Have you realized that there is something else operating in the background of your life -- controlling the state of your mind, mood and your ability to effect movement -- something that seems just beyond your reach? If you're not able to change your mind to show up the way you want when you want, maybe it's time to ask the critical question:
What in your body is holding you back?
If you're engaged in the work of changing a world that wants you to stick to business as usual, this question will matter to you more than most.
What would be possible if you had a window into the deeply held patterns that have been holding you back all your life?
No matter who we are, and what we do, our leadership presence & style is deeply shaped by two major things:
1. our environment
2. our contexts
Our soma, (so-mah: the body in its living wholeness) is comprised of many spheres of our existence, including:
- biology
- personal histories
- cultural background
- socio-economic status
- political environment
- psychological, and
- spiritual landscapes
All of which determine & influence how we show up in the world.
Focusing attention on those inner-meet-outer landscapes is what we mean by "somatics." You can see the landscape of yourself by looking in the mirror at how you walk, hold your shoulders, your jaw, your default facial expression, and the always buzzing world of your mind. It's all written right there but seeing alone is insufficient.
Only by deeply understanding our soma and our "somatic shape" can we can identify what holds us back. It's like a Rosetta Stone to decode the language of your personal operating system.
Like any learning of code, gaining access to that knowledge will help you break through areas in which you have felt persistently blocked so that you can live into your true leadership potential and be an agent of change from inside the systems that oppress the wholeness of who you are.
We know a little something about how to get you there.
introducing practicingJUSTICE
Know Your Shape, Shape Your Path
A RETREAT TO GET TO KNOW YOU
Did you know you were being shaped before you knew who you were? The practicingJUSTICE model applies the principals of somatics, grounded in Embodied Leadership, to un-layer, unpack & reveal the many ways various forms of oppression -- macro and acute -- has limited your ability to align your leadership with the values & principles that drive your work.
By awakening a deeper understanding of how you have been shaped, this training enables you to generate new pathways in your brain and body towards a more whole & complete shape that can direct your individual & collective leadership potential in service of liberation.
Old Habits, New Approach
KICK HABITS OF THE BODY THAT KEEP YOU STUCK IN LIFE
Trainings that focus solely on giving more information miss the point that habits stuck in the body, don't can't move by mind alone. Embodied Leadership is a methodology that combines the biological & social sciences to provide a framework for both analysis and action.
- We begin by examining unconscious practiced behaviors established by interactions with family, community, & society throughout our lives, that block you from taking empowered action on your own behalf & aligning your behavior with your values & principles.
- We continue by establishing physical, emotional, & mental practices that shake up & shed those well-worn habits so that you can vision and walk the path of your future, rather walking circles in your past.
- We wrap it all up by embedding it into your life with a roadmap forward and a super-stack of strategies for getting back on the path when you stray.
It may sound like a strange word, but at its core, somatics is simply about empowering alignment and balance of your mind, your body, your mood. When somatics is combined with a social systems lens, Embodied Leadership gives you access to the resources to be exactly who you choose to be and to walk the path you want in life.
be supported by the full practicingJUSTICE team
Rusia Mohiuddin
lead faciliator
Rusia N. Mohiuddin, based in New York, is a master trainer/facilitator & somatic coach who pioneered the integration of somatics into an organizing framework. Rusia brings a unique style to creating pathways for individuals to bring their best selves forward when enacting social change in their organizations & communities. Rusia has developed a model for community organizing, called Embodied Organizing, and a model for coaching, called Embodied Coaching. She uses both in her teacher-training program, Warriors for Embodied Liberation (WEL), students of which serve as apprentices for all practicing justice retreats.
Rev. angel Kyodo williams
lead faciliator
Rev. angel Kyodo williams is an early shaper and leading voice for the field of Transformative Social Change, and coined the name for the field. She has authored two critically-acclaimed books, and is a speaker, master trainer, coach, facilitator and skilled wisdom teacher that has developed comprehensive systems for illuminating both practical personal change and the profoundly liberating potential of mindfulness, yoga, and somatic practices coupled with wisdom teachings. Both fierce and grounded, angel is known for her unflinching willingness to sit with and speak uncomfortable truths with love.
