As space holders and facilitators, it is important for us to respond to the current cultural and political context as we hold space for transformation, healing, consciousness-raising, and development of skills meant to support us as we work across lines of difference. This time in our history is presenting many challenges as policies are being put in place to further police bodies of culture, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, and anyone who embodies identities that are marginalized and targeted by dominant culture. The Meet the Moment Facilitation Training will support you in learning more about how to build a container amidst all that is happening in the world and as the context keeps shifting, explore somatic practices that can be used prior to, during, and after facilitation, and offer skills to employ as you meet the moment with participants in your facilitations.
We will meet via Zoom each day. Sessions will be recorded for those who aren’t available to attend each live gathering. Because we are fostering a strong community of practice, we expect participants to make every effort to be present for and contribute to the live group dynamics.
This training will be led by Michelle Johnson, Stephanie Ghoston Paul, Tristan Katz, Rebby Kern, and May Nicholson. Each one of the facilitators is in constant inquiry about how to meet the moment from their various social locations and lived experiences. To learn more about each of them, read below.
Over the course of our time together, we’ll explore:
Facilitation practices and skill-building to feel into what is present in space
Discussions about goals, agendas, and when to shift
Holding space during moments of collective trauma
Somatic awareness for group attunement
and more
Registration is available according to three tiered pricing and all sessions will be live and recorded.
Zoom links will be sent via email by Wednesday, June 21st if not earlier.
Tuition:
Community (supported by your peers): $200
Sustain (covers your enrollment): $275
Support (covers your enrollment & supports your peers): $350
Registration is now closed.
ABOUT OUR FACILITATORS
Michelle C. Johnson (she/her) is an author, yoga teacher, social justice activist, licensed clinical social worker and Dismantling Racism trainer. She approaches her life and work from a place of empowerment, embodiment, and integration. She explores how privilege, power and oppression affects the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and energy body. Michelle has been leading Dismantling Racism work for over 20 years and has worked with large corporations, small non-profits, and community groups, including the ACLU-WA, Duke University, Google, This American Life, The Center for Equity and Inclusion, Mercedes, The Gates Foundation, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Church, Lululemon, and many others. Michelle teaches workshops focused on the intersection of justice and yoga, collective grief and collective healing nationwide. She was a Tedx speaker at Wake Forest University in 2019, and has been interviewed on several podcasts. Michelle published Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World in 2017; her new book Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief comes out in July 2021 and is available for presale now. Michelle leads courageously from the heart with compassion and a commitment to address the heartbreak dominant culture causes for many because of the harm it creates. She inspires change that allows people to stand in their humanity and wholeness in a world that fragments most of us. Whether in an anti-oppression training, yoga space, individual or group intuitive healing session, the heart, healing and wholeness are at the center of how she approaches all of my work in the world.
Stephanie Ghoston Paul (she/her) is an internationally recognized speaker, racial justice facilitator, organizational development consultant, life coach, and recovering lawyer. She helps people, communities, and companies get in alignment with and fully embody their purpose, in service of a planet where all human beings are free, whole, and enough. Stephanie’s unique approach skillfully and wholeheartedly combines her sharp legal mind, problem-solving skills, and love of people to powerfully serve clients and challenge existing exclusive systems and organizational structures. Her consulting practice supports organizations ready to transform their core identity to one that fully embeds anti-oppression and liberatory principles into their organizational culture. Through her individual life coaching work, she is dedicated to helping high-achieving leaders embrace their brilliance so that they can stop second-guessing their greatness and activate their potential. Stephanie walks alongside her clients as they discover ways to stop hiding, prioritize themselves, and start living on purpose. Stephanie also explores what it means to be a living ancestor through her latest community offering called Take Nothing When I Die. She enjoys cooking spicy dishes with her partner, playing recreational flag football, and finding new flavors of delicious tea.
