 Spring Joy Uncovering Brilliance, Transforming Racism FREE Mindfulness Workshop for Trans, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary BIMPoC* Saturday, April 29 11 am – 3 pm UBC Farm Yurt and xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden 3641 Ross Drive, Vancouver heart emoji light lunch and bus tix provided heart emoji Co-Facilitators: Lu Lam, M. Ed. CCC, Shay Loo B. Psych Elder: Dixie Lee Vance, ᓂ ᒥᑭᓯ ᑭᐦᐁᐤ (Leading Eagle) xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden Coordinator: Cora Thomas Community Info Session: Thursday, April 20 6 pm -7 pm Location: Online (ZOOM) To register: [email protected] or 778-829-8959 More info: wwww.lulam.ca/blog *For Two-Spirit, Gender expansive, Non-binary, Trans People who are also Black, Indigiqueers, Indigenous, Multi-racial and/or People of Colour In Partnership with: Indigenous Research Partnerships Funded by: Trans Care BC, Provincial Health Services Authority Logo Do you hope for more joy but finding it hard to because :
Do you sense mindfulness could support your well-being but you weren’t sure where to go? Good news. This spring, you have a rare chance to gather among a group of 2S & NBTrans BIMPoC* to practice mindfulness, self-compassion and joy meditation practices in a beautiful outdoor and indoor retreat setting. We will be gathering at the Yurt at UBC Farm and also be connecting to surrounding lands and gardens in that area. Located on the unceded traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People, UBC Farm is a 24 hectares farm and forest system including the beautiful xʷc̓ic̓əsəm (the place where we grow) Garden. We’ll cover practices to process difficult feelings (ie. hurt from micro-aggressions), grow resilience and joy. Current western medical evidence also shows how integration of mindfulness practices has potential to: -promote healing -live better with chronic pain -improve overall quality of life -grow a healthier relationship to self. In doing so, to all your relations. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is the season for new beginnings. Let’s gather to tune in. What new beginnings do you want to grow? Because your life is precious. Because you are as stunning as Spring. Allow your true nature to return to nature at this mindfulness workshop. Let's gather in beautiful spaces, be in community, breathe together. Because “racism is a heart disease and it’s curable” (Ruth King, 2019). If you’re interested, please sign up for the Info Session or register with Lu. This group will be facilitated from a trauma informed anti-oppression approach, where lived experiences of being discriminated and intersectional worldviews are welcomed. An Elder will be present to support Two-Spirit, Indigenous, Indigiqueer, Métis, Inuit participants and the group. How much does UBTR cost? It's free. Who is UBTR group for? Do you self-identify as a Black, Indigenous, Métis, Inuit, Multi-racial, Person of Colour, racialized person, visible minority of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, non-binary, gender expansive, trans experience (2S & NBTrans BIMPoC*)? UBTR is prioritizing half of the spots for trans women, women of trans experience, trans femme, Indigenous and Black participants. Do you have an interest getting to know your direct experience (body sensations, feeling, thoughts), whatever that may be, through facilitated support? Do you have interest in contacting the present moment while re-connecting with nature? Do you want to co-create a space together that values undoing Anti-Black racism, Anti-Indigenous racism? Are you open to uplifting all they ways trans-ness Two-Spirit, trans femmes, women and non-binary gender identities show up? If you answered yes to all 5 above, UBTR is for you! UBC Farm is So Far! How can I get there? At the end of this post are public transit and car directions to get here. If you live in the GVA, please be in touch with Lu ([email protected], 778-829-8959) if this travel is a barrier for you by April 13 and we can support you to find a way here. I’m interested! What’s next? Come to the Community Info Session April 20, 6 pm -7 pm. Location: ZOOM Contact [email protected] or 778-829-8959 to reserve a spot. Register early. There will be 15 spots What happens at the Community Info Session? Experience the mindfulness facilitation style to see if it’s right for you Engage in a community consultation by contributing your ideas to make this workshop great for you Learn how to prepare for a half day workshop Ask questions We want you to have a good idea of what this workshop will be like. This mindfulness workshop can be a beautiful practice to take care of the heart. And, depending on what conditions you may be facing currently in life, this workshop may not be a wise kind fit. Lu can work with you on this, if you have any questions. If this workshop is a good fit for you, you can register for Spring Joy: UBTR’s Mindfulness Workshop April 29, 2023 11 am-3 pm at the Community Info Session. I can’t make the Community Info Session, can I still register for Spring Joy: UBTR’s Mindfulness Workshop? For sure. Contact [email protected] or 778-829-8959 to schedule a 20 min intake to see if it’s the right time to practice with UBTR. Last day for registration is April 20, 2023. Register early before spots fill. Why Trans