The goal of this activity is for participants to reflect by centering wellness and community care.

• How will you encourage participants to invest in these principles? 

Longer, more introspective sessions can sometimes cause difficulty with maintaining energy in larger groups.

• How will you keep your participants engaged?

Supplies you may need: 

• Legal Pad Paper
• Post-It paper
• Markers
• Speaker
• Chimes
• Pens

This activity features guided meditation and other self-exploration focused practices.

• How will you center yourself and avoid distractions while you participate?

Introduction 

The facilitator can begin the activity by sharing the following quote about self and community care:

“To truly seek healing for our communities, we need to interrupt and transform systems on a broader level. We need to move the self-care conversation into community care. We need to move the conversation from individual to collective. From independent to interdependent.” - Yashna Padamsee 

 

Why are we Here?

The facilitator can then ask the participants to engage with two questions and use big sticky notepads to record the answers.

Participant Questions:

• What is it about service that is helpful to caring for ourselves?
• What is it that can be harmful?

Then, share that it is important for the knowledge and experience in this space to be co-created. Everyone involved has something important to share in this dialogue about care. 

The facilitator will ask the group to define the following terms and record them on a big sticky notepad:

• Self-Care
• Community
• Community-Care
• Burnout

They can then ask the group to briefly reflect on the conversation so far and from there share the goals they have of this session and the expectations we have for the space. The facilitator will record the answers on a big sticky notepad.

Wheel of Wellness

At this point, the facilitator will go over the Wheel of Wellness as one framework for understanding well-being. They will share the different areas of wellness and their definitions. If using slides, the facilitator will encourage participants to take a picture of the wheel to save the resource. The facilitator will ask the group to share thoughts about the wheel.

• What stands out to you about the wheel?
• Was anything surprising?
• Do you think it is possible to be well in all these ways?

Framework of Care

The facilitator will then share the Deanna Zandt framework of care, going through the four squares sharing the groups and highlighting certain actions. Facilitators can share that this framework looks to understand that wellness is not just an individual and personal process and goal, but one that is deeply connected to community and society as a whole. It is important to understand that there are factors at play in our wellness systems that are beyond our personal control. (ex. Access to counseling/therapy could be difficult because of not having insurance for it, not having the finances for it, not have childcare coverage to go, etc.)

The facilitator will ask the participants to reflect and think on what aspects of these frameworks stand out as important to them as individuals, as a group member (small community - think friend or family groups), as a club or organization member (a group working towards a particular goal). The facilitator will ask them to share-out about their thoughts.  

Resources

The facilitator will then ask participants to think about how and where they find resources to work on the areas and aspects of wellness they shared. The facilitator will examples of resources like meditation applications, counseling services, and therapy dogs. The facilitator will share the following guiding questions and record the group’s answers on a big sticky notepad.

• What resources do we have on campus?
• What resources in our community?
• What are we currently doing to care for ourselves individually, communally, organizationally?
• What do we wish we could do? 

Meditation  

At this point, the facilitator can then lead the group through a short guided meditation on acts of care and wellness. They will ask the group to get as comfortable as they can and to close their eyes if comfortable. The facilitator can use background music or do the meditation with just their voice. The guided meditation is as follows: 

• Begin with breathing deep full breaths. Let your thoughts and emotions come and go.
• Open yourself to what ideas and feelings emerge when you think on your wellness and some of the challenges and stressors that may be present.
• Where do these feelings show up in your body? Pay close attention to that area. Place a hand there if you feel comfortable.
• Stay present and kind to yourself. Keep yourself open to any memories or experiences that come up. Try not to block anything, but accept it with compassion for yourself. Remember to love yourself. Anchor yourself with breath.
• Open yourself to what ideas and feelings emerge when you think on the wellness of the community you are in and of organizations you are a part of. What are some of the challenges and stressors that may be present?
• Welcome your emotions. Be aware of any judgements that come up and how they affect your emotions. Observe and acknowledge them, but do not indulge the judgements.
• Remember to hold this experience with kindness and tenderness towards yourself.
• Return to your deep breaths and you let your thoughts and emotions come and go.
• Offer yourself thanks for taking this time to reflect and care for yourself.

Final Reflections

After the group has mediated The facilitator will offer gratitude for the group joining them in this practice. Then the facilitator will ask the group to write down some ideas for resources and actions they’ll use individually, communally, and organizationally. 

Depending on the group size the facilitator will have folks share as pairs and then share one takeaway with the larger group.

The facilitator will pose the final question of the session and record the answers: 

• What kind of community do we need in order to take care?
• How do we create that type of community?

Once the group has finished conversing and answering the question the facilitator will close with another round of thanks and an opening for additional questions.

Think about the quotes you hear and frameworks that you are introduced to through this session.

• How do they build upon or complicate what you have already known/thought about wellness? 

Commit to focusing internally so that you get as much as possible out of the self-reflection aspects of this activity.