did you get your sit on today?
we have officially launched #30DaysUP with our first day of UP’s 30-day meditation challenge!
here’s my first share:
the sweetness of a sit made sweeter by those joining me across the country.
so simple, the rise + fall of the belly, with each magnificent breath.
i am fearless radical love. in glory. in splendor.
working on the subtle clenching of the jaw + learning to release.
day 1. so dope.
Photo: “unfurl” by Rusia N. Mohiuddin
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2015 is here and we all have aspirations for starting our year in alignment with what matters to us.
So just in time of for the New Year, we want to let you know about 27 Days of Change. This 27-day online change
program was designed by Zen priest, master trainer, yoga teacher and author-activist, angel Kyodo williams.
After 5 years of successfully inspiring change for near and extended community, the program has gone public for the first time and we are sharing it with you here. It can help you dig into areas you would like to bring some change to in your life…from wherever you are. The idea is simple:
· a clear beginning and end time
· structured, time-tested areas of attention
· flexible ways to self-design
· a personal agreement for accountability
· a built-in community for support and reflection
· group and personal coaching for feedback
It’s an accessible program that pretty much anyone can benefit from, but it was specifically designed for people like you. Self-described or aspiring:
· change agents
· activists
· organizers
· meditators
· yoga practitioners
· leaders-in-waiting
Simple and powerful, the program runs from January 6-February 1. Deadline for participant registration has been extended to January 2nd. Right now, you can download a free copy of a short essay on Five Ways to Lead With Love, a perfect reflection for the New Year.
And as a special gift of motivation, you can get on board to this powerful program at a discount for the basic and intermediate levels by going using this link to register.
Let’s bring to our beings UP’s belief that changing you IS changing the world!
Now get your change on and go register!
I had the honor of being coached by Rusia for 6 months. For 10 years, I have dedicated every aspect of my life to the immigrant rights movement and to efforts focused on educational equity and youth leadership development in Lexington, KY. While my passion drives me, there have been many times that I have felt lost in the work and consumed in the many needs. I would wrestle with guilt when I physically could not give anymore, and I would feel a deep sense of restlessness that I, in my leadership, was not enough. I struggled to find balance, prioritize efforts, and respect my own humanity.
Rusia challenged me from our very first session to integrate two new practices into my day – meditation and journaling – as well as to shift my mentality on movement in order to embrace the vision I had for my leadership. The one outlet I have always practiced was movement: working out, dancing, yoga, gymnastics, sports. But more as an effort to stay healthy, not as an means through which I could cultivate my creative, authentic and radically hopeful leadership. By integrating mediation and journaling and embracing movement as a conduit of connecting my mind and body, I experienced and continue to experience a tremendous amount of healing, appreciation, and love for myself, the work I *get* to to do, and those with whom I lead.
I am a commitment to empowering those directly impacted– the youth and their families– for the sake of an inclusive and just community. I forgive myself when I don’t get it right; I seek understanding and keep an open mind when I need to be grounded. I am a commitment to creative leadership, to selfless listening, and to radical hope because my dream, my purpose is to help those that I meet become all they have been created to be.
Until my coaching with Rusia, I had not fully appreciated and embraced the creative, peace-building, and innocent manner of my leadership. I had not imagined and created a vision for my leadership, either. I even went as far as discounting major components of who I am to work within the system of education. Yet, she helped me find the words to articulate my presence; I can say unapologetically that, for this moment in my life, I am committed to working from within higher education to bare witness, to leverage resources and to create spaces for all who the system by nature and structure leaves out. Because this is exhausting and often times a mismatch of values and purpose, Rusia also guided me to ask those closest to me for the encouragement and affirmation I needed to keep going. I found peace and power in seeking this encouragement, and the vulnerability of doing so has deepened not only my leadership but also my friendships and collaborations.
Her coaching has helped me become a better mentor and supervisor. I cannot claim that I no longer struggle with taking on too much and losing myself in the work. My passion still gets the best of me. Yet, I have learned to identify the imbalances and conditioned tendencies that drain and degrade me. My awareness of the needs of others has increased; my concern to seek understanding has deepened; and I have begun to embrace my deep sense of empathy as a strength as opposed to an uncomfortable or embarrassing shortcoming. It takes strength to bare one’s soul and emotions- shared joy, shared tears, shared frustration, shared hurt, shared hope- this helps a community grow.
I have stepped into the mantra that I will fiercely defend spaces, resources and leadership roles for those directly impacted by the issues I passionately work to address. I am a commitment to empowering those directly impacted– the youth and their families– for the sake of an inclusive and just community. I forgive myself when I don’t get it right; I seek understanding and keep an open mind when I need to be grounded. I am a commitment to creative leadership, to selfless listening, and to radical hope because my dream, my purpose is to help those that I meet become all they have been created to be.
Rusia’s coaching helped me articulate this vision. I found my center– my sweet spot, my super powers. And while the struggles are many still and the injustices hurting and dehumanizing our communities seem to be overcoming and overwhelming, the movement, mediation and journaling I practice help remind me that I am connected to a loving, powerful people. Our connectedness is our existence, and even though I can’t fix it all, I have an important part to contribute that depends on my creativity, my humanity, and my passion to mold a rising generation of leaders.
