Originally crafted as a workshop for people of the Africa Diaspora, The Joy Sanctuary is an intentionally cultivated space for those who identify as BIPOC to practice, celebrate, collaborate and lean into joy. Participants will experience a guided meditation that will help restore calm and serenity. They will reflect on their definitions of personal safety and work as a group to imagine what a safe space looks and feels like for the BIPOC community. Finally, participants will work in small groups to build a joy and safety toolkit for their everyday and immediate use. The toolkit will remain accessible to participants after the workshop. This session is Co-Facilitated by Raven Martin and Janice Gates, practitioners with Healing By Choice, a sponsored project of Allied Media Projects. The Joy Sanctuary is an effective container aimed at easing participants into maintaining ownership of their wellness.
This workshop, originally titled the Black Joy Sanctuary, was first presented at the 2020 Allied Media Conference. We planned for 60 virtual participants. A few hours before the workshop was supposed to begin, we learned there were 200 people registered! Facilitating after learning this was a lesson in adaptive facilitation. When we facilitated the workshop in October 2020, we did it with an intimate group of 3 people. Through adjusting the timing for certain segments, the number of breakout groups, and the time spent on reflection exercises and debriefing, we’ve learned that dealing with varying numbers of participants can be mitigated by having redundancies in place.
What is the goal and/or outcome of your session?:The Joy Sanctuary is curated on a foundation of providing a safe space for all members of the African Diaspora. This is a family affair facilitated to help participants:
• embody Joy as a form of intentional healing for the body, mind and soul
• learn to curate and investigate the importance of safety outside of conventional security measures.
• experience intentional positive energy during a time of social and lifestyle unrest
• participate in friendly interaction based on personal interest
• create their own resources and tools they can share
We do not want this workshop to just be a reminder of the vast array of modalities that exist for wellness. Participants will be provided with resources and access to the collaboratively built toolkit after the workshop. Also, the practices we share are ones participants may continue to use as they move through their daily life.
Arts & Business Consultant. Ancestor in Practice.
Janice is a Healing by Choice partner, energy healer and reiki practitioner. She is studying to be a Movement Trauma Healer. She is also Director of the Equitable Internet Initiative.