Wednesday Program

Giving consent & establishing healthy boundaries can be difficult, when we feel powerless & obligated to give up our autonomy.   By connecting with our bodies, we can develop the self-awareness to assess the reality of any given situation, & choose our priorities according to our well-being.  There is never any reason to give up our autonomy; our Wednesday program is designed to explore this:

ZEN MEDITATION 6:00 PM-7:00 PM  Breathing is natural.  It is the simplest way to ground yourself & take control of your body & mind.   Zazen 座禅, or seated meditation,  We will work on:

• Body & Posture
• Breathing
• Focus/Awareness

Connecting the whole body using posture & breath, we cultivate self-awareness.  We can become sensitive to how our habits, thoughts & actions affect our feelings.  We can manifest a level of self-accountability, self-responsbility, & self-awareness in situations out of our control.  We have the power to control our own bodies by controlling how we breathe.  Beginners are welcome!

CHICAGO HOUSE OF RESPECTING CONSENT 7:00 PM-8:00 PM A Sex-Positive Discussion Group! Discussing all matters of Consent & Respect in all situations & all perspectives.  We'll break down what consent is, and how consent can better our lives. We practice giving and receiving consent. We also work on boundaries  and communication. Come join us to talk about the complexity of consent!

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS  8:00 PM-9:00 PM Using principles of Martial Arts in an interpersonal manner, to develop situational awareness; the conscious effort required to pay attention to instincts and surrounding events while engaged in other activities.   In a Martial Arts sense, remaining guarded & prepared to defend yourself at any moment.  This takes an extended amount of continued awareness, conscientiousness, clarity, & groundedness,  to interact & respond appropriately to any occasion, without being anxious by the surrounding events of a situation; in Zen & in Aikido, this is referred to as Zanshin 残心 .  We'll go over everyday social situations & discuss how to apply & integrate Martial Art principles in regular social interactions, safeguarding yourself & others from uncomfortable, & potentially dangerous situations.

This is not a Martial Arts class.  There will be no physical combat training involved, only awareness & strategic thinking development, for the purposes of avoiding physical confrontation.

ATTENDANCE for the entire program is recommended, however partial attendance with in our program is allowed.  Registration is mandatory.  $10.00 suggested donation for each group/ $15.00 to attend the entire program line-up (you can pay on-line or in-person).