Jen

19.01.2024 The beginning, not the end. Until all empires fall.

Community and friendship sometimes go hand in hand, but not always. I have fewer friends than ever, and a bigger, warmer, more caring community than I ever could have imagined. Some folks need disaster on their doorstep before they begin to care. What a limited view of the world. Here for connection and conversation and being called in. Done with “concern” (policing & accusations) and crocodile tears. A ceasefire will be the beginning, not the end. Because collective liberation means just that. Free Palestine. من النهر إلى البحر Free all oppressed people. Land back. Decolonise decolonise decolonise. Until all empires fall.

#Countdown2Ceasefire #FreePalestine #EndTheGenocide #CollectiveLiberation #LandBack

It is common to see certain terms gain so much traction that they begin to lose meaning within our community - see ‘functional movement’, ‘nervous system regulation’, ‘trauma-informed teaching’...! Do we use these terms? Yes! Did we wish more people knew what we meant? Also yes! ‘Embodiment’ seems to be doing the rounds at the moment, and we thought it might be useful to pause and think about what this means beyond the superficial taglines... When we look beyond trends, what are we actually offering? If this resonates with you, keep a lookout for our next training dates for Trauma-Awareness + Decolonisation CET 🌀

Often, classes open with the intention of “maximising” whatever length of time the teacher has with you. We understand why this happens, AND, we believe in another way. The check-in only enhances the remaining time we have togehter, it does not rob from it. Join us for a session and experience its benefits for yourself, or consider our training if you’re already teaching and know there’s an alternative to squeezing one more shape or exercise into your sequence... 🌀

Like many of you, we are entering hibernation mode as the year-end draws close. And as this clip shows, we couldn’t be more grateful for the year that we’ve had🌱. Subscribe to our newsletter for some final musings, and we’ll see you in 2026. 🌀 #centredspace #yogateachertraining #yogasg

We’ve been in no rush to talk about the last training, which was immediately followed by full working commitments and travel. Rather than force ourselves to speak about how it landed for us in a “timely manner”, we leaned into our own work and allowed thoughts and reflections to bubble up, as and when our headspaces allowed. Gratitude to our November cohort and the beautiful space @somahaus in which we were able to gather. Thank you for showing up, for sharing, and for your hope that our communities can move together in more nourishing ways. 🌀 #centredspace #traumawareness #decolonisaton

When it comes to applying a trauma aware lens to one’s offerings, and decolonising one’s practice, they are not flip switches we can simply control and turn on. The more we learn, the more we open our eyes, the harder “the work” becomes. It is of no use to us if we spend our time berating ourselves; with our new understandings, we must explore how we can move forward and do better, and we must do so with compassion. There is one more spot left on our upcoming Trauma Awareness & Decolonisation training - will you be joining us? 🌀 #centredspace #sgyoga #yogateacher #therapy #traumaware #mindfulness #decolonisation #sgwellness

at the end of our session, my client kindly gifts me with some Deepavali treats. i thank him and make my way home, practising self restraint to not immediately open and inhale the muruku. as i walk through the estate, our main janitor is sweeping just ahead of me. i know he celebrates Deepavali, and i know there are other janitors who don’t, so why is he working today? (it is common in Singapore to have folks who don’t celebrate certain festivals work on those days, meaning everyone gets to enjoy time off during their respective festivities.) i catch up with him at the lift lobby. he’s trying to close the lift door and encouraging me to take the other one which is also free; he always does this when i bump into him - i think he assumes i don’t want to get into the lift with him and his cleaning equipment. i stop the doors, hop inside and wish him a happy Deepavali. he smiles. i ask if he’s working all day. he says yes. i ask if he’ll have time to celebrate. he struggles to find the words then just says, “ma’am…no.” i say im sorry and we exchange a look that makes me sad and angry and mad at this whole fucking charade, no doubt fuelled by the recent comments around immigrants only being welcome should they add value to a society. (apparently, even when they do, there’s not much in the way of acknowledging their presence or expressing gratitude for their help in keeping this island afloat.) as the lift doors open and he steps out, i pull out the muruku and put the packet in his hands. “enjoy them when you finish work,” i say, and attempt to smile through the anger. i will be told im overreacting, that im too sensitive, that “they’re grateful for the opportunity to work”. maybe this is all true, but that doesn’t stop it from being completely ridiculous that between the two of us, im holding the Deepavali treats. wishing everyone who celebrates a Happy Deepavali / Happy Diwali - i hope the day was spent with precious loved ones, and that your cups were filled with whatever you need right now. ♥️🪔

When focusing on inclusion and asked, “Who’s missing from the room?”, we often consider the demographics of those in attendance, and from there explore who doesn’t feel welcome; what if we extended this question towards the people from whom we receive our trainings? How often have we committed to a training - but only if it’s led by the founder of the programme? How easily have we attached legitimacy to someone whose name is followed by a bunch of letters? Would we be willing to learn via the oral tradition? Could we see the value in someone’s teachings, even if they weren’t offered through rigorous academic language? We’re the first to admit, we struggle with this! But every time we faithfully listen to someone with “all the right credentials”, and cast suspicion over those who lack said “validity”, we play into the hands of those who’ve always had the last say in what makes us worthy (or not) as teachers, as therapists, as space holders. The isn’t a DEI checklist we’re trying to tick off. We are genuinely interested in trying to figure out who and what our teachers might look like, if only we can remove our assumptions around where authority is held. Messy. Difficult. Often leading to more questions than answers. We’re ready to sit in the discomfort. Will you join us? 🌀 Early bird ending tomorrow - sign up soon :) #centredspace #sgyoga #yogateacher #therapysg #decolonisation

We’ve received numerous queries around our upcoming Beyond Safety training, many of which are answered here. Have a question we haven’t yet addressed? Reach out and let us know! Early bird rate ends 18th October, register via link in bio or over at @somahaus 🌀 #centredspace #decolonisation #traumaawareness #therapysg #sgyoga

Here at Centred Space we are no strangers to nuance; we also understand how frustrating that can feel at times. We have been raised to expect immediate answers, foolproof plans, failsafe templates. Practising in a trauma aware manner and working on decolonising one’s practice takes us away from this sense of urgency, and into a place of inquiry, embodiment and consideration. Join us @somahaus this November for brave conversations and community building. Syllabus and registration details available via link in bio. 🌀 #centredspace #traumawareness #decolonisation