WEL
apprentices
Individuals that have been hand-chosen to be in training for leading core aspects of Rev angel's Radical Space Technology will also be in service to the practicingJUSTICE cohort.
Who is practicingJUSTICE for?
practicingJUSTICE offers significant value to, and expands the potential of anyone invested in deepening their self-knowledge, and tapping into their full leadership potential.
BUT, if you're moving critical pieces of big work and you view & navigate the world through a socio-political lens, this retreat was especially designed for you.
How Can We Show You Transformation?
We Can't.
But Here's What You Get Access To:
Here's what people consistently report about what they take with them from Practicing Justice and you will have direct access to:
increased self-regulation to interrupt unwanted behavior before impact
simple 7-step process to center yourself in a resourceful state of Presence anytime you want and exactly when you need it heightened awareness of when you're not in a resourceful state so you can do something about it a proprietary method of storytelling developed by Rev. angel that is so powerful it can literally rewrite your experience of history relief from negative self-talk and unproductive mental looping a weird mental trick that will stop mind chatter in it's tracks when listening to others so you can be more present and engaged
insight into group dynamics that impede cohesion and strategies for greater synergy
insight into exactly where unconscious personal patterns may be tripping up your group dynamics at home, in movement spaces, and business
3-point system for strengthening practices in your life while keeping them from becoming stale
greater alignment with your stated values and a dynamic relationship to them
increased resilience and willingness to turn adversity into advantage
greater ease in your physical body overall improvement in mood, mental state on and ongoing basis connections to people equally committed to shifting from disconnect and despair to alignment and actionprecise road map for a measurable and realistic change plan you can effect within 6 months of retreataccountability measures for carrying out whatever change plan your develop from the training
you get to reconnect with what matters, breathe deeply, and laugh. a lot.
How Do I KNOW This Will "Work" For Me?
aka I've been down this road before and I'm not trying to
spend money and not get observable results
Yeah, we get it. So let us let you in on a not-so-secret secret about a lot of trainings going on out there.
Many Most trainings engage nothing but the space above our necks aka the head. As a result, we find ourselves repeating unwanted behaviors because we don't know why we do what we do and since we don't get at the source, no amount of stuffing more information in our heads is going to change the well-worn habits of the body. That's a serious mindset shift (irony noted) that through no real fault of their own most of the training crowd just hasn't caught up to. Old ways die hard and "I think therefore I am" isn't going out easy.
Add on top of that that most of us are waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy over-scheduled so wasting more time and not getting core-level shift happening is not attractive. At all. That's exactly why practicing JUSTICE is such an impossible-to-measure value. The outsize impact of giving you access to learning why you do how you do means the time you spend over these 4 days will be returning value of new insights to you a year, two and three later — even if you didn't keep up all the practices. That's the genius of working at the level of your soma-body.
Hard won insights with vague application is also not cool, so we make sure you go forth from practicingJUSTICE with not only practices, but with a plan that is concrete and measurable with measures for accountability built in.
How is it possible to offer this much value?
practicingJUSTICE is a live training retreat.
Rusia and angel only lead this training once per year as a way to train others in aspects of their core methodologies. In this format you get significant contact and draw from the depth of experience from both of them, as well as apprentice-teachers that have proven skillsets to hold space in a powerful way. The bottom line is that we have to train people in real-time situations. So you get master-level trainers at a fraction of our standard rates and still get the goods.
What are "standard rates"? $3500-$5500 per day for institutions. $250-$1500 per hour for consulting-coaching-speaking.
That's real talk. Look us up.
BUT while we need to pay our bills and have our level of experience compensated, we also know where our roots are. That's with working directly with people just like you which keeps us honest and keeps it real.
