Both this pandemic and this election are challenging us globally to respond differently to our own and others’ fear, anger, and uncertainty. As the U.S. has just gone through an election which has revealed how divided the American people are, our stress level has been raised even further. The lack of a smooth transition between presidential administrations is also anxiety-producing for many of us. We have lots of work ahead of us to repair this division and stay centered when communicating with those where we disagree.
When we are reactive it is difficult to be compassionate and inclusive both in person and online. Instead we can react with our stress response by fighting, fleeing or freezing.
Knowing how to shift our reactive, defensive, fearful response to a more skillful centered state can be helpful. Knowing how to communicate with civility and mutual respect is needed now more than ever.
It is a good time to practice Heart Resonance with Compassion towards ourselves and others, and to keep our Alignment between Earth and Sky no matter what the challenge.
When we access Compassion what do we notice? That is the experience that we cultivate through the body in shifting to “Center” from “Personality” in Leadership Embodiment (LE) created by Wendy Palmer.
In this 5 hour online class, we share tools from Aikido and Mindfulness from LE that help us to cultivate that felt sense of Heart Resonance and Compassion when we are often unable to touch one another physically and we are under stress.
We will simulate low grade stress situations to flush up our own response under pressure. Then we will practice some tools from LE. We will bring up our own examples in order to apply these LE tools to the real life situations we are grappling with.
As we practice with various Centering tools, we will use our imagination to simulate being under pressure, change our physiology, our presence, and the direction of our conversations from opposition to inclusion. For example, we will notice when we are attached to persuading someone rather than deeply listening to their point of view which may not be ours.
Through these practices, we unify 3 centers: Head, Heart, and Core while cultivating Wisdom, Compassion, and Resilience. This way of connecting cultivates deeper listening, more inclusion, and the capacity to speak up without being aggressive. We can practice these tools in moments of disconnection or stress to have more choice and think and act more skillfully.
Through simulation exercises we will take away:
- the ability to identify our signature stress pattern or how our system reacts under pressure
- the ability to shift through our body from our reactive state to a responsive skillful state -from “Personality” to “Center”
- ways to re-engage clarity and compassion when faced with conflict or opposition or “Difficult Conversations”
- practices to synchronize the physical and energetic system with what is being said verbally
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Saturday, December 5th
Pacific Time (PST)
7:30 am – 9:30 am with a brief 10 minute mid 1st half session break
9:30 am – 10:15 am Longer Break
10:15 am – 12:30 pm with a brief 10 minute mid 2nd half session break
Eastern Time (EST)
10:30 am – 12:30 pm with a brief 10 minute mid 1st half session break
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm Longer Break
1:15 pm – 3:30 pm with a brief 10 minute mid 2nd half session break
Central European Time (CET)
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm with a brief 10 minute mid 1st half session break
6:30 pm – 7:15 pm Longer Break
7:15 pm – 9:30 pm with a brief 10 minute mid 2nd half session break
FEE: $55
Dr. Olivia Cheever is a certified Leadership Coach, consultant, trainer and Feldenkrais Method® somatic educator committed to joining with others to facilitate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She has worked with multicultural populations during her teaching/coaching career at Lesley University and Longy School of Music of Bard College and has been engaged in Lesley University’s Courageous Conversations around race, gender, and privilege. Her cross-cultural doctoral research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education looked at the ethical and empathic education of Indigenous healers and psychiatrists. With her interdisciplinary background as a Harvard trained therapist, somatic practitioner, and coach working with trauma and stress management, she provides a safe environment for people to experience their embodied presence in interaction with others with ease, alignment, inclusion and confidence in work and home environments. She works one on one and with groups on line and in person in her teaching/training/coaching practice based in Cambridge and Needham, MA and Bristol, VT.
Elizabeth Valentine is a certified Leadership Coach, consultant, trainer, and a Somatic Practitioner and educator committed to engaging with others to bring the practices of embodiment facilitating Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity. Her Anthropology studies at Boston University instilled a cross-cultural perspective which led her to create her Holistic Wellness practice in France, to a diverse population which included immigrant women presenting health, trauma-based issues and inequitable power relationships. Elizabeth’s diverse experience also includes leading embodiment programs at The Kroc Center of Boston, And Still We Rise Productions, various Massachusetts Public School settings, the Restorative Justice Community and Unitarian Universalist programs in the North East. She works both virtually with organizations and one on one with her coaching and teaching in her private practice in West Concord MA.