As we continue to grow the field of Somatic Movement Education and Therapy, the ISMETA Board of Director’s Equity, Justice and Accessibility Committee supports the on-going development of ISMETA’s organizational values and practices related to social equity and justice.
posted February 2022
As we continue to grow the field of Somatic Movement Education and Therapy, the ISMETA Board of Director’s Equity, Justice and Accessibility Committee supports the on-going development of ISMETA’s organizational values and practices related to social equity and justice. We acknowledge that this is a living and partial document that is actively in process and will evolve according to the work we are committed to do as an organization.
ISMETA is an international organization guided by a vision of transforming lives through conscious movement. We recognize, cultivate, and honor the sanctity of the embodied experience of people of all racialized identities, ancestral and environmental antecedents, social or economic status, genders, ages, abilities, religions, sexual orientations, and expressions of care and love.
As we seek to understand the historical waters we swim in, we are aware of structural inequities that have compromised these values and created the conditions whereby, as we strive to enact the realization of this vision, ISMETA is required to re-examine its practices as an organism.
We are committed to a long-term strategic visioning process within ISMETA that catalyzes equity and justice as living realities in our organization and in our field. We also recognize this is a multigenerational process that has begun and must continue with humility and fierce determination. Simultaneously, we aspire to purposefully engage our shared humanity and our divergent perspectives with courage, honesty, curiosity and respect.
We believe this commitment to equity, justice, and accessibility is essential to developing compassionate and competent somatic practitioners. As such, we will develop accountability measures that hold us all responsible and we will continually reflect on the progress made towards fulfilling these actions.
We acknowledge these growth processes will require a relationship with the whole organization and its membership.
We, the members of the Equity, Justice and Accessibility Committee (Ray Schwartz, Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell, Maria Luisa Diaz de Leon, Kehinde Ishangi, E.E. Balcos, Rebecca Frost, and Kima Kraimer), are aware we necessarily have blind spots and are committed to growing our awareness as we continue in solidarity with this global struggle.
For an explanation of our use of the term "Master" to describe advanced Somatic Movement practitioners, please click HERE.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Anti-Racism Resources for ISMETA Members
The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association denounces the systematic use of body-based violence and oppression against Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States and other countries around the world. We are horrified by the murder of George Floyd, and countless others who have died at the hands of police, as well as private citizens. Similarly, we acknowledge that disproportionate numbers of BIPOC have died in the U.S. from COVID-19. As somatic movement professionals, we acknowledge that racism is embedded not only in our criminal justice and healthcare systems, but also in our individual bodies, and must be addressed there.
As a field, we offer resources to people who desire to inhabit their bodies with more ease, efficiency, and vitality. Many somatic movement approaches cultivate vagal tone, or the capacity to settle and soothe the nervous system in the face of conflict and overwhelm. Moreover, a number of our professional members specialize in healing body-based trauma through mindful movement, touch, breath awareness, mental imagery, and sound. These resources may potentially support the healing processes of people who have endured body-based violence and oppression.
That said, the field of somatic movement, as it developed in Western countries with influences from Eastern mind-body practices, has been primarily shaped by white practitioners and responded to the needs of white clients and students.
This tendency has been changing over the past decade, as we intentionally evolve our organization and our practices to address the needs of more diverse populations. For example, though it was put on hold due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, our upcoming conference with Pacifica Graduate Institute, October 20-24, 2021, Engaging Embodiment: Somatic Applications for Global Health, Education, and Social Justice, will offer opportunities to consider how somatic movement practices can better serve social justice movements for individual healing and collective transformation. In light of the recent tragedies that have further exposed the structural inequities in our societies, we now recognize the urgent need to expand and deepen our efforts to listen to the voices of BIPOC. ISMETA’s Action Group on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) will host black ISMETA members to speak about their experiences and needs within our organization, their professional expertise, and how ISMETA can best support the movement to build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization moving forward.
We also acknowledge that in order to fulfill our vision statement to “transform ourselves and the world through conscious movement,” we need to examine implicit biases that we carry as members of cultures that have been built, over hundreds of years, on racist tenets. Thus, we have begun to engage in professional development webinars and practice groups that explore how racist beliefs (and the intersecting constructs of sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism and able-ism) are embedded non-verbally in our individual bodies, postures, and movements. A number of our members, for example, have begun a 12-month long practice “somatic abolitionism” practice group based on the book, “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies” by Resmaa Menakem. Please stay tuned for more information about “embodied social justice” professional development opportunities offered by ISMETA.
