Meditation for LGBTQ+ students/staff

This is a four-week course on trauma-informed meditation and movement/breathwork for trans and queer folks who are students and/or staff at UIC. Embodiment practice and breathwork can be a very helpful tool for grounding oneself in the body. For folks struggling with gender dysphoria, it can be part of a toolkit that allows for greater cooperation and cohesion between body and mind; however, many traditional yoga and meditation practices are alienating due to exclusionary or dysphoria inducing language and lack of gender nonconformity or offered modifications for students with different needs.

In this course, we will be discussing our experiences with this kind of practice and learning several different modalities that can help calm the nervous system and regulate emotions so that they can be more easily processed. Students will be encouraged to try these out and explore what challenges or benefits they add to their daily routine. There will always be modifications as needed because the practices are not useful unless they are comfortable for one’s individual body. Participants will be encouraged to try these practices between class meetings and record any reflections or experiences they have been practicing or fitting it into daily routines.

RSVP: Quigley McCrillis, mmccri2@uic.edu