Belonging: Embodied Practices for Living Social Change
Off the Mat Conversation Summary
September 30, 2020
This past week we gathered for the first ‘off the mat’ discussion at the Yoga Loft, “Let’s talk about belonging: Embodied practices for living social change,” led by yoga loft instructors Rachael Duda Maitland and Gurdeep Kaur Bhogal. Over the last months, Gurdeep and Rachael have been on what they have called an "eye and heart-opening journey of exploration as to how we could compassionately serve this moment in our collective experience." They rooted their journey together around the theme of "Belonging," describing how they researched this topic with care and engaged in self-examination as they processed how they each fit into the interior of Self, and how they fit into the exteriors of systems and structures that we are challenging to change in these times that call for human care and concern. The discussion was a weaving of psychological, spiritual, social and restorative justice perspective, with experiential dialoguing and reflection of the theme of Belonging.
The evening included embodied practices and meditations and group reflections. Gurdeep and Rachael referenced important work by authors, psychologists, and social change agents, and merged psycho-spiritual perspective to serve a living experience of this body of work. The embodied practices support us in using the energy of the body to connect to the wisdom of awareness, and to really begin to understand what John Powell, a civil rights and racial equity expert and director of the UC Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute, means when he says “seeing with the heart.” There is also accountability in these practices, as you are learning to be with a full spectrum of experience in each moment through dyadic interaction with your own body, with your unconscious and conscious patterns that impact thoughts and actions, and with other beings in interactions that influence our social system and societal structures. We are so grateful for the participation in this discussion and hopeful for the evolution of this work as we strive to co-create unifying pathways for inclusion.
Gurdeep and Rachael referenced the following resources in their discussion:
https://toko-pa.com/belonging-the-book-by-toko-pa/
https://belonging.berkeley.edu/johnpowell
https://wagingnonviolence.org/metta/podcast/building-bridges-otherness-belonging-john-a-powell/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geE9MNLllos
https://www.ottoscharmer.com/sites/default/files/TU2_Chapter11.pdf
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/embodied-mind
https://anodeajudith.com/anodea-judiths-chakra-yoga/
Post written by
Gurdeep Bhogal, Intuitive Medium, Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher
Rachael Duda, Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Yoga Teacher