Fierce Self-Compassion Workshop
I will be offering a free 3-session workshop on Fierce Self-Compassion; the weekly sessions will begin on Tuesday, January 14 at noon Eastern US. (Time zone converter here.) Each session will be about 2 hours. For more info and to register, read on!
[Please note that because of my unpredictable schedule I may need to change the dates. Thank you for understanding.]
Compassion is often thought of as being tender and nurturing. But there is a fierce side to compassion—that mama bear/papa bear energy that can act to protect, provide and motivate. In order to act skillfully in the world—and to work within ourselves—we need to be able to access both these aspects of compassion.
This workshop serves as an introduction to fierce self-compassion, with an opportunity to explore topics, exercises and practices. The approach is based on the definitive book on the subject by Dr. Kristen Neff. Although this workshop is designed for anyone, it will really help if you already have experience with self-compassion. If self-compassion is completely new to you, you may want to check out this Dropbox folder that has recordings and resources I offer in my introductory sessions on the topic.
Here is a breakdown of the three sessions:
Session 1: We’ll explore what self-compassion is and how it manifests in both tender and fierce forms. We’ll talk about the effect of gender role socialization on the experience compassion, and touch into the relationship between anger and fierce self-compassion. We’ll also do some foundational practices to cultivate both the tender and fierce side of compassion.
Session 2: We’ll see what you’ve been learning about fierce self-compassion through the preceding week. We’ll then do a practice known as Fierce Compassionate Friend, and then have a discussion and exercise around drawing boundaries. (Please note that this will not be about how or when to draw a boundary. It is about exploring the internal obstacles that keep us from setting boundaries in the first place.)
Session 3: We'll explore the self-compassionate approach to anger, and how to access the wisdom that underlies anger by drawing on both the tender and fierce aspects of compassion. We can then use the energy of anger in a skillful way, rather than succumbing to the more destructive manifestations of that emotion.
This is not a comprehensive course—it is just an introduction. If you want to explore this more deeply, you can check out Dr. Neff’s book and the longer 8-week courses on the topic through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. It can be activating to explore fierce compassion, so please listen to your inner guide and register only if you feel this is a good time to explore this topic---I will be offering this again in the future.
The class is offered freely to make it as accessible as possible. If you find it of value, please consider making a donation to either Imagine Mindfulness, a non-profit working to make mindfulness classes available to all, or to the non-profit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, the organization that creates programs like this.
You can register here or use the happy little button below. Because buttons are fun to make! If you have questions about the class, please contact me directly at modestlymindful@gmail.com. For my background, you can view the “About Me” page. Testimonials are here.
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash