Keystone of the Arch

Yalini Dream. Photo by Jendog Lonewolf.

Keystone of the Arch  

By Iris Crawford

"Keystone of the Arch" was a two day virtual workshop that closed the Power Shift series presented by the Hope Mohr Dance/The Bridge Project. The concept of the arch was taken from indigenous beliefs that explore how someone is able to hold their kuleana, which is the Hawaiian word for sacred responsibility. Before the workshop, I interviewed co-facilitators Tammy Johnson and Yalini Dream for Local News Matters to learn more about what participants can expect. The workshop deeply explored improvisation, which allowed everyone to get into their bodies and conceptually think about how we felt and existed in this space of time. 

After interviewing Johnson and Dream, I was inspired to participate because it provided the space that I did not realize I so desperately needed. There were about 10 participants including the co-facilitators each day, and I immediately felt right at home after introductions. The 2 day workshop was about 5 hours each day and was an equal balance between movement, reflection, group conversation and learning. I appreciated the fact that each person paid tribute to the indigenous land that they were occupying. After ground keeping rules were covered by co-facilitator Yalini Dream, the visioning behind “Keystone of the Arch” was explained. It was eye opening because we, as humans, often think of the expense of life in a limited way. Our current climate crisis is just one of the many examples of how we’ve become so focused on our immediate needs and short term gains without ever considering who and what will exist beyond us.  

Tammy Johnson. Photo by Robbie Sweeny.

We were asked to reflect on some key things that really helped me sharpen and envision my kuleana - sacred responsibility. Kuleana refers to one’s personal sense of responsibility and seeks to empower self motivation to give us clarity about who we are as individuals. Identifying my role, reflecting on my past year, and assessing my capacity were fittingly some of the very questions I have been asking myself throughout these past few months. I believe my role is to be a journalist, but how can I be a better storyteller in accurately humanizing who I write about? This past year has allowed me to uncover so many aspects of myself that I did not know even existed. It also gave me the room to leave things that were no longer serving me. One thought that we kept coming back to is our habits. What habits are the ones that need shifting to make room for better practices. For me, those habits are wanting to do everything and not taking the time to celebrate my small wins. This workshop created the space for me to slow down and reflect on why that is.  

One part of the workshop that I really enjoyed was learning the forward stance movement with Tammy Johnson. After we had grasped the movements, we were put into paired breakout rooms. Getting an opportunity to deeply engage with my breakout room partner was freeing because we did not give energy to learning any of the surface level details that ultimately reveal nothing about you. We got right into what came up in our practice, our own visioning and habits we hoped to start shifting. I found myself opening up in a way I genuinely enjoyed. The workshop also explored conflict and healthy ways to reframe that. How do we deal with triggers, disharmony and interpret the sensations we feel in our bodies?  

The second day had brought back familiar faces and welcomed some new ones. After reviewing Forward Stance, we got into mutuality. Mutuality is not binary. How can we understand it on both a community and individual level? How can mutuality help us define our liberation and step fully into our humanity? Although still on my journey, I hope to one day get to Tammy Johnson’s level in defining myself as a happy Black woman! I haven’t quite gotten to envisioning what that looks like for me but this workshop was indeed the first step. This was the breath of fresh air that I needed, and despite it all being virtual, our co-facilitators did an amazing job of keeping us engaged, thinking and smiling! I enjoyed being a part of this two day workshop and was extremely grateful to be in the presence of Yalini Dream and Tammy Johnson who are both doing the necessary work to create a more abundant future. 

What lingers for me is, how will my kuleana evolve? As a journalist, poet, friend, lover,  sister and daughter, how will I continue to come into those responsibilities? Which of those responsibilities will shift and deepen over time? In terms of the coming weeks and what I hope to continue practicing is coming into every space, as I did in the workshop, as my whole authentic self.  

Iris Crawford is an independent journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She covers all this social justice and is always working to amplify BIPOC voices. This year she is a resident of the 2020 Shuffle Collective Literary Arts Residency and DWJ Public Policy Fellow. You can keep up with her work and projects at Iris’s Blossoming. 

----------------

Comments

[Tammy Johnson]

Iris it was a joy to have you in the workshop with us. Keep evolving your Kuleana!