A three-part series exploring ways to support longevity, resilience and deep satisfaction in your work

First Saturdays in the Fall:
October 1, November 5, December 3.
From 12:30-3:30pm.
Sign up online at Durham Yoga Company.

With Patty Adams and Special Guest Teachers offering the tools of meditation, essential oil therapy, and herbal medicine.  Scroll down for complete series details.

Seva is a Sanskrit word meaning loving, selfless service. For those of us on the front lines of justice, healing, and service work, so much of what we do is seva – is loving, selfless service to the greater good, for global justice and collective freedom, to acknowledge and alleviate the suffering of the world. Often that service comes at a high price for us as individuals.

In the course of living into that commitment to alleviate the suffering of others, the result is often personal suffering for us. This suffering can take the form of burnout, physical illness, addiction and/or self-destructive coping mechanisms, anxiety and depression, posttraumatic symptomology, and strained interpersonal relationships, among many others.

While we suffer on the individual and interpersonal levels, so much of what ails us is structural in nature.   Yet we as individuals are forced to bear the brunt not only of the increasing demands of a struggling world, but of the fallout that comes if and when we do succumb to the overwhelm and acknowledge our burnout.

While there is so much we can impact in the larger world, it is hard to connect with the power and courage we need to challenge the systems of injustice when we’re forced to disconnect from the depths of our truth—the truth of how profoundly devastating the current conditions are AND of how powerful we are when we’re resourced, grounded, and connected.

Does it have to be this way? Must we sacrifice ourselves on the altar of our justice work in order to prove we’re committed? Must we accept wholesale the capitalist narratives of productivity in our movement/justice/service work, confusing our inherent values as humans with the value we have as individuals capable of producing or contributing in some way? Is fighting fire with fire the only way to truly take on the toxicity of the white supremacist capitalist patriarchal paradigm we’re fighting against—accepting the “logic” of that paradigm which is based on disconnection, dehumanization, commodification, and disposability?

What about us, though—shouldn’t we also get to participate in just relationships and communities of care? Shouldn’t we get to be a part of the “justice for all” that we’re struggling for, or nah?

These are the questions, the paradoxes, the quagmires I sit with and contemplate every day.  Join me in the conversation, on here and in the world.

Seva of Sustainability Series

A three-part series exploring ways to support longevity, resilience and deep satisfaction in your work

First Saturdays in the Fall: October 1, November 5, December 3.
From 12:30-3:30pm.
Sign up online at Durham Yoga Company.

With Patty Adams and Special Guest Teachers offering the tools of meditation, essential oil therapy, and herbal medicine.

October 1 Exploring Presence with guest teacher Jennie Dickson
November 5 Exploring Healing with Elizabeth Bechard
December 3 Exploring Resilience with Ricky Bratz Postponed for a future date
Scroll down for details on each workshop.

Come for all three, or drop-in to the workshop of your choice. Advanced Sign-up recommended, via Durham Yoga Company website.
$79 for all three / $70 by September 26^th
$35 per workshop to drop-in (space permitting)

Sliding scale available – contact Patty directly.

What if your work was life-giving?
What if your work left you feeling renewed and restored, confidant and calm?
What if your work stopped feeling like so…much…work?

In this 3-part workshop series, designed especially for folks in social movement, social justice, social service, caregiving and related work, we will explore yoga poses and other practices to support holistic sustainability and resilience in your work. A mix of yoga postures and breathwork, personal reflection, and paired/small group exercises are combined to offer you immediate access to resilience practices as well as take-home tools to help support an ongoing lifestyle of sustainability. This workshop will be of benefit to those in any kind of caretaking and service work – whether paid or unpaid – including crisis workers, teachers, nurses, therapists, caregivers, and non-profit workers.

While you can opt-in to a single workshop (space-permitting), the sessions will build on each other so to maximize the benefits, we suggest you commit to all three.

Seva is a Sanskrit word meaning loving, selfless service. For those of us on the front lines of justice, healing, and service work, so much of what we do is seva – is loving, selfless service to the greater good, for global justice and collective freedom, to acknowledge and alleviate the suffering of the world. Additionally, depending on the intersectional identities we inhabit, oppression and injustice impact us differently, and we carry different wounds and are called to different work.  Often that work, that service, that seva comes at a high price for us as individuals, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ll explore how radically caring for ourselves and each others is crucial to the work of collective healing and liberation.

October 1st: Exploring Presence
With Guest Teacher Jennie Dickson, therapist and teacher of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation
“You will learn practical mindfulness concepts and skills, including an introduction to meditation, and ways to use this practice to enhance your personal and professional relationships, reduce stress, and increase your ability to savor the joyful moments of your life. ”

December 3rd: Exploring Resilience