Thank you, Rusia, for teaching me to breath, for teaching me to honor my humanity, for encouraging my creative, movement-based leadership and for empowering me to find the words to embrace and speak life to my commitments and my story.
are you ready to change your life in 60 days?
we’re ready to take things up a notch in this next round of #30DaysUP! Like, before, we want to challenge + support you to develop superpowers that increase your self-awareness, your awareness or others, + now, unlike before, it’s all about growing happiness from the seeds of our suffering.
other than serious superpowers (do I really need to go further…), here are the concrete offerings of this challenge:
the change process this challenge will catalyze is two-fold:
like most things, there are many layers to these main takeaways. Lucia Gomez-Jimenez wrote about these many layers after the first round of #30DaysUp.
nothing. we want it to be about choice not absolutes. 🙂
bare bones, we want you to chose to complete 30 consecutive days of meditation in 60 days. this means, you can start on day 1 of the challenge, do 7 days of meditation, perhaps miss a day or two, + still have time to start over at 1 + be able to complete 30 straight days of meditation before the challenge ends.
dope.
essentially, there is one thing you will want to do to successfully complete the challenge… meditate at least 5 minutes every day for 30 consecutive days.
pretty easy, huh?
you can also chose to the following things, as well, that will dramatically enhance + solidify your practice towards embodying your new superpowers:
that’s cool. email us directly at rusia@universalpartnership.org
FEBRUARY 27th-MARCH 1st, 2015
deepen your self-knowledge + unleash your true leadership potential
no matter who we are, + what we do, our leadership presence + style is deeply shaped by our environment + our contexts. Our soma, (so-mah: the body in its living wholeness) comprising of our biology, socio-economic status, histories, political environment, psychological + spiritual landscapes determine + influence who we are + how we show up in the world. It is by deeply understanding our soma + somatic shape that we can identify what holds us back + help us leap into + live through our true leadership potential.
the Oppression in the Soma Retreat uses a somatic lens to un-layer, unpack + reveal the many ways oppression limits our ability to align our leadership with the values + principles that drive our work. By awakening deep understanding, this training enables individuals to generate new pathways towards a wholesome + complete shape that can hold our true individual + collective leadership potential.
somatics is a methodology that combines the biological + social sciences to provide a framework for analysis + action. at its core, somatics posits interconnection + balance of mind, body, + mood.
the use of somatics in leadership, begins by examining unconscious practiced behaviors, established by our interactions with family, community, + society throughout our lives, that blocks us from taking empowered action on our own behalf + ultimately aligning our behavior with our values + principles. it continues by establishing physical, emotional, + mental practices that shake up + shed these binds.
this retreat is open to anyone interested in deepening self-knowledge + tapping into their full leadership potential. it is particularly useful for those who view + navigate in the world through a socio-political lens including; community organizers, advocates, activists, yoga practitioners, coaches, healers + more.
for a limited period of time, we are offering an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL for $647 per individual.
once this special expires, the regular tuition fee will be $689.
here’s what you will get…
February 27th – March 1st, 2015
Garrison Institute
14 Mary’s Way, Route 9D
Garrison,, NY 10524 (845) 424-4800
At Universal Partnership, we honor each individual’s commitment to personal transformation, + recognize that this work can be at once challenging + healing. Through this retreat, we at Universal Partnership do our best to ensure a comfortable, safe + spacious environment through which each individual can learn, challenge + take care of themselves at their own pace. Join us!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Sethu, out fabulous retreat coordinator, at sethu@universalpartnership.org
Rusia N. Mohiuddin, the Principle of Universal Partnership, is a leadership trainer & certified somatic coach, who pioneered the integration of somatics into an organizing framework. Her current mission, through Universal Partnership, has been developing a holistic model for social justice change work that places in its center the necessary transformation of social change agents. Rusia brings a unique style to creating pathways for individuals to bring their best selves forward when enacting social change in their organizations & communities. Learn more about Rusia + UP…
Called “the most vocal and most intriguing African-American Buddhist in America,” by Library Journal, Rev. angel Kyodo williams Sensei, is an author, maverick spiritual teacher and master trainer and founder of Center for Transformative Change. She has been bridging the worlds of personal transformation and justice since the publication of her critically-acclaimed book, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace. Her book was hailed as “an act of love” by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker and “a classic” by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. Ordained as a Zen priest, she recently became the second black woman recognized as a Zen teacher.
angel is an early shaper and leading voice for Transformative Social Change, and coined the name for the field. She has developed comprehensive systems for illuminating both practical personal change and the profoundly liberating potential of mindfulness, yoga, and somatic practices coupled with wisdom teachings. Both fierce and grounded, angel is known for her unflinching willingness to sit with and speak uncomfortable truths with love. She notes, “Love and justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.” Whether in writing, teaching or speaking, her voice is unique. Learn more about angel…
Sethu Nair is a synergist who combines her experiences and knack in communications, relationship building + understanding conflict in her work as Communications Strategist, Mediator + Writer.
we’re getting ready to be at it again… transforming leadership from the inside out is what #30DaysUP is all about.
our first round was a roaring success with 56 leaders across the country, meditating for 5 minutes EVERY SINGLE DAY.
so sweet!
this second round, we’re taking it up a notch… deepening our leadership by creating sincere + authentic happiness in our lives through meditation.
say what, willis?
yeah, you heard me right. mediation, happiness, leadership, humanity, + YOU!
stayed tuned by dropping a comment here on this post or email rusia@universalpartnership.org
it’s about to go down… start the new year off right + set yourself up for leadership success.
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