Hosted by Thérèse Cator, Founder of Embodied Black Girl
Weāve been celebrated by:
Ourselves. Our lineage. Our systems. Our earth.
Our personal and collective traumas are entangled with toxic systems of oppression and domination. However, if we look long enough weāll notice that thereās a global plea to heal deeply. But healing is difficult in a culture that normalizes toxic ways of relating and being. In many ways, we all learn avoid our shadows and the underbelly of things while our conditioning and traumas run the show. In the end weāre left:
Embodied Black Girl stands for the embodied liberation of Black women and femmes globally. Weāre devoted to creating safe, sacred and brave space for our sisters and siblings across the diaspora. We know that through our bodies we have the power to transform intergenerational trauma into intergenerational medicine that will support of our mental wellness and our individual and collective thriving and liberation.
We believe healing is personal and political; spiritual and corporeal. Our offerings weave together breathwork, somatic attunement, embodiment and creative practices and coaching for an integrative and transformative experience. Our work trauma is informed, somatically rooted and grounded in a revolutionary and decolonial lens. Weāre here for radical healing to weave the new world from the inside out because the revolution is embodied.
Join us for this free live 90 minute masterclass.
Instagram Caption: Join me for GET FREE a free masterclass by @embodiedblackgirl hosted by @theresecator where we’ll explore how to heal deep and break the cycle of intergenerational trauma to create the life you deserve! www.embodiedblackgirl.com/masterclass Link in @embodiedblackgirl #embodiedblackgirl #getfree #masterclass
Ā
āØA Space of Deep Deep Nourishment āØ
Iām hosting the Embodied Black Girl Heal Deep Retreat this coming November 1-6 on the Pacific Coast of Mexico on 200 acres of land and mile long beach.
Itās going to be beautiful! Big nature! Beautiful Ceremony + Ritual! And real sisterhood!
If youāre being called to be there, listen to the call and take the leap and trust that soul nudge. So much of my journey has been listening to my soul and itās something I practice daily.
If you want to be there I recommend that you secure your spot as early as possible (our last retreat sold out)! There are also some beautiful gifts available when you register now.
It would be an honor to have you there and hold space for us! šŗš„šŗ
All the details can be found:
https://embodiedblackgirl.com/mexico-retreat
#embodiedblackgirl
Iām feeling fired up!!! š„š„š„
Today Iām hosting HEAL an IG Live class where Iāll be riffing on the power of creating safe and brave space for Black women and femmes.
There are always conversations floating around about whether spaces for Black women are even necessary and needed and Iāll address that.
Also, once we are in those spaces navigating the relational realm can be both beautiful and complex.
Thereās so much to say!
Join me on IG LIVE TODAY
February 3, 2023
@embodiedblackgirl
2:15pm EST
(Click on the reminder button)
See you then!
As we celebrate Black History Month, it's also important to acknowledge that as a community we're also hurting in many ways.
The recent brutal murder of Tyre Nichols by police complicates our pain because Black officers are involved.
There are many more Black lives that have been stolen by police violence known and unknown.
So much of the grief we've experienced in the past few years has not been unprocessed. Our grief needs space to be witnessed in community.
Our Grief Vigil for Beloved Black Lives is about creating that space to honor and process our individual and collective grief.
During this gathering we'll be honoring the lives we've lost at the hands of police violence. We'll also be holding space for the grief that we're each carrying.
This gathering is FREE and open only to Black folks. Thank you for honoring this space.
Please join us for our collective cry.
Our grief tendresses will be Natalee Facey, Somatic Coach and Birth Doula along with Embodied Black Girl founder Thérèse Cator.
Link in bio @embodiedblackgirl www.embodiedblackgirl.com/vigil #embodiedblackgirl #blacklivesmatter
š¤ HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH š¤
This Black History Month weāre inviting our community to Center Embodiment with us!
Here are a few ideas on how to practice thisā¦
āØCenter your vision.
āØCenter your softness.
āØCenter your pleasure.
āØCenter your rest.
āØCenter your nourishment.
āØCenter your community.
āØCenter your ancestors.
āØCenter your liberation.
āØCenter yourself.
