healing at the end of 2022

Healing Circles with Rise Above Violence
By Stefanie Little

2022 is nearing the end, and with that we are also celebrating our first full year of Healing Circle Workshops - a joint effort between Rise Above Violence and PMAB + Movement. This year we have explored so many different healing modalities, all specifically aimed for trauma survivors looking for alternative ways to find growth and healing. This year we have offered workshops on self-massage, reiki circles, flower essences, the art of council, sound healing, and various forms of movement.

Back about a year ago, at the end of 2021, the two organizations sat down for some brainstorming. The weekly peer-supported talk therapy women’s group wasn’t working, but we knew that survivors in the community were searching for something. We talked about how Rise had been doing this work for so long, that now we have a community of trauma survivors who may well be long past the immediate crisis of their situation, have moved on, stabilized their lives, and no longer required Rise’s services necessarily, but there was still healing to be done. We realized that survivors are moving more towards alternative healing methods to continue that deeper personal work.

These Healing Circle mini-workshops came into being for that purpose. How we heal from trauma is different for everyone; one may feel pulled towards sound healing as opposed to art therapy, while another may greatly benefit from some guidance on self-massage, rather than energy work. Oftentimes, you won’t know until you give it a try!

PMAB + Movement hosts these workshops once a month for free for any trauma survivors. They take place every 4th Thursday of the month from noon-1pm at the PMAB studio. We feel the holidays are just as important for grounding and healing as any other time of the year (perhaps even more so for survivors), and our workshop for this month, on December 22nd at noon, will be based around gentle yoga and meditation: “We will do gentle yoga for grounding as well as some heart opening poses, to prepare ourselves for Loving Kindness (Metta) Meditation for oneself. It will be 20-30 minutes of guided meditation after asana practice, for some extra support for oneself, gift giving for oneself, before the holiday! Led by Andrea Peltier.”

We are already gearing up for 2023 - with January’s workshop topic about personal transformation, and we have hypnotherapy and homeopathy on the calendar as well! If you or someone you know is a survivor in Pagosa, searching for community and alternative healing, we hope you will join us at PMAB for these amazing, transformative, and healing mini-workshops. If you have any questions, feel free to call PMAB at 970-903-9278.

These healing workshops are just one way that Rise works with the community to support victims and survivors. Advocates at Rise also offer safety planning, emotional support, help victims navigate the legal system, and much more. Research shows that supportive services that are trauma informed are the best way to get to those who have experienced domestic violence on the path to healing.

Rise Above Violence is a 501c3 non-profit that provides 24-hour support and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault or other forms of violence, serving around 400 victims each year. Rise also works to eliminate violence through education for youth and our community. All programs and services are free and confidential, including emergency prevention education and empowerment programs. Visit www.riseaboveviolence.org for more information or call 970-264-9075 to talk to an advocate today.