Irresistible (fka Healing Justice Podcast)
Society & Culture
Today we’re talking with Sumitra Rajkumar. We discuss what somatics is, the meaning (and common misinterpretation and misuse) of the concepts of trauma and trigger, the reality of this political moment, and holding the seeming contradictions of organizing, healing, head, and heart.
ABOUT OUR GUEST: SUMITRA RAJKUMAR
After twenty years of political education and youth-led documentary work, Sumitra is now a somatics practitioner and teacher under the auspices of generative somatics. She coaches organizers and cultural workers to address the impact of trauma in their lives and step into leadership and collective action. Sumitra works with organized groups to hone shared values and purpose, process conflict and trust their power to move society towards justice. She believes in the creative, emotional and intellectual capacities of human beings to become agents of radical, interdependent social movements. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and is working on her first novel.
PRACTICE
Download the corresponding practice to hear Sumitra guide you through a Somatic Centering practice that can be done anywhere, alone or in a group… and is one of the most fundamental building block tools of somatics, helping you to presence yourself fully in your life and in your work. You’ll need a place you can focus, and no supplies other than yourself for this practice. It can be done alone or in a group.
FURTHER RESOURCES
Generative Somatics website
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
Genome by Matt Ridley
The Physiology of Racist and Sexist Oppression by Shannon Sullivan
Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine
Healing Sex by Staci Haines
The Anatomy of Change by Richard Strozzi
Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman
The Feeling of What Happens by Anthony Damasio
Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert
And hey… the poem that talks about the “soft animal of the body” IS by Mary Oliver! It’s Wild Geese.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Sign up for the email list to hear when new episodes drop at www.healingjustice.org
Follow us on Instagram @healingjustice, like Healing Justice Podcast on Facebook, and tweet at us @hjpodcast on Twitter
We pay for all costs out-of-pocket and this podcast is 100% volunteer-run. Help us cover our costs by becoming a sponsor at patreon.com/healingjustice
THANK YOU
Mixed and produced by Zach Meyer at the COALROOM
Intro and Closing music gifted by Danny O’Brien
All visuals contributed by Josiah Werning
28 People's Medicine & Queer Magic -- Dori Midnight
27 Practice: Compartmentalizing in a Healthy Way with Je Naé Taylor of BYP100 Healing & Safety Council
27 Interventional Healing & Accountability -- BYP100 Healing & Safety Council (Je Naé Taylor & Kai M Green)
26 Practice: Deepening Community Agreements with BYP100 Healing & Safety Council (P Ife Williams & Chris Roberts)
26 Preventative Healing & Accountability -- BYP100 Healing & Safety Council (P Ife Williams & Chris Roberts)
25 Practice: Grounded Breathing with Teresa P Mateus of Mystic Soul Project
25 Mystic Soul: People of Color Centered Spirituality (Teresa P Mateus, Jade Perry, & Ra Mendoza)
24 Practice: Forgiveness Meditation with Jacoby Ballard
24 The Art of Allyship: Coming Alongside -- Jacoby Ballard
23 Practice: Sacred Writing with the Peace Poets (The Last Emcee & Lu Aya)
23 The Cypher is the Opposite of Prison: Liberating Language -- The Peace Poets
22 Practice: Healing in Direct Action with Black Lives Matter Global Network (Miski Noor & Kandace Montgomery)
22 Sustaining Ourselves When Confronting Violence -- Black Lives Matter Global Network (Miski Noor & Kandace Montgomery)
21 Práctica: Rezo Diario de Gratitud con Francisca Porchas Coronado (Español)
21 Practice: Daily Gratitude Prayer with Francisca Porchas Coronado (English)
21 Spiritual Resistance: Bridging Organizing & Healing -- Francisca Porchas Coronado
20 Practice: Sharing Resonance with Mark Fairfield
20 Relational Culture & Undoing Individualism -- Mark Fairfield
19 Practice: The Sing-Down with Flobots (Jonny 5 & Brer Rabbit)
19 Songs for the Streets -- Flobots (Jonny 5 & Brer Rabbit)
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