Increased self-awareness, knowing how to take mindful action that is firmly rooted in compassion and not intended to harm others, and an understanding your intersectionality and how biases show up in yourself and the world around you.
STAY CONNECTED
Make Joyful Liberation Collective yours. Be a part in shaping our community and how we bring actionable mindfulness into the world. Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter that will keep bring you the tools and resources you need to create a better world for all of us — right into your inbox.
DONATE
At Joyful Liberation Collective, we teach you how to take your practice and turn it into actionable mindfulness. Your financial contribution is not just a donation. It supports our community. It supports your practice. And it supports the world around us. Please consider making a contribution and adding us to any corporate giving program. Our EIN number is 87-1472371. All donations are tax-deductible.
