Art of Holding Space

A practical workshop for facilitators to explore the nuances of holding space with sensitivity to trauma.

Holding space has become common in the past two decades with the rise of yoga, movement, sound, and other healing art practices. However, most training does not include the sensitivity of handling trauma. It is inevitable for traumatic material to emerge during these environments. How do we manage that appropriately?

Holding space or facilitation brings up a power dynamic that needs to be discussed, acknowledged, and navigated with reverence. How do we handle cultural and racial sensitivities? What is contextually appropriate in the spaces we are working within? What are ways to integrate consent and boundaries in localized community building settings?

In this workshop, we will explore the layered nuances of facilitation, discuss power dynamics, and the importance of choice in preparing, holding space for, and integrating empowering spaces.

There will be emphasis on the intelligence of the body through basics of embodiment and somatics, how our bodies develop in the womb (embryology), ancestral and evolutionary influences imprinted in our bodies, spinal dynamics as the home of our nervous system (craniosacral), and potential components for recovery and rebalancing to support holistic well-being.

We will dive into an overall understanding of the lingering impact of trauma on the body, trauma within the cultural context of Singapore/Asia, and the wider systemic issues of living amidst a capitalist-colonialist system that perpetuates harm and oppression. We will also explore how this affects our place in the world as facilitators and space holders for people, ourselves, and landscapes.

Languaging, exploring boundaries, and shaping our ethical values as facilitators will be an active and engaging component. We aim to offer a perspective on the skills needed to navigate complex facilitation scenarios with integrity and compassion.

We intend for this workshop to be an active, imperfect collective process to unfold the tools for facilitating in a way that expresses embodied empathy and nuanced somatic awareness for collective care and healing.

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of trauma-sensitive practices, along with practical references to support their ongoing application of these principles in their work.