That means at a significantly reduced cost to you and your team, you gain small group access (no more than 30 people are accepted)over four decades of combined real-life experience in organizational leadership, community organizing, business entrepreneurship, and deep spiritual practice, with unapologetically bold leaders that are also skillful, engaging, real-world tested, master trainer-facilitators that are moving shit in powerful ways, who know what it means to be on purpose, in their bodies, and in the world.
We get to share work that we love, know deeply, and are always improving upon.
That's a win-win for everyone.
There are some folks who practingJUSTICE isn't for
and that's okay, because a training "for everyone" is a training for no one
And ain't no body got time for that.
There is serious ish going down in the world. We have an application process because we want to spend our time well, too. There's just too many things to do to try spend time doing work that has no impact. So we're about helping to equip people that are wanting to be awake and engaged because we need all the hands on deck that we can get. You can be a bit scared or confused (that's sensible) but if you're not ready to bring all the pieces you can muster, this is not the space or time for for you.
That includes if you:
- aren't open to new approaches. you don't have to agree with us, but you need to come ready to have what you already think you know challenged at the core. if you already know it all, you probably don't need this training
- want to "pay your way in" and not do the work either during the training or after
- aren't prepared for a lens that puts justice front and center which means challenging dominant paradigms
- think you're more important than others or your issues matter more
- aren't prepared for some actual vulnerability
- want to stand back and observe
- are expecting to be entertained or babysat by the facilitators and team
- are not willing to engage with folks that are perhaps from wildly different class, race, socioeconomic and maybe political spectrum than you with respect and open-mindedness
- want to come and distract yourself by being overloaded with a project or deadline
- will be offended by curse words. we say "fuck" a lot. like, a fucking LOT.
Yeah, I'm Ready For This
Choose the tuition that is right for you:
Yup. Payment plans available. That all comes after you apply.
Early Registration OPEN
Applications are reviewed as they come in, and acceptance is
on a rolling basis so put your application in now.
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What's The Path For Where You Are Right Now?
Start or return to Practicing Justice 1.0 for work with a small, robust group where you'll meet both sameness and difference. If you're in an acute phase of development and need focused sessions, Wisdom Sessions are your jam.
Next stop? PJ Yearlong for the most invested.
Practicing Justice 1.0 - Oct 15-18
START HERE>> This is what you're here for. The gateway to unpacking the habit-patterns that have you tail-chasing, self-sabotaging or just ending up exactly where you thought you were headed away from.Oh, and did someone say "oppression?" Get insight into how your conditioning shapes how you move through the world. No blame games, but external shaping shows up in how you move through the world because it's intended to. "It's not your fault, but it's your responsibility." Build a bulletproof inner shield to counter negative self-talk and curtail destructive behaviors before they derail you. Develop a roadmap for moving forward with a clear plan to accomplish goals you've always known are calling you forth. Establish practices that enable making better choices from your center, increase stability, and reveal how you show up in your power. This is your life, for your life, for real.
Wisdom Strategy Sessions - Oct 14
OPTIONAL and INCREDIBLE Add-On to PJ 1.0>> You've got both our attention. For the first time ever, you can get down with the masters. As they say "culture eats strategy for breakfast," so we'll get into your culture — how you're doing what you're doing — to untangle the knots of gnarly dynamics and move the needle on seemingly intractable issues. The Wisdom Strategy Sessions is offered as a "sandwich" to the main schedule of PJ. You and a group of no more than six meet with both facilitators before and after the core program for an intimate, full court press intensive that is tightly focused on your current reality, pattern-shifting and generally putting insights into action with the quickness. NOT for the faint of heart. You must get accepted to PJ, be available for the full schedule (arriving by Wednesday 4pm, leaving Sunday 4pm) and prepared to pay the additional $1000 fee. See the FAQ below for more details.