BIMPoC*? Black, Indigenous, Métis, Inuit, Multi-racial, People of Colour, racialized people with Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, non-binary trans, and/or gender expansive experience (2S & NBTrans BIMPoC*) are profound and brilliant human expressions. Yet, instead of a wise world that uplifts us, we live in a world that annihilates complexity. Black, Indigenous, women of trans-experience, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people are disproportionately impacted by hate-based violence. Local and national consultations with 2S & NBTrans BIMPoC* communities are asking for intentional spaces to attend to our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. UBTR intends answer a call from the 2S & NBTransBIMPoC* communities by offering an intersectional and inclusive space to: Take care of the invisible wounds of intersecting cultural oppressions (ie. anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, Islamophobia, trans misogyny, transphobia, fatphobia) Reclaim joyful fun in our unique and cultural ways Practice different ways of knowing that’s often discounted or appropriated in mainstream culture. Grow healthy relationship to our innately brilliant selves. In doing so, grow healthy relationships to all our relations. Trust that our experiences will be validated instead of pathologized How many people will be in this group? Approximately 8-10 participants. What happens at this retreat? In the first part, you will be welcome to create your indoor nest. This will be your sitting/lying down space in the yurt that you can make comfy and yours by bringing blankets, comfy clothes. You’re invited to bring an object that makes you feel like you- brilliant, magical, grounded, strong Please note the Yurt is an indoor/outdoor space which may be cooler than regular room temperatures. So bring layers, hot water bottle, etc to stay warm. Information will be shared on how a mindfulness may benefit us and our collective well-being. We’ll go over how difficult emotions activate our heartmindbody systems will be integrated. How important joy is as a form of balancing well-being, resilience and resistance in a violent broken and still beautiful world. Poetry may be shared. A few mindfulness practices will be introduced and we will engage in these practices indoors and outdoors. We will have a mindful lunch period in the middle of the workshop. We are also very honored to have the xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden welcome and host us after lunch. xʷməθkʷəy̓əm is the Musqueam name in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language that means “The place where we grow”. We will spend the rest of our workshop at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden. When we are outdoors, we will be asking the Land and our non-human kin (ie. trees, plants, mosses) if they would like to be our teachers, our guides. Outdoor mindfulness practices may be gentle mindfulness walking, tree meditation. We’ll have a contemplative dialogue practice, mindful speaking and listening in small group and a closing circle. What can I expect from attending this retreat? This is a practice based experiential group. You can expect to experience practices in a supportive environment which encourages you to directly gently explore your feelings, thoughts, and sensations. You can expect to have time and space to ask any questions related to your experience of the mindfulness practices. You can expect to learn how mindfulness based practices and paradigm can benefit our well-being in order to strengthen our social justice, reconciliation and liberational work. You can expect to have Compass tickets for return trip to the group and light lunch. What's a mindfulness and compassion practice? An example of mindfulness practice could be mindfulness of the breath, sound, body scan, thoughts, feelings, walking, standing, moving. A joy practice may be finding a spot of joy at UBC Farm. For example, this could be a pretty flower. Bringing awareness to how you are experiencing this beauty. What face muscles do when you smile? Is there tingling, lightness felt inside the smile? How is your heart feeling? What thoughts are moving through the mind? What is the flower saying to you? When you speak back, what happens? What sensations change for you? What’s telling you this is joy? A self-compassion practice may be bringing your awareness with kindness; to whatever you are experience with an allowance for the experience with kind acceptance, no rejection, no changing, no pushing away what is within the present experience of sensations, emotions, thoughts. COVID Protocols Let's mask indoors when not eating and drinking. If you need more distance for eating indoors, let us know by April 13 and we will look into this accommodation. There will be lots of uncovered outdoor space available. Let's try to be 2 m distanced indoors. Yurt will be ventilated. Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided. We encourage everyone who's attending to rapid test prior to arriving to the workshop. Rapid tests will be provided. Please stay at home if you are not feeling well or have COVID symptoms. These precautions support lowering the covid risk for many of our beloved folx who live with immunity vulnerabilities. If you have any concerns about COVID protocols or your health related to our event please reach out to Lu at [email protected] or 778-829-8959 by April 13. UBTR Team Mindfulness Co-Facilitator: Lu Lam (they/he), M. Ed. C.C.C. is a Chinese-Taiwanese trans-identified Mindfulness Counsellor and Consultant. He gratefully acknowledges the people of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueum), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, where he works and lives as a settler learning to be a guest. Lu finds joy in creating spaces for people to uncover who they truly are in order to strengthen our social justice work. He brings 24 years of group facilitation experience, 14 years of daily mindfulness practice, was in the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders 6 Program before it’s closure due to the pandemic, in continuous mindfulness study, and attends yearly meditation retreats. For fun, Lu loves to feast with family, camp, climb and swim in nature. www.lulam.ca Mindfulness Co-Facilitator: Shay Loo (she/her), BA Psych. Shay Loo (she/her) is a Chinese-Scottish trans woman who was born on the Katzie First Nation and Kwantlen First Nation territory. She currently resides and works on the unceded land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueum), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples as a Health Navigator with Trans Care BC, a PHSA program that supports trans, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse folks and their loved ones across BC. Dixie Lee Vance, ᓂ ᒥᑭᓯ ᑭᐦᐁᐤ (Leading Eagle), (she/her/we), Spiritual Advisor: Dixie is a Metis with Cree/Mohawk bloodlines from Territory 6, and is a relative residing on the unceded traditional territory of the Kwantlen and Semiahmoo Peoples. Dixie works as a Program Elder at the Fraser Valley Institution. She works with Jaylene Mcrae, co-facilitating Positive Space for trans, Two-Spirit, non-binary, and queer women and folks in the prison system. Accessibility FAQs Q: Are there wheelchair-accessible washrooms nearby? A: None of our permanent buildings have wheelchair-accessible washrooms; however, we have a single wheelchair-accessible portable washroom just inside the farm gates/entrance. Q: Is the ground fairly open and even (any protruding rocks/roots, any potholes, any narrow walkways)? A: The parking lot in front of the gate is mostly packed gravel and dirt, though some of it is grass. It has a very slight downward slope at parts. The roads to the Saturday Farm market and Farm Centre are packed gravel with no major protrusions, but depending on the time of year and how recently it has been repaired, there may be some potholes. You should be able to navigate around them with care. If you are coming for a farm tour, the terrain is generally bumpy off the road. We have had wheelchairs on tours before, but we generally recommend having someone to push your wheelchair, if possible, and only if you don’t mind a bumpy ride at times. If it has been raining steadily, you may want to be cautious as some fields and paths are very muddy. How to Get to UBC Farm
The UBC Farm is located in the Wesbrook Village area on the University of British Columbia’s South Campus. Parking The UBC Farm has a parking lot which has a limited number of spaces. The parking lot at our gate offers 1.5hrs of free visitor parking, and after the fee is $2.00 for three hours. The Wesbrook village neighbourhood also provides ample parking with two hours free with registration. If possible, please choose to bike, bus, or carpool to the UBC Farm. For more campus-wide parking information, visit UBC Parking. There is a pay parking lot at University Hill Secondary, open weekday evenings and weekend all day. For short-term Wesbrook Village parking information, visit UNA Parking. By Public Transit #68 UBC Exchange/Wesbrook Village: Beginning at the UBC Bus Loop (Wesbrook Mall at Student Union Blvd.), and running counter-clockwise along Marine Drive, then West Mall, the 68 makes a pit-stop at the corner of West Mall and Agronomy Rd before continuing on to the Thunderbird Road, and then south on East Mall. After crossing 16th Avenue, East Mall becomes Ross Drive. The stop for UBC Farm is on Ross Drive at Birney Avenue. The Farm entrance is on the same side of the street, just south of Birney Avenue, on the right-hand side. #49 UBC bus: which drops off in the Wesbrook Village at Wesbrook Mall & Birney Avenue. From there, walk east along Birney Avenue to Ross Drive (about 5 minutes walk). The Farm entrance is across the street, just left of Birney Ave. #R4 41st ave: At the stop on 16th avenue between Wesbrook Mall and East Mall, a 10 minute walk from the Farm. From the bus stop, walk west along 16th Avenue to the East Mall/Ross Drive roundabout and take a left. Walk two blocks south on Ross Drive and the entrance to the Farm will be on your right. By Car/Bike To reach the UBC Farm from main campus, follow one of two routes: Travel south on East Mall, cross 16th Ave (it turns into Ross Drive) and take the first right into the entrance. Travel south on Wesbrook Mall and continue south through the roundabout at Wesbrook Mall & 16th Ave. Turn right on Grey Ave (there is a large UBC Farm sign at that intersection), right on Ross Drive, and the entrance will be on your left.
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