From Kate Gilbert ’18:
Hey, we, a few former
students of Melissa Rosario’s (’05), want to share with the Wesleyan community this workshop that she has created!
Melissa is a healer, educator and activist based in Puerto Rico where she facilitates workshops, study groups and offers individual consultations to changemakers. She is in the process of launching a movement research and wellness center, Center for Embodied Pedagogy and Action. Learn more at http://www.decolonizepr.com or follow her on IG: Profe_Luz.
In the Struggle: Techniques for Cultivating Radical Resistance
“To be an activist is to know exhaustion, pain, fear and overwhelm. Often these feelings lead to burnout, and our friends-allies-comrades drift away from the circles which once sustained them, finding illness and helplessness in place of love and determination. As a changemaker, you have a responsibility to witness, and denounce the order of the day, but you must also care for your psyche, spirit and body. In this workshop, Melissa will offer a range of strategies to help you cultivate radical resilience in your lives as activists. From plant medicine, breath, writing and movement, we will explore ways to transform the fight from the inside out. All bodies are welcome, but the workshop is especially targeted for those committed to building multi-racial coalitions and to fomenting decolonial liberatory praxis in their daily lives.”Lucha por Vida: Cultivando Resiliencia Radical
“Sabemos que la lucha agota y duele. Para muchos, termina siendo abrumador y se alejan, se enferman o se mueren. Como cambiador, tiene una responsabilidad con su psique, espíritu y cuerpo. Su ser entero debe ser cuidado ahora, no “después de que el trabajo esté hecho”. Queremos mantenerlo en buena forma, haciendo cambios sociales significativos a largo plazo. En este taller, hablamos de estrategias para transformar la lucha desde adentro y del diario vivir. Meli comparte plantas medicinales que ayudan a manejar emociones comunmente experimentado por activistas: la ansiedad, miedo y cansancio. También, como facilitadora, les ofrecerá técnicas de respiración y herramientas para la reflexión y comunicación que les ayudarán a todxs lxs compañerxs buscando balancear el activismo con la salud.”
Date: 2/21/17
Time: 4:30-6:30pm
Place: University Organizing Center (UOC)