WellBodies: A Monthly Course in Embodied Judaism

What does it mean to live in your body? What does it mean to live in a Jewish body? Explore the concept of the body from a Jewish perspective with us once a month from September 2019 through June 2020. This two hour circle will delve into body-related topics such as healthy boundaries, food and eating, growth and aging—through the lens of Jewish text and ritual. We’ll learn from each other and from guest facilitators’ unique perspectives. Presenters include Jodi Balis, Yael Flusberg, Rabbi Sarah Tasman, Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Steph Black, Robert Bettman, Toni Bickart, and other wonderful thinkers. If you are a doctor, nurse, therapist, yogi, massage therapist, you will get a lot out of this and have a lot to contribute. And, everyone is welcome--all ages, genders, and backgrounds. Join us--all you need is your body!

WellBodies is a new monthly program of the Adas Israel Community Mikvah, and while it is rooted in the ethos of the Mikvah, it is not about Mikvah, per se. The course topics were chosen to revolve around these central themes:

• Body positivity: The belief that all bodies--regardless of age, size, shape, color, gender, orientation, religion, ornamentation, partnership status, ability, wealth, health--are fully and equally holy. Body positivity places a higher value on accepting one’s body as it is than on changing it to conform to social or internalized norms.

• Creative Expression: Bringing art into ritual and developing new rituals through a supportive creative process. Exploring ritual objects as art and the creation of art as a sacred ritual.

• Safe Boundaries: ensuring the emotional, physical and spiritual safety of all who enter our spaces. Without this sacred trust, our work is meaningless, if not dangerous. We continually return to practices of upholding boundaries to remind ourselves of the power and vulnerability of embodied ritual.

Each session will generally follow the timeframe below - 
11:30am-12pm Lunch and Schmooze
12pm-1:30pm Presentation, Q&A, Interactive Experience

The cost of the course is $10 per session or $100 for the year. A certificate in Embodied Jewish Studies will be issued by the Adas Israel Community Mikvah for anyone seeking professional development credits who attends the majority of the sessions and completes a final presentation. Please email Mikvah@adasisrael.org to express your interest in joining this group. There is a brief application process to fill out here.