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January 🔹 Disrupting Systems of Oppression
Book Selection: America’s Racial Karma. Dr. Larry Ward
Jan 11th: Tea & Chat on Zoom (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Jan 19th: Listening Session w/ Dr. Larry Ward 3pm – 4:30pm
Jan 26th: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30pm – 8pm
February & March 🔹 Hope as a Discipline
Book Selection: Active Hope — How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy. Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone
Feb 8th: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Feb 22nd: Film Screening “Mulberry Tree” 3pm – 4pm Click Here for Film Preview
Feb 23rd: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30pm – 8pm
March 8th: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
March 16th: Listening Session TBD 2:30pm – 4pm
March 23rd: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30pm – 8pm
April & May 🔹 Resilience & Refuge
Book Selection: We Were Made For These Times—10 Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption. Kaira Jewel Lingo
— and additional optional reading —
Healing Our Way Home—Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy & Liberation. Valerie Brown, Marisela Gomez, and Kaira Jewel Lingo
April 13th Mon: Listening Session w/ Kaira Jewel Lingo 3pm – 4:30pm
April 19th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
May 17th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
June 1st Mon: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30 – 8pm
June & July 🔹 Right View and Mindful Action
Book Selection: Emergent Strategy—Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. Adrienne Maree Brown
June 14th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
June 29th Mon: Listening Session 2:30pm – 4pm
July 12th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
July 27th Mon: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30 – 8pm
August & September 🔹 Community-Building
The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. john a. powell
— and —
Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves & The World. john a. powell
Aug 10th Mon: Listening Session w/ Fr. Gregory Boyle 3pm – 4:30pm
Aug 23rd Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Sept 13th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Sept 28th Mon: Resource & Refuge (centering practice + reflections) 6:30 – 8pm
October & November 🔹 (R)evolution-Building
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century. Grace Lee Boggs
Oct 18th Sun: Listening Session + Tea & Chat (book discussion) 3pm – 4:30pm
Nov 2nd Mon: Listening Session TBD 3pm – 4:30
Nov 15th Sun: Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Nov 30th Mon: Resource & Refuge (centering + reflections) 6:30pm – 8pm
December & January 🔹 (R)evolution-Building Part Deux
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care. Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
Dec 13 Tea & Chat (book discussion) 4pm – 5pm
Liberatory activism is not carrying a sign at a rally, although it can include that. Yoga is not stretching, although stretching can be part of the praxis of yoga. In Yoga for Social Change, the only thing we stretch is our hearts and minds.
Yoga is not a magic pill; it is a daily practice that slowly accumulates inner transformation over the course of a lifetime. Likewise, liberatory activism has no quick fixes, but when people metabolize it as a lifestyle, it’s collective benefits have the power to transform the course of the world over a lifetime and over many lifetimes.
Social Change Work & Yoga are in many ways synonymous and both require a three-fold practice. Yoga for Social Change seeks to embody this three-fold practice inspired by 19th century Korean Zen Master and social-spiritual activist Master Sotaesan:
Cultivating the Spirit
Spiritual, psychological & physical resourcing.
Community rituals & mind-body practices that provide:
♾️ structured rest, respite, and joy towards renewal
♾️ processing and metabolizing strong emotions like grief, rage, fear & despair
♾️ structured silence & contemplative practice that fosters: deep listening, equanimity, and clear-seeing 🔹 compassion, humility, and empathy 🔹 healing of personal & generational trauma 🔹 uprooting internalized oppression & systems of domination
Cultivating Wisdom
Group Study, Learning, and Visioning.
Social education & history, movement & organizing strategy, spiritual principles & ethics. Letting go of hand-wringing and asking “what do we do???” by making a practice of reading, listening & learning from:
♾️ ancestors & elders of diverse social change movements of the past & present
♾️ ancestors & elders of diverse spiritual traditions of the past & present
♾️ personal stories & voices from marginalized groups and nations (they’ve been at this their entire lives, often for generations & they teach us about our political, psychological & spiritual blind spots)
Mindful Choice in Action:
Personal & Community Ethical Action. Any action that is within your current capacity is the right action and can include:
♾️ daily embodiment and role modeling of culturally transformative ethics & lifestyle
♾️ educating & having conversations with friends, family & co-workers
♾️ building mutual aid networks
♾️ vetting & holding representatives accountable
♾️ rallies, protests, marches, sit-ins & acts of civil disobedience
♾️ supporting boycotts & strikes; supporting local & ethical businesses; donating to causes & mutual aid fundraisers
♾️ writing & art-making
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