BIPOC Embodied Refuge is held and guided by the teachings that liberation arises both from within the body and in community when cultivated and regularly practiced.
BIPOC Embodied Refuge, a sangha (community) for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, facilitated by Lissa and Guests, met from Spring 2020 to Dec 2022.
These gatherings were intended to support studying the dharma together alongside healing collective and intergenerational race-and oppression-based trauma via the body and in community as well as cultivating communal and intergenerational resilience and reclamation.
Our meetings were held utilizing community agreements and the framework of Buddhist principles and trauma-responsive practices as an opportunity to find nourishment in community and the dharma.
The meetings included a guided meditation, embodied practices, dharma reflections, check-ins, and song. Space will be held for all that’s present in a way that supports a trauma-responsive approach, self and collective care, and community and connection.
“Besides trauma, there is something else human beings routinely pass on from person to person and generation to generation: resilience.
Resilience is built into the very cells of our bodies. It is as much a part of us as our ability to heal. Like trauma, resilience can ripple outward, changing the lives of people, families, neighborhoods, and communities in positive ways...
I want you, and me, and all of us to heal, to be free of racialized trauma, to feel safe and secure in our bodies and in the world, and to pass on that safety and security to future generations. This book is my attempt to create more of that safety.” — Resmaa Menakem in My Grandmother’s Hands
“There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? It is mindfulness centered on the body.” — The Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya)
“The Sangha is your protection. It is the raft that will carry you to the shore of liberation.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
For those who identify as BIPOC, please see this list of additional BIPOC sanghas.
Embodied Heart Mind 