10/18/2024 0 Comments Embodying Our Mission and VisionThird part in a 3-part anniversary seriesAt our 2-year anniversary, as we take stock of where we’ve been, we are also looking toward the future and thinking about what we want The Spiral Goddess Collective to be. We have grown enough that we can begin to shape our offerings—especially our events, workshops, and projects—around the central tenants of embodiment, movement, connection, empowerment, and transformation.
We want everything that we offer, from meditation to dance to yoga to events—everything that we put our time and our hearts, minds, and bodies into—the be centered around embodiment. Embodiment connects our mind, body, heart, and spirit. It allows us to feel and perceive with all of our senses. It requires us to pause, to slow down, to experience our whole body and whole being. It helps us to live more authentically. In our culture, it is not easy to be in our bodies. So much in our lives keeps us disconnected from ourselves, separated from each other, and chasing myths. We live in our heads, and on our devices, sometimes forgetting that we even have a body, except when it inconveniences us, or when it is a body devalued and devoured by our systems and structures, or when we don’t have the resources or support to live fully in our bodies. To be embodied is to live fully and freely and it is not easy. Like anything else—healing, learning, connecting—embodiment is a non-linear process. The embodied practices that we offer are somatic—they encourage us to embrace our wholeness as well as our interconnectedness. We focus on the process and the present moment, not the desired end result. We focus on how we feel, not how we look. While any activity can be done mindfully, in embodied ways, with somatic approaches, what we offer are mind/body practices that help us to be more mindful, embodied, and somatic in everything we do. We offer a safe and supportive space, a beautiful space with a view—a sanctuary for our practice. We encourage embodied, somatic movement because we all move too little. We sit and work. We sit and play. We sit and rest. We sit and we don’t move our bodies enough. And when we do move, we often do so in ways that punish our bodies. We want to encourage freedom of movement, joy in movement, pleasure in movement—movement for mind, body, and spirit. Move and Be Moved! We encourage authentic connections to ourselves and to others. We spiral in to know ourselves better and we spiral out to connect with our community. Many of us are introverts. We come to SGC because it is a safe space to be ourselves and engage with others in a space that is held and curated for both introspection and interaction. We empower people to replace old stories and old patterns, old ways of thinking and being, with new stories, new patterns, new ideas, new movements of the mind and body. We want to tap into our power to heal ourselves and to live more fully and more authentically. We want to remind ourselves that we are powerful beings in so many ways. And we transform ourselves to transform the world. We want to embrace change, to roll with it, to find new opportunities to move and breathe and learn and grow.
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Part 2 in a 3-part anniversary blog seriesWhen I opened SGC, I had a vision of a Collective. I knew if I built it, they would come. And many people who need what we offer have found us. We have positively impacted so many lives, including our own. At our September Radical Careworkers meeting, Kate was talking about how one of the things that she loves about the work she does for SGC is that she is able to give and receive. She is able to offer her curated movement and meditation practices, and she has been able to grow personally and professionally through the programs that she has attended and the mentoring she has received.
This is exactly what I wanted for SGC to do and be. And as Kate was talking, I realized that this is exactly the benefit that I get as well. I have learned and grown so much from both the embodied movement experiences that I curate and facilitate as well as from the events that I attend at the SGC. We have so many talented curators and teachers and what we offer is, I think, unique in our community and maybe even beyond. It is easy for me to give, but it is often nearly impossible for me to receive. I am working on that. At that same Radical Careworkers meeting, I angsted about the pressures of “owning” SGC, which comes with a lot of financial stress and obligations. I try not to let it get to me. I try to stay focused on the fact that SGC is my community service, my laboratory, and my art studio. Still, it is difficult to carry all the weight all of the time. In addition to managing the entire enterprise, I teach 4 to 5 times a week and I do not pay myself. All of the money I make from teaching goes directly back into the business. I am fortunate to have support from SGC curators and teachers as well as the regular feedback and reinforcement from many of our community members who remind us that the SGC makes a difference in the lives of our Collective Community. So, thank you! And in the spirit of keeping the doors open for another year (and growing into all we want to become!), we also thought it would be nice if we gave our Collective Community an opportunity to more directly support our mission and vision—an opportunity to give a little extra if you are able to. What you give need not be financial, though we certainly appreciate financial support! Here are a few things you can do that don’t cost any money (and during our October celebration we will offer 20% off of any purchase if you do any of the following): Post a review on Google Business telling people about what you love about SGC Bring a friend. Their first class is free. You can even send them the promo code on your fitDEGREE profile to help us track the connections our community makes. Make a commitment to share our Fb or Instagram posts for a week (or more!) Tell your coworkers about what we offer or ask your workplace to support the well-being of their employees by opting into one of our new Professional Development Packages Attend our 2-yr Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, October 12 from 4:00-6:00pm If you have extra money to give, you can contribute to help supplement the many operating costs: If you pay an extra $5 a month, you help us pay for a month’s worth of toilet paper If you pay an extra $10 a month, you help us pay for ½ hour of cleaning If you pay an extra $15 a month, you help us pay for 10% of the monthly cost for the fitDEGREE App If you pay an extra $20 a month, you help us pay for 3 months of ginger chews If you pay an extra $25 a month, you help us pay for a month of internet access in our space or a month’s access to Canva where we design our advertising and social media posts. * We are so grateful for all that we receive through our work. We are grateful that we can give back so much to our community. We want to keep on giving and growing… and it’s good to receive your support as well! Just reach out or stop by if you have any questions about how you can give back or pay it forward. |
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October 2024
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