Mindful Rhythms – trauma informed education

Mindful Rhythms has just launched a pilot project bringing in Trauma Informed Movement to the male inmates in the Veterans Pod in the San Francisco San Bruno Jail.

This program builds on the innovative restorative justice work begun in February ’13 when Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi brought embodied dance and movement to the incarcerated men and women in the San Francisco Jails in collaboration with Eve Ensler’s One Billion Rising global restorative justice dance event created to raise awareness of violence and oppression of women and children world wide. I am excited to bring trauma informed movement and dance to the veterans through the Mindful Rhythms Program, continuing the transformative healing, peace building, and restorative justice process set in motion that day, five months ago, when we danced in solidarity with with the Sheriff, Captain Paulson, incarcerated men and women, jail staff, and our Dancers Without Borders team.

Mindful Rhythms integrates principles of Restorative Justice, creative expression and embodied movement. These practices have been proven effective releasing deeply held, unresolved trauma and have a positive impact alleviating the symptoms that lead to reactive behaviors, addictions and stress related disorders.

“The memory of trauma is imprinted on the human organism. I don’t think you can overcome it unless you get a friendly relationship to your body” Bessel van der Kolk M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, founder of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, and pioneer researcher in the field of Trauma

Our first classes have been rich, transformative and healing for all involved.