Off the Mat Into the World:
Leadership Training Intensive Retreat: Mindfulness, Compassion, & Social Justice

Take your yoga practice and community-building intentions to another level through this intensive exploration of effective social justice activism grounded in compassionate practice. Together we will dig deep into the real impacts of injustice and inequity in our communities and larger world and grow our skills in being agents of social change and justice. Through mindfulness meditation and daily yoga practice we will build a foundation for opening our hearts to the pain of injustice, healing ourselves and our communities from the trauma of oppression, and fostering the resilience we need to stay in the struggle over a lifetime.

This training facilitates a holistic integration of mind/body/spirit with our intentions to be a participant in addressing inequalities and injustice in ourselves and our communities. This weekend intensive will invite participants to engage in an exploration of social justice concepts in a practical and embodied way. We see this work as vital for anyone doing community engagement work!

This workshop will explore the following:

• The tension between the spiritual truth that “we are all one” and the very real differences and disparities that exist between us
• The root factors contributing to inequality and injustice and how they show up in our own lives and communities
• How power, privilege, trauma, and oppression operate in us personally and how the identities and experiences we hold position us to be of service in different ways in dismantling systemic oppressions
• The skills and practices that can allow us to connect across lines of difference in terms of race, class, gender, ability, body type, size, sexuality, and more, and also stay present and effective in the face of suffering and injustice
• The role of compassion and compassion practices in building resilience in ourselves and in our communities, and how this resilience can create accountable, grounded responses to injustice

*Although not required, we suggest you take our Yoga, Purpose, and Action Intensive prior to this training and/or purchase and listen to our Introduction to Social Justice online course.

Seane Corn is an internationally recognized yoga teacher known for her impassioned activism, unique self-expression, and inspirational style of teaching. As one of the world’s leading yoga experts, Seane has been featured in countless magazine articles and news programs including The Today Show, Oprah’s Sacred Spaces, NPR, and on the cover of over 27 magazines internationally. A strong and articulate voice for personal transformation and social change, she has utilized her platform to inspire and mobilize the yoga community in activating grassroots projects worldwide. On the road 200+ days a year teaching yoga and raising awareness about global humanitarian issues such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and sex trafficking, she has helped raise millions of dollars through OTM’s Global Seva Challenge which provides funds for our many partners committed to serving communities in need. Engaged in social justice issues since she was a young adult, she volunteered as a front line activist with ACT UP, Women’s Action Coalition (WAC) and the National Organization for Women. After years of deep personal practice, Seane created the yoga program at Children of the Night in 2000, Spiritual Activism workshops in 2003, named the National Yoga Ambassador for YouthAIDS in 2005, and eventually went on to co-found Off the Mat, Into the World in 2007, her proudest collaboration to date. In 2005, Seane was honored with the “Conscious Humanitarian” award for her efforts in raising funds and awareness around the HIV/AIDS crisis. In 2013 she was honored with “Global Green Millennium Award” for her international outreach efforts and as an acknowledgment to OTM’s commitment in creating environmentally sustainable service projects worldwide. In 2013 the Smithsonian Institute also honored her for her ongoing commitment to yoga and activism. Seane has been seen in many documentaries on spiritualty and yoga including Yoga Is, Y Yoga, Titans of Yoga, Femme, The Invocation and Yoga Woman and has contributed to the books The Poetry of Yoga and Yoga and Body Image. Seane has many self-authored yoga DVD’s available through Gaiam, Yoga Journal and Sounds True, and is deep in the process of writing her first book.

Hala Khouri, M.A., E-RYT, has been teaching the movement arts for over 20 years. Her roots are in Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, dance, Somatic Psychology, and the juicy mystery of Life itself. Creative movement and honest self-exploration has always been a source of tremendous healing for Hala, and her calling to pass this on to others has been clear to her since she began teaching at the age of 16. Hala earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Religion from Columbia University and has a Master’s degree Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She wrote her thesis on using yoga and other complementary disciplines such as eco-psychology and somatics for self-empowerment to inspire a global shift towards peaceful and sustainable living. She is also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and focus on trauma’s impact on the body-mind and ways to resolve it. Hala has taught yoga and the movement arts to a wide variety of people and places ranging from juvenile detention centers, mental health hospital and police stations, to yoga studios, conference halls and jungles. Teaching is her absolute favorite thing to do! She currently lives in Venice, California with her husband Paul and their two sons.