In the meanwhile, we offer some resources about healing body-based violence that are currently available from experts in the field of somatics:
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies (Resmaa Menakem, 2017)
- The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice (Staci Haines, 2019)
- Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (adrienne maree brown, 2017)
- The Body is not an Apology: The Radical Power of Self-Love (Sonya Renee Taylor, 2018)
- Embodied Social Justice (Rae Johnson, 2017)
- Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions (Christine Caldwell, 2018)
- Diverse Bodies, Diverse Practices (Ed., Don Hanlon Johnson, 2019?)
- Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (Peter Levine, 1997)
- Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy (Pat Ogden, 2006)
We welcome comments below about how ISMETA can offer more effective organizational support for BIPOC members during this time of heart-wrenching upheaval, and beyond.
With respect and a commitment to help heal the disease of racism,
ISMETA; The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association
International Fee Schedule
As an organization, ISMETA recognizes differences in the cost-of-living in different regions of the world. We are committed to making our membership and services accessible to all who seek them. Our finance committee uses both a cost-of-living comparison as well as a consumer price index to set our international fees. We use the most current data available and our fees are set on a case-by-case basis for those requesting consideration.
ISMETA has decided to extend the sliding scale fees to all members who face financial challenges. The cost of ISMETA services should never stand in the way of participation. Contact info@ismeta.org for assistance.
EVENTS
WHAT: ISMETA is currently a predominantly racialized white organization that is striving to implement its values of Equity, Justice and Accessibility more fully into our organizational practices. We seek to support our membership to do the same in their professional practices. Thus, we offer a bi-monthly series of community conversations about themes related to this goal.
PLEASE NOTE: Affinity groups based on racial and ethnic identities, sexual preference, gender identity, differing abilities, primary language, home country, and/or other identities are offered for anyone seeking relative safety within this context.
Click here to visit the Community Conversations page to learn more and register.
In an effort to be inclusive of international members across the globe, we acknowledge that this time does not work well for people in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. We are happy to shift to a later or earlier time of day (in the Eastern U.S. time zone) in July and/or other months to make the gathering accessible for members in those areas. Please let us know your interest. We are open to suggestions!
RESOURCES
Beginning Inquiry into Coloniality in Somatic Movement Education and Practice
Dr. Martha Eddy, Ray Schwartz, and Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell recorded an hour-long panel discussion on this topic from their perspectives as white-racialized somatic movement professionals. This interview is hosted by Gayatri Schriefer, RSME and ISMETA Board member, and is part of the Somatic Movement Summit, a free online event. The hour-long video is a piece that beginners may find more helpful than people who’ve been engaged in these inquiries for some time. This recording is a copyright of The Shift Network. All rights reserved.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Anti-Racism Resources
Embodied Activism: Engaging the Body to Cultivate Liberation, Justice, and Authentic Connection by Rae Johnson (2021)
Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety edited by Cara Page and multiple contributors (2022)
How to be an Anti-racist by Ibram X. Kendi
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Healing our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice by Staci Haines
The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation's Trauma and Social Division by Resmaa Menakem (2022)
We Do This ’til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba (2021)
What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World by Prentis Hemphill (2023)
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Dance & Belonging: Implicit Bias and Inclusion in Dance Education by Crystal Davis
Crystal U. Davis is a former ISMETA Board member. Employing social science research, this book details how bias affects the brain, perception and decision-making, identifying how these factors manifest in the field of dance. Centering the author’s experience as a researcher, educator and lifelong dancer, it applies social psychology to the events, communities, and teaching strategies in dance classrooms of all sizes and age ranges. The book also disseminates the mechanisms that both exacerbate and disrupt the effects of biases, ultimately exploring practiced solutions for addressing bias in the dance classroom. Unique in its narrow focus, this book inspires dance students, teachers, education administrators and arts stakeholders to begin new conversations that will allow dance classrooms to become more welcoming, inclusive spaces.
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