Dear Reader,
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How are you doing? The news has been getting me down and it was hard to find something to write on without feeling the futility. This past Sunday, I had lunch with a wise friend and they reminded me of the importance of acknowledging the grief that comes up within me as I watch world and local events unfold, and feel the inadequacy of my actions. I appreciated their reminder to feel my feelings and let grief wash over me.

In the (relatively recent) past, I have resisted allowing myself to feel or even acknowledge grief for fear of being pulled under by the emotional waves, never to surface again. The risk of my other responsibilities being neglected and stacking up whilst I crawl my way back to homeostasis felt too costly. But the tricky and consistent thing about inconvenient emotions is that our bodies need to feel and process them. Repressed emotions have a way of coming out sideways, causing collateral damage with those around us. If there is one thing I've learned from jiu-jitsu, it's that stubborn resistance rarely frees me from the pressure of the moment and oftentimes leads to worse predicaments and injuries.

How do we let our grief and other emotions flow and also address our fear of being swept away? Honestly, I'm still experimenting with different methods to process my feelings...talking, not talking, writing, movement, etc. The one thing that has helped me is sharing with a trusted person when I am feeling grief and asking them to hold space for me. I find that letting someone know when I don't feel well, instead of hiding or suppressing it, helps me stay more grounded. The more practice I get letting grief out, the more my confidence grows that I will find my way back.

What about you, Reader? Have you found something that helps you process the big feelings? If you care to share, I would love to hear what works for you.

May Happenings

1) The next workshop is a week away, on Sunday, May 19, from 11-1pm at the ​Flying Tortoise Academy​ located at 4400 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97213. Due to a recent local abduction (in which the abductee was found safely the next day), I am going to focus on techniques against grabs and being carried, and using our skeletal structure to make us harder to pick up and carried off. If this topic intrigues you, please register for the workshop and consider bringing a friend to share this knowledge. And if you can't make it to this one, I would love to see you at June's workshop on Sunday, June 9. Registration is open for both workshops.

2) Enrollment to the second half of Spring Cohort is opened! We've spent the past 5 weeks learning and honing ways to escape from unwanted contact from both on our feet and beneath someone on the ground. We will dive into more self-defense skills for another 5 weeks, from May 17 to June 14. For more information, please visit here or see the graphic below. If you'd like to check out the class before you sign up, please email me and we can find a time.

Thank you, as always, for reading my newsletter! Please email me and share your thoughts. I hope to see you at a workshop or a cohort class!

Sincerely,

Holly (she/they)
"Self-Defense for Every Body" | ​www.safetogether.space | IG: @hollyempowered​

$0.00 May 2024 Safe Together Workshop Personal Safety Foundations Spend two hours in a safe and inclusive environment learning how to make effective... Read more Get it now!

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$0.00 June 2024 Safe Together Workshop Personal Safety Foundations Spend two hours in a safe and inclusive environment learning how to make effective... Read more Get it now!

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$150.00 Spring 2024 Cohort Course (Half Term Only) PLEASE NOTE: THIS PAYMENT OPTION IS FOR ONLY 5 WEEKS OF INSTRUCTION. Learn self-defense techniques and mindset in a safe... Read more Get it now!

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Mark your calendars for upcoming workshops

• ​Sunday, June 9, 11-1pm​
• ​Sunday, July 14, 11-1pm​

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