The Empathic Listening Sanctuary with Blair 2/16

Topic: What scars are still healing that you took on in 2020. What gave you those scars and how are they affecting you today?

Audience/Participants: All humans

This is a space to share with others something you’d like to get off your chest or just want someone else to know about. This group shares and listens to others without passing judgement or providing advice. It can be therapeutic to speak your mind and know you will not be judged for it. This is not a therapy session but it may feel therapeutic during and after to anyone participating.  We are here to listen and empathise with each other, giving one another a space to be heard.  We will begin and end with breath to open and close our time together.  Each participant will be given a designated amount of uninterrupted minutes to share. This time will be regulated by the Malachite host running the session. This offering is free and meant for anyone. We ask that you adhere to the following guidelines to help create the best empathic listening sanctuary possible.

• Anything shared during this time is to stay in the group. We ask that you never share anything said within the group to others outside of the group.  If you’re in a situation where someone is speaking to you about emotional matters, it’s crucial to keep what they say in confidence. 
• Please stay for the whole session so others are able to have space held for them by everyone who has signed up.
• When you’re not sharing we will keep everyone’s mic on mute. The host will tell you when it’s your time to unmute. 
• Minimize external distractions to help with being present. We ask you to consider turning your cell phone on airplane mode unless you are on-call or a first responder who needs to keep their phone on. 
• If you live with others, let them know you are going to need privacy during this time and please wear headphones if you can. This ensures that when others are sharing no one is overheard during their time to speak. 
• This group is not here to give people advice for what to do in their life; it’s only to allow them to be heard. Many times we don’t need advice from others.  We just need to be listened to, allowing us to come to our own conclusions. 
• Allow the time you’re sharing to be authentic to you. That means not responding to anyone else’s share and only speaking about what you wanted to have heard by others. 
• An important part of listening empathetically is to refrain from criticizing the other party, either out loud or to yourself. You may find that you disagree with something the speaker has said, but consider that the speaker has a reason for acting the way he or she does.  Be nonjudgmental. This isn’t always easy, but letting go of your own opinions frees you to focus on the other person’s perspective. Acknowledging another person’s views and emotions helps you to help them. This doesn’t mean you need to agree with everything the person says; it’s about letting them know you are there to hold space for them the same way they did for you.
• Sometimes all a person needs is to be heard or know you’re there. Pay attention to the context and quality of the silence. The individual might be thinking about what to say next or may need a few silent moments to reign in emotions.

By signing up for this session you agree to follow these guidelines. This is meant to be a safe space and we ask you to honor that. If for any reason the Malachite host feels that someone has shared something that they are concerned about (for example, if someone expresses they want to hurt themselves or someone else) we will take action to connect them with a crisis center or mental health professional. 

Time: Eastern-6:00pm, Central-5:00pm, Mountain-4:00pm, Pacific-3:00pm

*By booking this class, you the practitioner, have agreed that Malachite Yoga and this Malachite Yoga instructor is not liable for any injuries that may occur while participating in this class. This ticket is non-refundable but can be transferred to another person to take this class.