Tristan Katz (they/he) is a writer, educator, digital strategist, and equity-inclusion facilitator. They offer training and consulting on gender equity, trans inclusion, queer competency, and justice-focused marketing practices. Tristan’s intention is to share this work with an anti-oppression and intersectional lens. He was named one of Yoga Journal’s 2021 Game Changers and awarded the Reclamation Ventures grant in Spring 2021 to expand his offerings and dedicate time to writing their first book. Tristan is proud to serve on the Board of Directors at Accessible Yoga—a non-profit working, through education and advocacy, to share the teachings and benefits of yoga with those who have been marginalized, and to identify and remove barriers to access, build strong networks, and advocate for an accessible, equitable yoga culture.
May Nicholson (they/them) is dedicated to helping liberate hearts and minds free of biases and beliefs that inevitably hold us back from our true, authentic selves. They particularly focus on issues related to their 2SLGBTQIA+ family. They do this through facilitating spaces that focus on 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and affirmation education with an intersectional lens as well as offering support sessions and groups for Queer, Trans, nonbinary, and questioning folks, all white remaining rooted in wellness. They believe that being well is inherent to our collective liberation and are always exploring and integrating where wellness and education intersect. Whether through their workshops, trainings, one on one sessions or other platforms that they have the honor of educating on, May is honored to guide wellness practitioners, movement professionals, businesses, entrepreneurs, and beyond into becoming a part of making this world a safer, better, more affirming place for Queer, Trans, gender nonconforming people everywhere.
Rebby Kern (they/them) is a wandering spirit shining light into the lives of others. Rebby’s personal mission is to operate from connection, seeking justice and empowering voices. Rebby generates space for connection, empowerment and self-discovery through their 10 years in LGBTQ activism drawing connections to the yoga world and uplifting experiences of marginalized identities. Their experience drives their passion to include diverse identities around race, gender identity, sexual orientation, body, ability and more. Rebby began their yoga practice in 2011 as a student, learning to find source within during their recovery journey. As a student, Rebby was curious about the ways trauma, recovery, yoga and social justice intersect together through experience and outreach. After moving to Charlotte, NC in 2013 to work for an LGBTQ non-profit, Rebby began practicing at Yoga One, a Baptiste affiliated studio, and developed a strong community of support. Rebby works full-time as a social justice warrior supporting LGBTQ youth across the state and region through education policy, youth programming, anti-racism work and leadership development. In 2018 an opportunity opened for Rebby to complete their first Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga One. After completing their training, they began assisting classes and soon arrived as a teacher in their first permanent class October 2018. Since then Rebby has been teaching in studios, yoga for queer youth, yoga with horses, head-start programming to introduce yoga to children and in many spaces in the city of Charlotte. In 2019 Rebby was selected as one of the first lululemon Ambassadors for the newest Charlotte store, Atherton Mill. As a lululemon Ambassador, Rebby is able to lead in power in the Charlotte community and beyond. Rebby is the first non-binary person of color to represent lululemon in the region and continues to uplift voices of LGBTQ and BIPOC people who often don’t find themselves represented within the lululemon brand. After completing their training, opportunities to lead social justice work within yoga spaces presented themselves and Rebby began working with Jasmine Hines and Amplify & Activate to teach yoga as a tool for self-care and social justice. This work stems from anti-racism work and challenges current practices and ethics present in yoga studios and fitness spaces. From that work stemmed Rebby’s Race, Gender & Bias workshops, facilitated for YTTs, studio staff and virtual workshops during COVID-19. To continue their education, Rebby explored Rocket Vinyasa under their teacher Jaimis Huff, completed a Rocket Vinyasa immersion weekend then their first 50 hour certification with David C. Kyle in 2019 and the final 50 hour with Jaimis Huff in 2020. In 2020 Rebby joined forces with SweatNET Charlotte to localize their work within yoga and fitness spaces and create a more equitable, accessible sweat experience for each person who seeks it. Rebby also completed Yoga 12-Step Recovery Training returning to the foundation of their own practice to explore an addiction recovery model that connects yoga, neuroscience, and the practical tools of 12-step programs.