How will you center embodiment this month? Please share in the comments.
p.s. Later this week weāre holding a free gathering for the Black community. It will be a space for nourishment and to practice together. To receive the invitation join our newsletter. link @embodiedblackgirl #embodiedblackgirl #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonth2023
š¶: the incomparable @missjillscott
In the past few years, Iāve watched as the word embodiment and somatics which sometimes are used interchangeably (more on that on another day) have become more of a part of our cultural lexicon.
Itās wonderful to hear when folks share about their intentions for deeper embodiment. Iām elated when people want to learn more about somatics.
Itās powerful work and deeply relevant for these times.
Yet, the shadow side of this rise in popularity is that the essence of the work gets lost.
Oppressive systems consumes it and weaponizes it and the original intention gets lost.
So this is what the soul of our embodiment work is about. There are a few more key concepts which Iāll be sharing more about.
Embodiment is intergenerational healing work.
Embodiment is grief work.
Embodiment is resistance work.
Embodiment is shadow work.
Embodiment is shame work.
Embodiment is decolonization work.
Embodiment is reclamation work.
Embodiment is joy work.
Embodiment is liberation work for us all.
Our embodiment work will be coming alive at our Heal Deep Retreat for Black women and femmes which is currently open for registration!!! š
This is one of the most in-depth and transformational ways to experience this work because thereās nothing like being in-person.
We do YEARS worth of work in 5 days, not because weāre in workshops all day (nope thereās ample room to rest, integrate and explore). Itās because the container and the women who attend are fierce AF and beautiful and tender and loving. Itās a true sisterhood.
We just gathered a few days ago for our watch party and the transformations are real and lasting! So many amazing things have transpired for them and we were also able to hold whatās tender. Itās beautiful to witness us winning like this!!!
All the details for our retreat happening Nov 1-6 are shared at our link in bio @embodiedblackgirl (limited spots available) #embodiedblackgirl
p.s. Weāre also hosting another retreat open to ALL women and femmes (see stories for link) details to come! š
I know deep in my bones that Black women and femmes deserve spaces where we can center our healing and liberation.
We deserve beauty.
We deserve softness.
We deserve tending.
We deserve love.
Itās my honor to hold sacred space where we stand in our divinity. Where intergenerational pain is transformed into power. Where the blessings pour and weāre able to rešš¾ceive šš¾themšš¾.
This autumn, weāre creating yet another beautiful container for the healing of Black women and femmes. Registration just opened for our upcoming Embodied Black Girl Heal Deep Retreat!!! š
Weāll gather from Nov 1-6 (during the annual DĆa de los Muertos celebrations) at an intimate eco-resort on the Pacific Coast of Mexico devoted to sustainable and regenerative practices and service to the local community.
Weāll be nestled between the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains on 200 acres of land and a pristine mile-long beach.
If youāve been desiring deep healing, true sisterhood, adventure consider joining us. Really words canāt capture how beautiful and deep we go. It can only be experienced.
If youāre feeling the soul nudge to be there ā listen. Itās going to be pure #blackgirlmagic š¤
All the details can be found at @embodiedblackgirl
Also, thru February 1st there are some beautiful gifts available when you join us! Limited spots available.
š„: @theresecator
#embodiedblackgirl #healdeep
Dear Black Folks,
I love you.
Always.
But especially in this moment.
Tyre Nichols deserved to live a fully vibrant life. To be his unique self. To skateboard. To be a dad and witness his 4-year old son grow. To become an elder. He deserved to live.
That is what we are all worthy of.
Take care of yourself and one another dear ones.
Loving us all deeply especially now.
Rest in power Tyre Nichols. Sending prayers to this family especially his mother and dear son. š¤ #sayhisname
šŗBelovedšŗ
If you only read this today I want you to know...
You are worthy of unconditional love, because you are love. You are deserving of deep support, because our true nature is communal. And healing is your birthright, because you are your ancestorsā wildest dreams realized.
And while we live in a culture that have us forgetting our divinity, we can choose to remember.
The Embodied Black Girl Heal Deep Retreat is a sacred alchemical container for Black women and femmes where we remember ā our worth, our ancestral gifts and our divinity.
As you commune with yourself, other beloveds and nature you unmap from interpersonal, cultural and colonial wounds.
