Standing Together Women’s Circle
Tuesdays, April 7th - May 12th

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We stand in the midst of a strange new world, facing unprecedented challenges to our health, our relationships, our finances, our sense of predictability and steady ground.

We are grieving. We are scared. We are frozen. We are overwhelmed.

And yet, although we may stand six feet apart, we are experiencing so many different waves of the same quaking earth.

Even at a distance, let us stand together.

Let us witness, listen, and be with each other in the dark and the light of these times alike.

In our isolation, in our distancing, we need each other like never before.  Whether it’s grief, anxiety, loneliness, overwhelm, or frustration we are feeling, or whether we are connected with feelings of peace, trust, and compassion around what is unfolding, there are a 1000 others like us. 

How can we reach out and be allies to each other, even in our isolation, reminding one another of our shared humanity and making-sense-ness, with the gift of our presence and listening?

In community, with our collective attention lended to each member, we deepen into and nourish the layers under the surface. 

In community, we remember: we are not alone.

In community, held and heard and understood, we strengthen.  We grow more resilient. 

Studies show that “social engagement” strengthens our immune systems. 

Thus, in community, there is immunity. 

Let us slow down. Let us listen.

For it's here that we find our recipe for moving forward in troubled times. It's here that we find our medicine, our wisdom, our collective blueprint for walking, with company, one foot in front of the other, our feet under our hearts, our hearts under our throats, even as the path winds steadily forward into the unknown.  

WOMEN’S ONLINE SUPPORT CIRCLE

You’re invited to join a six-week online women’s circle to help nourish our hearts in this time of great uncertainty.  This will be a place for our individual and collective nervous systems to soften together, to find ground, to find roots where we feel wobbly in this time of great unknown. 

GROUNDED IN NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION (NVC)

The foundation of the circle will be the practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and its emphasis on listening for the universal human longings that live and express through each one of us. We will learn and deepen our NVC practice as both a compassion-based awareness tool and communication practice to bolster our resilience and sense of community in the weeks to come.

FORMAT

We’ll follow a simple format for the series.

*    Brief guided meditation
*    Check-ins. Each participant shares a little about how the heck how she’s doing, both to be known and for connection in the group
* Requests. Each participant can ask for what most supports her — whether simple presence and silent listening, reflection, guided self-empathy, or even advice and strategizing. 
*    Attention for each participant who would like support, as time permits

DATES

Tuesdays, 5pm-6:30pm PST / 8pm-9:30pm EST
April 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and May 5th, 12th

HOW WE MEET

We will meet using Zoom, a user-friendly program similar to Skype which is popping up everywhere amidst this pandemic. No need to download anything in advance. Zoom opens very easily on your computer with just a couple of clicks. You'll have easy-to-follow instructions in advance.  

All you need is a laptop (or smartphone) with a functioning camera and microphone, and a quiet space in which to meet.

MONEY

Many of us are being significantly financially impacted at this time, and may be struggling to afford the basics: rent, utilities, and food, etc.  Others of us still have regular jobs, or are able to continue to work from home without challenge.  As a small business owner myself, I want to offer this circle in a way that helps make this as accessible as possible to anyone who feels called, while also attending to my own needs for sustainability.

I am thus offering a few options:

1)    Six-week series plus an individual coaching session - $250
2)    My “normal” rate for a six-week series - $150
3)    By donation as you are able

FOR ALL SELF-IDENTIFIED WOMXN

The circle is open to all sexual orientations and genders of self-identified womxn, whether cis, trans, genderqueer, genderfluid, or otherwise non-binary folk who in any significant way identify as female.   

QUESTIONS?

Write to me at marina@shamelessheart.com

ABOUT

I am a life coach and communication trainer who is deeply committed to our evolution through the composting of shame into radical self-love. As a a Nonviolent Communication Certified Trainer Candidate, I draw upon a 15 years of training in NVC, nondual spiritual practice, and the Hakomi Method of mindfulness, organicity, and nonviolence to support women in not just surviving, but thriving in their lives and relationships.  

Please note: Even though I am also a Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Intern in the State of Florida, this group relies primarily upon the reflective listening principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and is not a psychotherapy group. Your joining Standing Together does not mean we establish a therapeutic relationship, and if you’re (understandably) seeking in-depth therapeutic support at this time, I encourage you to reach out to a mental health practitioner in your state. Thank you for your understanding.

KIND WORDS FROM FORMER WOMXN GROUPERS

“I can’t say enough how this program has changed my life and those around me.”
— Michelle

"This group is jazzercise for your empathy muscle and both a playground and safe refuge for your spirit.  Listening to Marina get her NVC on is like watching your favorite, relaxed musician on stage: that shit looks so natural one forgets that years of dedicated practice and study are at play. As for NVC itself, it's nothing short of life-changing; offering a practical roadmap of choice for how to perceive and react to both internal feelings and the world around us. NVC is seeing in color after a lifetime of black and white." - Christy

“Marina has helped me give voice to the wounded and shamed pieces of me through empathy and play, allowing me to be so aware of my own destructive self-talk. This woman has absolutely empowered me and inspires me to be the most open-hearted, uninhibited, and loving version of me.  I hold so much gratitude for the gifts and tools she has brought into my life.” – Melanie

“Marina is the genuine article: authentic, vulnerable, compassionate and wise.  She holds a solid space for others to move boldly forward and open their hearts to themselves. I adore her dedication to the simple idea that we are each precious beyond measure.  Her work has opened my heart and allowed several miracles to happen in my life.” - Colleen

“It’s because of this program that I’m alive and have hope. Through working with Marina in a group setting, I am learning to love myself, know myself, be more authentic, own my emotions, and find ways to fill my needs.  The program has had an enormously positive impact on my life.” — Cyndi

** REGISTER HERE **

Photo by Ed van duijn on Unsplash