Reclaiming Our Power

Women make up more than 80% of the cases of autoimmune illness. We also frequently experience other forms of chronic illness. Gabor Maté has argued that these higher rates of autoimmune and chronic illnesses are due to societal expectations that women suppress our authenticity, agency, and anger in favour of maintaining relationships and taking care of other people.

This workshop will explore what Gabor Maté calls the four A’s of healing: authenticity, agency, anger, and acceptance, while also looking at the importance of attachment, and valuing the strong relational skills women frequently possess. We will approach the reasons it is hard for us to express authenticity, agency, and anger with compassion and curiosity, while maintaining a firm resolve to reconnect with our power and authentic self expression.

The workshop will use psycho education, personal reflection, group discussion, and movement to uncover the blocks to our power.

This is a queer and trans inclusive workshop. Trans women are welcome, and while we are using the language of ‘women’, those who identify with the content but don’t identify with the word ‘woman’ are still welcome. This workshop does not flatten the differences between women’s experiences and you are welcome to show up in the richness of your multiple identities and lived experiences.