From a space of deep nourishment, we remember our wildness, we embody our pleasure, we transform through sisterhood, we root to your most expansive expression of life and leadership.
If you're a Black women who's been desiring a container where you're deeply seen and held you're invited to join us.
Together we'll experience deep belly laughs, cry, sing, dance, share from our souls and eat the most delicious food. This retreat is deep soul medicine and coming home to your most luminous self.
And when you register by Feb 1st there are two beautiful gifts!!!
If this speaks to your soul it would be my honor to have you join us for a beautiful regenerative and sustainable adventure!
Link @embodiedblackgirl šŗ #embodiedblackgirl
Thereās deep power when Black women + femmes gather to center our healing and liberation. Itās my honor and calling to hold this sacred alchemical space.
And today, as I emerge from a deep winter rest this announcement feels like the first sprouts of Spring emerging! š±š±š±
Iām overjoyed to share that our Embodied Black Girl Retreat for Black women + femmes will take place this autumn from November 1st - 6th! šŗ
And registration for the retreat officially opens TOMORROW Friday, January 27th!
If you want to be among the first to receive the details and register join our waitlist! Those on the waitlist will have the first opportunity to secure your spot tomorrow! We currently have exactly 172 folks on the waitlist! š¤Æš
I canāt wait to share tomorrow!
šŗlink @embodiedblackgirl
www.embodiedblackgirl.com/retreat
#embodiedblackgirl #blackwomenhealing
āØThe Best Mental Health Books of 2022āØ
Happy New Year!!! ššš
When Rebecca Ruiz, Senior Features Writer at @mashable asked for my favorite mental health books of 2022 my pick was Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey founder of @thenapministry šš¾šš¾šš¾
Itās a phenomenal read and literally had me snatching my pillow! Have you read it? It makes me want to start an EBG Book Club! Whoās down?! ššæāāļøšš½āāļøšš¾āāļø
Another book that made the list are What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo @foofoofoo
To check out the full list head over to the link in our bio @embodiedblackgirl š
And please share in the comments: What were your favorite mental health/healing/wellness books of 2022? ššš¾
#bestof2022 #mentalhealth #bestbooks #bestbooksof2022 #embodiedblackgirl
Beloved One,
Dream with me for a moment.
I'm inviting us to dream because, for many of us, the colonial-patriarchy has nearly destroyed our ability to dream.
Yet, here we are, our ancestor's wildest dreams realized.
As we get ready to welcome a new year, many of us are feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, still processing grief and all that's transpired personally and collectively over the past few years.
Yet, something within us yearns to be fully expressed in our life and work.
This year, before we start setting resolutions that we think we want or we think will make us fit into dominant culture ideals let's carve out time to listen to our soul.
Let's reclaim the sacred ancestral practice of dreaming and go beyond the matrix of patriarchal-supremacy. Let's dismantle dystopian futures by rooting to our brightest vision for ourselves and our world.
If this speaks to your soul, you're invited to...
āDecolonial Visioning a live 4-hour workshop where you'll design and dream into 2023 with intention and intuition. Together, we'll reclaim dreaming and visioning as radical and magical ancestral practices for our liberation.
All are welcome. Please join us. š¹ā¤ļøš¹
āØAll the registration details can be found at www.embodiedblackgirl.com/vision link in bio @embodiedblackgirl
#embodiedblackgirl #decolonialvisioning
Thank you @trevornoah for giving Black women our flowers!!! ššš
As a Black women, I know all too well that we canāt afford to f*ck around because our lives and the lives of our children are on the line. Which is why itās so important for Black women to center our joy, pleasure, rest and healing.
Thank you Trevor for 7 years of Black brilliance and excellence. You spoke life and truth!!! šš¾šš¾šš¾šš¾
#embodiedblackgirl #trevornoah
š¹RECLAIMING THE STRONG BLACK WOMANš¹
(This is an excerpt of a piece that was shared on our newsletter. Subscribe for more goodness.)
The first time I was called strong was in grade school.
Iāve met Black women from all over the world who can relate.
The strength of Black women and isnāt a permission slip for our society to uphold the status quo.
