Yesterday I was on a panel for a conference on “The Politics of the Mindful Revolution” on Zoom with a really powerful group of teachers, scholars, and practitioners talking about the politics of mindfulness practice in this current moment. It was a beautiful and compassionate conversation about the power of embodiment and mindfulness for helping us remain in connection and to think about what embodied, sensate and mindful political agency could mean in these times. About 45 minutes into our panel, our subtle discussion was violently interrupted by a Zoom bomb, who in a matter of 30 seconds, dropped a load of racist hate speech and symbolism onto our screens. The organizers had to reassemble and create a new link, and we reconvened about 20 minutes later, many of us in shock over what had just happened.
Thankfully, there was so much resource in the room that the group was able to repair and create solidarity amidst this horrible episode. It was a group full of practitioners, many of us who had a deep mindfulness practice. And I understood in that moment truly why it is so important for our world right now to cultivate mindful embodiment, to create relationship with our sensations, emotions, and embodied processes. We are all so vulnerable right now in this time of social distancing, some more than others because of race, gender, economic position, and the responsibilities each of us carries during this crisis. As we hold open to have conversations on Zoom, I can feel that many of us have a desire and need to connect now more deeply than ever. And when that need is not met, whether due to the lack of emotional availability of someone in our lives, due to a shock-inducing Zoom bomb, or to our own imprinting, the feeling can be devastating and destabilizing.
Somatic work is about using these moments of rupture, both collective and personal, to find our way back to the inherent health of our being and of our psyche. This is what resiliency truly means. And it is why feeling our sensations at the deepest of levels is so important now. We need to pay into the bank of mindful embodiment so that when moments of rupture and violence emerge, we are able to meet the moment with as much resiliency as possible.
I’m continuing to offer Creativity as Survival this Sunday, my free somatic workshop for this Covid time. The final sessions will be Sunday, May 24, and Sunday, May 31, so don’t miss the opportunity to participate in these last two free offerings. Because I’m concerned about Zoom bombing now, I’m creating a private link. Please email me or direct message me on instagram by Sunday morning to receive the link. We’ll do an embodied meditation, fluid, biodynamic movement, and this time some powerful embodied writing practices.
I also have some new and exciting projects in the works. One of them is a somatic program for professors and college students to navigate the transition to online with embodied resources and practices for nervous system regulation. If you are interested in learning more about bringing the program to your institution or taking it yourself, please send me an email for more information.