Practicing Justice Yearlong - tba
It's true: Mastery takes many repetitions. Most of us go from one retreat to the next hoping the concepts will stay with us, but often fail at keeping up with the work once back in our day-to-day lives. If you're on the "I don't have time for my own bullshit anymore" train, this is the ride for you. Fortify your leadership with a multi-pronged structure of accountability with master-level coaching, community, check-ins, and more. Invest in this one year. You can become the leader you're meant to be, by getting the support you need and deserve. We won't set the dates for the yearlong until we get a strong slate of interested folks that are bringing their full intention to the table. If this sounds like your path, join the email form on this site and drop us a note letting us know "I want a PJ Yearlong" so we can check each other out then map out a plan to do this mastery thing for real. Get ready to throw out all the half-baked strategies and start practicingJUSTICE inside & out for real.
welcome to welcoming
The next practicingJUSTICE 1.0 is being held on October 15-18th, 2020 at The Watershed Center in Millerton, NY.
about two hours train or car ride from NYC. This unique retreat center is focused 100% on social justice and radical hospitality is their mission and their ethos. A spacious farmhouse hosts home-cooked family-style meals, comfortable living room to decompress or chat with others, and well thought out rooms for catching up on that missing sleep.
The free-standing yurt is where all the work, play and dancing(!) goes down.
training retreat flow and norms
Let yourself drop in completely. The training is deep work, so we create an environment that you can sink into to do it. Leave the big projects and issues behind and come back at them with fresh perspective. Sit in circle, movement, physical practice. The schedule has small and big breaks and opportunities for walks, communing with nature or just catching a nap in a cozy corner.
Day 1: arrive 4pm, meet & greet,
opening session at 7:30pm.
Day 2: breakfast at 8am, practice at 9am,
sessions then dinner at 6:30pm.
Day 3: rinse, wash, repeat.
Day 4: develop your roadmap forward,
closing and out by 1pm.
More details in the FAQ below.
what's included
Everything you need to have an engaging, welcoming, nourishing AND challenging experience is included in your full fee of Tuition+Room & Board. All you have to do is show up. (Bring your own socks!) More in FAQ below.
- Single Bed Shared Accommodations
(with 1-4 people) - Three Meals per day + snacks
- Training Materials & Handouts
- Personal "jo" staff for embodiment practice
How Practicing Justice Makes A Real-Life Difference
Don't take it from us. For the past five years, hundreds of people just like you -- and really different ones, too -- stepped forward and chose to get more right with themselves by Practicing Justice inside and out.
Go Big Or Go Home Guarantee
We aren't interested in you having a "nice time." The entire practicingJUSTICE team is invested in igniting the fire of your full-on transformation. We take responsibility for that commitment. If after the first full day of the training retreat you aren't able to see pieces of your life puzzle start falling into place, you can go home with a full refund (minus $100 processing fee.) We'll even pay your non-refundable housing costs to the retreat center out of our pocket. It's THAT serious. We're taking a risk on you. Now it's your turn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will the retreat be held?
What are the training dates again?
Who is the Wisdom Strategy Session For?
Are there any scholarships available?
What are some ways I can pay for this? Does it have to be all at once?
Is this retreat better with friends (coworkers, colleagues, lovers, etc...)?
I totally need my own room.
I snore. Or I can't be with people that snore.
I have XXX issue. Can it be accommodated?
What They Said
I'm not ready yet, but keep me posted.
Dates don't work or this is just not the best time this round? We'll keep you in the loop. Start Practicing Justice when you're ready.
We've got you.
Rusia Mohiuddin and angel Kyodo williams are both master facilitators that teach, train and consult in situations that earn much more than the Practicing Justice retreats. But four years along, both of us continue to believe in this work. We know it must be made available to people that make movements happen, leaders of communities committed to love, and creatives and entrepreneurs of all stripes that are trying to create a better, safer, more just and sustainable world, society and nations for us all.
Where is justice to be found if not in
your very own body?