Our Strength isnāt a weapon to deny us of our dignity.
To see us only as strong strips us of our humanity. To see us only as strong allows the most unbearable and unthinkable crimes of humanity to persist.
ć°ļøOur children being slaughtered by police brutality, our lives being stolen at childbirth.
ć°ļøOur pain being questioned.
ć°ļøOur siblings being locked away in cages.
ć°ļøOur Black trans sisters being murdered.
These atrocities are too often hidden behind the phrase.
āYouāre so strong.ā
Today, our strength can no longer be a scapegoat to bear injustice and to allow others to be feign weakness.
Alongside our strength is deep tenderness.
We wonāt be denied of our tenderness.
We refuse to forget our softness.
We will no longer be severed from our sensitivity.
For Black women and femmes embracing and expressing our strength and sensitivity is revolutionary and a reclamation of our humanity.
š¹š¹š¹
A gentle reminder: Today Thursday, December 8th is the last day to receive the beautiful and *new* early enrollment bonuses when you join us for Circle of Reclamation! (You have until 11:59pm Pacific) š¤
The support and depth is incredible and weāre proud to be able to offer accessible sliding scale pricing. šš¾
Together letās do the deep work to heal intergenerationally, restore our ancestral gifts and embody the depth of our leadership.
This is for us, our beloveds, our ancestors and our communities.
All the details can be found at: www.EmbodiedBlackGirl.com/COR
@embodiedblackgirl
I trust if it speaks to your heart youāll join us. š
Hello Loves! Iām giving you a peek at our xmas tree! šAnd popping in to remind you that today is the last day for early enrollment bonuses for Circle of Reclamation! Join us by TODAY December 8th at 11:59pm Pacific and youāll receive some gorgeous early enrollment bonuses which includes one of our most popular offerings Decolonial Visioning a half-day workshop to intentionally and intuitively plan your year which is happening live in January!
Circle of Reclamation is an ongoing emergent container for embodied healing and decolonial leadership created for Black women and femmes and women and femmes of color.
You can join monthly, quarterly or yearly! And Iām so proud to be offering accessible pricing to make this work available to more folks in our community! We have a beautiful collective coming together and Iād love to have you join us! š¤
All the details can be found at www.CircleofReclamation.com š
#embodiedblackgirl
#circleofreclamation
Thereās so much pressure to be perfect when it comes to sharing our deepest gifts and work with the world.
However, perfectionism is a colonial construct.
And it totally makes sense that in this culture, that we want to focus on everything being perfect.
However, I often remind myself that some of the greatest inventions some of the greatest artwork were āmistakesā or happy accidents.
And if those individuals didnāt allow and give themselves space and grace, that magic would never have existed.
So instead of orienting towards having to have something be perfect, letās orient towards play.
And when we orient towards allowing ourselves to play, we just show up in devotion to whatever it is that weāre doing at that time. We show up for the magic. And being devoted to practice that is what allows to us to create from a place of excellence.
But the trick is we have to let go.
āšŗāØšŗ
Circle of Reclamation is officially open for enrollment for the first time in over a year!
Circle of Reclamation is an ongoing emergent community for Black women and femmes + women and femmes of color where we root to our deepest healing, remember our innate radiance and revolutionize our leadership.
We do this work with deep care for ourselves, one another and our communities.
And when you join us by THURSDAY (12/8) youāll receive some gorgeous early enrollment bonuses!
This is the space for us by us and I canāt wait to gather together.
Learn all about it at: www.EmbodiedBlackGirl.com/cor link in bio @embodiedblackgirl
Beloveds,
The Get Free Masterclass was so much fun!!! Thank you for coming and for dancing with me! šš¾ššæšš½ššæ
Today, Iām overjoyed and dancing because Circle of Reclamation is officially open for enrollment!
Circle of Reclamation is an on-going emergent journey of deep healing, expanded leadership and reclamation. Iāve had the honor of holding this beautiful container for women and femmes all over the world!
Now more than ever we need to do the deep internal work to show up as rooted leaders in our relationships, communities and work. This journey is my heart and soul and Iām blown away by the wise humans in our community.
This evolution of Circle of Reclamation is for Black women and femmes and women and femmes of color so that we can go deeper and explore topics that impact us and our communities.
