Somatics for Climate Justice
As a consultant working with local, state, and Tribal governments on climate action planning, I saw firsthand how the conventional approaches to mitigate damages and harm from climate change exist within and uphold dominant political, economic, and social systems. I was struck by how the way in which planning happened—rooted in disconnection to bodies and without intention—was writing injustice into the future. That moment led to a new approach to climate justice that is based on somatics and systems change theory.
Our current dominant systems are based on a paradigm of disconnection and hierarchy, which manifests in our relationships with Earth, each other, and our own bodies. To transform our systems, we need to transform paradigms. Somatics offers a pathway to do just that at the individual and collective scales.
Below is an archive of this ongoing body of work.
Eco-Somatics for Zero Waste - Collab. with Moji Igun
Building Somatic Awareness to Respond to Climate-Related Trauma
Grounding in Connection: Reframing the Climate Crisis through Relationship
Brief intro to lecture
[photos - photo taken on left, and video (or except) on right]
Toward A Somatic Understanding of Climate Change, Trauma, and Transformative Healing
Brief intro - [image - of article on a computer? -- yes!]
Somatics and Trauma-Informed Art for Climate Action
Brief intro - Gave presentation about a somatic and trauma-informed approach to designing artistic experiences to Miami-based artists participating in the Arts & Climate Initiative Incubator program, 2021
[image from presentation; screenshot?]
NW climate conference talk title
Presented about climate trauma and designing for repair in adaptation and mitigation at Northwest Climate Conference
[image from presentation; screenshot?]
This chapter introduces somatics, or body-centered practices, as an approach to healing the stress and trauma related to climate change as it manifests in the body. Through a reading, practical activities, and reflection prompts, the exercise supports learners to become more aware of personal stress and learn somatic strategies to help find regulation and balance.
[cover on left, my chapter on right - take photos in person]
This figure is a visual representation of how the design process can 1) embody values more holistically through somatic design methods (vertical image of iceberg) and 2) generate change at scales beyond what is being designed itself from the service/design ecosystem to society and systems (concentric circles).
A version of this figure was published in my article "'Somatic Design': Engaging the Body for Climate Healing" published in Touchpoint, the Journal for Service Design, Vol. 12 No. 3, October 2021.
Recent Engagements
2018 | Co-founded a Service Design for Climate Working Group with the Service Design Network's San Francisco Chapter |
2018 | Spoke on a panel "Service Design Wrangles Climate Change" alongside Oakland's climate justice director and other leaders in the field |
2018 | Collaborated with AIGA Seattle to evaluate and improve their Changemaker Series program, a human-centered design bootcamp for social impact |
2019 | Co-presented with Aran Baker of Cohere Design Lab at the Service Design Network Global Conference in Toronto, Ontario entitled "Designing our Future Today: Service Design at the front lines of climate resilience" |
2019 | Spoke on a panel "From Awareness to Action: Service Design for Climate Action" hosted by Bridgeable in Toronto, Ontario |
2019 | Co-created a workshop for the Seattle Design Festival with dancer Jasmmine Ramgotra and artist Mari Shibuya to support participants in processing and moving through climate anxiety and grief toward grounded action |
2020 | Facilitated a workshop for designers in the Earth-Centered Design community to engage in creative expression, somatic practice, and reflection to connect to a body-centered approach to design |
2021 | Presented about climate trauma and designing for repair in adaptation and mitigation at Northwest Climate Conference |
2021 | Launched We Become, a collective that seeks to integrate somatics into design practice to support more embodiment, belonging, and liberation |
2021 | Published "‘Somatic Design’: Engaging the Body for Climate Healing" in Touchpoint, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2021 about body-centered design practices that show potential for transforming values and systems |
2021 | Gave presentation about a somatic and trauma-informed approach to designing artistic experiences to Miami-based artists participating in the Arts & Climate Initiative Incubator program |
2021 | Facilitated workshop about somatic design with designers at a studio that is a nationwide leader in social impact design |