Suzanne Sterling is a dedicated musician, yogi, activist and social innovator who has been performing and teaching transformational workshops for over 20 years. She is a passionate facilitator of embodied healing and her unique style is a deep yet ecstatic journey into the heart of creativity, authentic connection with Source, and joyful service. She has been a featured artist/teacher at numerous festivals and conferences such as, Wanderlust, Omega, Esalen, Kripalu, Yoga Journal, Hanuman, Burning Man, Symbiosis, Ecstatic Dance, Bhaktifest, Boomfest, LIB, Earthdance (where she led the world’s largest Spiral Dance for 5000 people) and many more.  She is also part of the nationwide faculty for YogaWorks Teacher Trainings. She is a co-founder of OTM as well as the director of the Seva Challenge Humanitarian Tours, which have raised over $4 million. Since 2007, she has spent time in the US, India, Cambodia, Haiti, Ecuador and Africa working with communities in need and getting the yoga community involved in fund- and awareness-raising efforts across the globe. For many years she has worked with Starhawk and the International Reclaiming Community, creating ritual and training teachers in eco-feminist spirituality.  An award-winning musician, she has released 5 solo albums and numerous DVD soundtracks.  She recently launched Voice of Change Training Programs dedicated to inspiring others to find their unique voice and to use self expression as a tool for community building and conscious evolution.

Teo Drake is a spiritual activist, an educator, a practicing Buddhist and yogi, and an artisan who works in wood and steel. As a blue collar queer-identified trans man living with AIDS, he has 101 reasons to not want to be present in his own skin. The physical and spiritual practice of yoga and Buddhist traditions made it possible to begin to heal and feel at home in his own body. When he isn’t helping spiritual spaces be more welcoming and inclusive of queer and transgender people or helping queer and trans folks find authentic spiritual paths, he can be found teaching martial arts, yoga, and woodworking to children. His writing can be found in the anthology Yoga and Body Image and at the blog Roots Grow the Tree.

FOR FURTHER PROGRAM & SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

The deadline for scholarship applications has passed. Please contact training@offthematintotheworld.org for further information.

FOR REGISTRATIONS, HOUSING, OR TRAVEL QUESTIONS

Please contact externalaffairs@pacifica.edu

CANCELLATION
To obtain a refund on your registration fee, send an electronic cancellation request to externalaffairs@pacifica.edu no later than thirty days before the event. Tuition less a $50 processing fee will be refunded. No refunds on your registration fee will be made after that time. In the event that the program is sold out with a waitlist and we are able to transfer your registration to someone on the waitlist, we will issue you a refund less the processing fee. For a refund on accommodations at the Ladera Lane Campus, cancellation with full refund will be accepted up to 5 days before the event. Cancellations made 1-4 days before the event will receive a 50% refund. There will be no refund for cancellation on the day of the event.

LOCATION
The workshop will be held at Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Ladera Lane Campus at 801 Ladera Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Located on 35 acres in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this residential retreat center provides a unique and peaceful environment and includes lodging, dining facilities, and parking.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Housing is available for participants at Pacifica’s Ladera Lane Campus:
$89 per night single occupancy (one twin or standard full size bed)
$123 per night couple occupancy (one standard full size bed)
$136 per night double occupancy (two twin beds)
plus 10% occupancy tax
Accommodations include standard rooms with a shared bath and shower. Bed linens and towels are provided.

MEALS
Meals are provided to encourage ongoing dialogue and community exchange throughout the weekend. Thursday dinner, Friday and Saturday breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Sunday breakfast and lunch are included in the meal cost. Pacifica’s caterers make every attempt to provide healthful meals for our guests and include organic ingredients whenever possible. Please indicate on the registration form if you need a special vegan, gluten free, or vegetarian meal or if you have other medical dietary restrictions.

TRAVEL
Major airlines provide service to the Los Angeles International Airport located 90 miles south of Santa Barbara, and to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, approximately 18 miles north of the Campus. Information on ground transportation to and from Santa Barbara will be included with your confirmation letter.

DISABILITY SERVICES ON CAMPUS
It is the policy of Pacifica’s External Affairs Department to accommodate attendees with disabilities in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. Please let us know in advance if you have special needs or require assistance due to a disabling condition while you are attending a public program. If you are accompanied by a service dog, please contact Disability Services directly (805.679.6125), as all animals visiting campus must have pre-approval. For additional information regarding Pacifica’s policies, visit the Disability Services page.