a beautiful Fall backdrop ushered in the weekend of Oppression In the Soma retreat at Garrison Institute on Friday, September 26th, 2014. it was an amazing retreat, with amazing participants, who dove deep in for self- + collective liberation.
over the next few weeks, we will share more on what we did + what we accomplished. for now, here are a few things folks shared with us about the retreat + their experiences.
on the option to fundraise their way to the retreat:
“the crowdsourcing piece of the Oppression in the Soma retreat was truly gratifying and humbling. The process of putting out the call and receiving was a transformative lesson in itself! And it really added to my whole retreat experience to enter with the support of my community. People who have very limited engagement with somatics, buddhism, or social justice are asking me about it with open ears and hearts. Powerful means to broaden the reach of the wisdom you offer beyond the immediate retreat participants! Thank you for providing an easy tool to raise funds. Without it, I would not have been able to join in the fun! Much gratitude and bless.”
– Danielle saint louis
on the personal transformation tip towards self-liberation:
“I feel like I literally have new eyes, choices I didn’t see as choices before, belief in myself, and a reclaiming of lies/frameworks that I no longer need. I feel very precise with my words. I’m sleeping alot and just want water and grapes (even tho they taste too sweet) and kale. I feel like I always am telling the truth. I see love in everything. I see human bodies with their spirits in them. I hear what their souls are saying through their bodies through the other stuff that comes out of their mouth. I feel decisive but not rushed. I feel light/ease and peace. And I feel, with a new word to use, spacious. I feel like making choices that make me better and the world better all at once because they are one decision.”
on self-love + gratitude:
“Signing up for this training itself is an act of self-love. No matter where you are in your personal transformation, healing and commitment to social justice – the ‘Oppression in the Soma’ training is essential to getting started and continuing”
-sethu nair
the right place, at the right time for this life changing experience:
“Attending the Oppression in the Soma retreat with Rusia Mohiuddin and angel Kyodo williams was a truly life changing experience for me. When I entered the retreat I was skeptical, but I opened my mind and heart and put my trust into the facilitators who made me feel very comfortable with them both right away. I came to the retreat exhausted, burnt out, and just not sure what I needed to do to start a process of healing that had been a long time coming for me. By the time the retreat was over I felt like I had learned so much about myself and how oppression becomes locked in the soma that I was finally ready to begin working through and processing both past and recent traumas and start truly start to heal. I will begin one on one consultations with Rusia soon to continue the work that I have started. I have already begun to tell all of my friends about what a transformative experience I have had and I especially recommend this retreat to anyone whose identity is the target of multiple intersecting systems of oppression and who is engaged in various resistance movements and struggles for collective liberation.”
-kat young-stevens
-
- OIS: Group Photo
-
- Taleigh
-
- Ian shooting
-
- Leadership
-
- angel
-
- leadership
-
- breakout
-
- OIS: Group Photo 2
