Join us via Zoom each Saturday and leave feeling more regulated and connected, as we wholeheartedly invite you to experience, practice, and engage in dialogue within a collaboratively facilitated, embodied book study circle, limited to 30 participants.
12 Saturdays
February 28th through May 16th
(90 minutes) 9am Pacific • 10am Mountain • 11am Central • 12pm Eastern
(Additional time commitment: ~ 1 hour hour of reading/week)
There is no cost to join this study group; the facilitators volunteer their time from love and with love.
This is freely offered AND we do heartily encourage reciprocity through a loving contribution of time, finances or skills to an organization of your choosing working for generative social change in your community. (Financial donation not required for participation. Please do find a way to give forward.)
This 12-week embodied practice circle is centered on Resmaa Menakem's book, The Quaking Of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning**. We will gather around a collective invitation to "put in the reps" of toning our nervous systems, learning how to be with what is happening in our bodies amid moments of racialized stress, while slowing down enough to stay grounded, regulated, and relational in the face of current and historical collective trauma. For example, participants might notice a clenched jaw or tightened shoulders during challenging dialogues, and by tuning into these signals, start developing skills to understand the body’s signals, and remain present and composed even during stress-inducing situations.
This is not a traditional discussion-based book club.
Rather than approaching this text to intellectualize, moralize, debate, or theorize, we will focus on engaging with the somatic and relational practices emphasized in the work of Resmaa Menakem and The Quaking of America. Each week, our gathering will serve as a supportive space, a container of care, that guides us in directing our attention toward nervous system repair. As part of this process, we will become aware of how historical and cultural traumas manifest in our bodies, our reactions, and our relationships by observing sensations such as a tightening in the chest or warmth in the face during moments of racial stress. By tuning into these physical experiences, we aim to cultivate the ability to remain present in our bodies without causing harm to ourselves or others. This is the practice.
Each gathering will follow a journey arc designed to help participants move through a cyclical process of grounding, exploration, and integration. With the book as our anchor, we will move slowly, with attention to what arises in the body as we engage the material:
- We will begin by grounding ourselves with somatic practices as outlined by Resmaa Menakem, creating a foundation of nervous system awareness. This phase sets the tone for entering our collective dialogue with attention to bodily sensations and presence.
- In the exploration phase, short readings and reflective prompts will guide us deeper into the material, encouraging participants to focus on lived experience and bodily awareness rather than debate or analysis. We will engage in small-breakout groups and full-group dialogues, which will provide space for sharing, honest not-knowing and supportive listening.
- Finally, we will move to integration, allowing time for emergent experiences and reflection. This closing stage will emphasize honest interaction and recognizing what each person has discovered, along with encouragement for continued personal practice outside the circle.
We aim to create an experiential environment that generates nervous-system safety, dignity, belonging, and honest engagement across differences.
To support this, we propose the following community agreements:
- Confidentiality: Honor the privacy of others by not sharing personal stories or details outside of the group.
- Self-regulation: Be mindful of your nervous system and take the time you need to stay grounded and compassionate using tools you already have or tools (”toys”) outlined in the book. “Nibble, don’t gorge.”
- Consent to Pause: Agree to pause discussions when needed to ensure all voices are heard and respected.
- Mutual Respect: Engage with others genuinely, honoring differences in thoughts, experiences, and identities.
This is not a therapy circle nor a space for intellectual debate, posturing, fixing, or arriving at "correct" conclusions. It is a space for presence, dignity, and accountable care. Facilitator-participants will openly share their own bodily experiences and vulnerabilities as part of modeling participatory accountable care, helping to de-stigmatize discomfort and encourage participants to do the same. As a collective, we will practice staying with complexity without abandoning ourselves or each other.
Our facilitation is informed by our unique lineages and lived experience centering embodiment, liberation, and relational practices and values.
We welcome participants across all identities and lived experiences. If we receive more than 30 registrations, we will curate the circle intentionally to support diversity across perspectives, experiences and identities. Our priority is fostering a space for collective growth, nervous system safety, and meaningful co-learning and exchange. This is not a “first-come, first-served” group, however early registration is encouraged.
Please apply by Thursday, February 25th, so we can confirm your space before the start date.
All registrations will be thoughtfully reviewed to take into account diversity of backgrounds, connection to the material, capacity to attend consistently, potential group dynamics, and space availability. We strongly encourage you to apply as we aim to filter in, not out. If we have a large number of registrants, we may host a second group.
We ask you to reserve these 12 Saturdays as a gift to yourself and the group, ensuring your participation supports group cohesion and mutual commitment.
** The Quaking of America can be purchased at these independent Black-Owned Booksellers:
- Marcus Books: The oldest Black-owned bookstore in the U.S. (founded 1960) in Oakland, CA: direct book link
- Estelitas Library in Seattle, WA: Bookshop - direct book link
- Frugal Bookstore in Roxbury, MA: direct book link
or
Directly from the publisher: Central Recovery Press
(Audiobook is also available on many streaming platforms.)
