Karuna Flow

(Image Description: Sunset sky with pink clouds, gray text reading “Karuna Flow”.)

JUNE 4TH – JULY 30TH, 2019
TUESDAY’S 6:00 – 6:55 PM

285 17th St, Oakland, CA 94612 — EBMC is at 17th and Harrison Street, up the block from 19th St. BART station.

Access Info:

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Fragrance Free
  • Sitting, standing, and lying down variations offered
  • Mats and props provided
  • Nonfluorescent lighting
  • ASL interpreter may be available with prior request
  • Gender neutral bathrooms

Donation Based with no one turned away for lack of funds.

About the Class:

Karuna Flow is a Trauma-Informed and “Access-Centered” Yoga class— centering access for all bodies and minds. Connecting breath with movement, we will be invited to embody Karuna (compassion) for our complete selves, reminded that all bodies and minds are perfect and whole as is. Each class will focus on regulating our nervous systems, gentle alignment, connecting to the earth, developing resiliency, and embodying compassion for all living beings.

Each class will begin with a brief check-in to communicate our gender pronouns, access needs, and multicultural/anti-racist communication agreements. Everything I offer is invitational, gentle touch is only used with consent, and I use trauma-informed and access–centered language.

About the teacher:

Jess began practicing yoga and meditation 17 years ago to manage her chronic pain because of various traumas and disabilities. She found, however, that most classes were not accessible for her needs. With the support of Disability Justice activists, she created Access-Centered Movement: a trauma-informed framework that attempts to dismantle hierarchies of bodies and minds in movement spaces. She uses her vast knowledge of physical therapy, holistic health, and her lived experience as a disabled queer to offer relief for those suffering with trauma and pain. Aware that the ancestors of the spiritual traditions she practices are not her own, she is committed to decolonizing her practice and works to organize anti-racist white yoga teachers to do the same.