We have a beautiful flow and format with sliding scale pricing and honestly the amount of depth and value here is absolutely incredible!
This is the most accessible way to work together this year.
And we have some beautiful early enrollment bonuses when you join us by this Thursday (12/8)! š
It would be an honor if you joined us! You can read all about it here:
āwww.EmbodiedBlackGirl.com/corā link in bio @embodiedblackgirl #embodiedblackgirl #circleofreclamation
āØIām hosting a free masterclass tomorrowāØand Iām thinking about thisā¦
Over the years, I've spoken to many visionary women who've become depleted because they're giving waaaaaaaaaay more than what they're receiving.
So many of us overgive without a second thought.
We give even when it means...
ć°ļøPressing pause on our vision, dreams and desires
ć°ļøTaking on the lion's share of parenting, household and caregiving duties
ć°ļøWorking more while getting paid less (and often with unrealistic expectations of what should be accomplished)
For many of us, overgiving has generational and historical origins. We watched our parents and loved ones do it. We never questioned their choices and neither did they.
In a culture of supremacy, where labor is fuel, so much of our labor is made invisible or insignificant. Too often our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual labor isn't valued even though our labor enriches many.
Typically our reward for overgiving is being known as the āgood friend/child/parent/partner". While the adoration may temporarily feel good it usually abruptly ends when we say no.
Who needs those kinds of props when the end result is depletion or dying?
So, how do we opt out of overgiving?
We release martyrdom and create a culture of nourishment. We center our healing and break intergenerational spells. We lead in revolutionary ways.
We also...
āØHonor our deepest and most expansive vision for our future and our collective futures
āØDisrupt patterns and programming that keep us in cycles of perfectionism, overwhelm and imposter syndrome
āØRecognize the parts of ourselves that are yearning for embodied healing and reclamation
āØEmbody and share our deepest medicine
Tomorrow, we'll be exploring this in depth during Get Free, my free workshop and I'd love for you to join us!
We'll spend 90-minutes exploring what it takes to heal from intergenerational trauma and create a life that is sourced from our soul.
It's going to be deep, devotional and decolonial.
Are you in?
If so, sign up here:
āwww.EmbodiedBlackGirl.com/masterclassā link in bio @embodiedblackgirl
#embodiedblackgirl #getfree
Iāve been thinking about the popular notion in healing and wellness that claimsā¦.
It takes a breakdown to have a breakthrough.
Although, we can all agree that the moments of intensity that bring us to our knees have the power to mold us in unimaginable ways, anchoring to this notion also limits us.
Iāve had many clients share with me how utterly exhausted they are. When I explored this with one client in particular, it turned out she was exhausted from healing through pain, which is completely understandable.
In a colonialist-capitalist society thereās an excess of pain to go around and these systemic injustices deliberately impact marginalized people in violent ways.
And yet, I'm reminded that many of our ancestors dreamed and fought for a more beautiful and just world.
I often ask myself: What kept our ancestors going beyond their painful realities?
The answer that have arose from within and through conversations with elders is:
What kept them going was a dream, unshakeable faith and a knowingness that liberation is our birthright.
What also kept them going was joy.
In a culture that glorifies violence, pain can seem like the default pathway to true healing.
But what if our healing could happen through pleasure?
Although it sounds easy, so many of us have been socialized into narratives that vilify pleasure and have us believing that weāre too broken. And so we deny ourselves pleasure.
What if itās through pleasure we unarmour our bodies, minds and hearts to find...
ć°ļøMoments where we can truly be soft and safe.
ć°ļøMoments where weāre not doing all the holding/caretaking but instead being held.
ć°ļøMoments where we can slow down and allow our joy to be a conduit for transformation.
Over the years, I've experienced and witnessed that as we allow moments of softness, safety, pleasure and joy to land in our nervous system we interrupt the intergenerational and societal conditioning that hinder our aliveness.
Weāll spiral deeper during GET FREE masterclass to explore how to deeply embody your pleasure now and show up in new ways.
Itās free and we gather on Tuesday!
āwww.EmbodiedBlackGirl.com/masterclassā link @embodiedblackgirl