This class will offer an invitation to explore a new definition of self-defense as an inner stance in life – a stance that is both relaxed and aware, and a stance that is loving and deeply caring towards oneself as well as others. This stance is not hyper-vigilant, tense, and is certainly not a trauma response. However, our perceived need to defend and care for ourselves may have grown and developed from an experience of trauma.

We will explore the three A’s of self-defense (Awareness, Assessment, and Action), and how different levels of aggression in relationships require different levels of self-defense, from the more overt forms of aggression that may require physical self-defense skills to the most subtle forms, such as diminishment or dismissal, which may obviously require a different form of self-defense. The intention of all forms of self-defense is the same: to take deep care of ourselves and maintain our relational power.

The class will also include a brief mindfulness practice, a discussion about several scenarios involving various levels of aggression and boundary transgressions, and a conversation about how to cultivate that relaxed and aware inner stance as we maintain our full power in relationships and in life.

Bring: n/a

Wear: comfortable clothes